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IN MEMORY OF COMIC-ACTOR PAUL LYNDE #01 |
Updated: July 14, 2022
Paul Lynde
Born in Mount Vernon, Ohio/USA
June 13, 1926
Died: January 10, 1982
(heart attack)
Biography:
Paul Lynde brought sarcasm to 1960's TV like few had seen it
before. Born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, the son of local sheriff
turned butcher, Hoy Lynde, his acerbic wit always seemed more
suited to a big city boy than someone from small-town Ohio.
When Lynde's Mount Vernon High School drama teacher, Ruth
Domigan Truxall, encouraged him to attend Northwestern
University, Lynde found his calling, earning Best Student
Actor of the Year" honors upon his graduation in 1948. He also
found an ally in fellow student Cloris Leachman who helped
encourage the 260-pound Lynde to shed his extra weight. After
struggling through his early years looking for acting work in
New York City, surviving by waiting tables and selling pints
of his blood, he struck gold as one of the new faces in the
hit Broadway show New Faces of 1952--among the other Faces
were Eartha Kitt and Alice Ghostley. When the show was made
into the film New Faces in 1954, Lynde had his first screen
role. It was not the last show that Lynde would appear in both
on stage and screen, as later Lynde played Harry McAfee in
Bye Bye Birdie, both on Broadway and in the film version. He
is probably best remembered as the snide Uncle Arthur on the
1960's TV sitcom Bewitched. In 1972, he was given a star turn
in The Paul Lynde Show, but the series was canceled after only
one season. Late 1970's TV viewers will also remember him as
the "center square" on the TV game show The Hollywood Squares.
His final screen appearance was as the fittingly named
Nervous Elk in the film The Villain. Lynde died of a heart
attack in 1982, at the age of only 55.
Filmography
Film
Send Me No Flowers
New Faces
Son of Flubber
How Sweet It Is
Beach Blanket Bingo
Journey Back to Oz (voice)
The Glass Bottom Boat
Charlotte's Web (voice)
Rabbit Test
Under the Yum Yum Tree
The Villain
For Those Who Think Young
Bye Bye Birdie
TV
Stanley
Bewitched
The Pruitts of Southampton
The Jonathan Winters Show
Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers
Gidget Grows Up
The Cattanooga Cats
The Paul Lynde Show
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
Gidget Gets Married
Where's Huddles
Donny and Marie
The Perry Como Show
The Hollywood Squares
Temperatures Rising
The Red Buttons Show
TV Guest Appearances
Henry Fonda and the Family
The Andy Williams Show
The Jack Paar Show
The George Gobel Show
The Lux Show
The Phil Silvers Show
Hallmark Hall of Fame
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Jackie Gleason Show
Burke's Law
The Patty Duke Show
The Jack Benny Show
The Munsters
The Farmer's Daughter
Hollywood Palace
Bob Hope Chrysler Theater
Gidget
That Girl
The Flying Nun
The Mothers-In-Law
That's Life
Kraft Music Hall
The Carol Burnett Show
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
Love, American Style
The Martha Raye Show
The Andy Williams Show
The Arthur Godfrey Show
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Mike Douglas Show
The Gypsy Rose Lee Show
The Pierre Berton Show
Truth or Consequences
F Troop
The Mothers-In-Law
I Dream of Jeannie
The Beverly Hillbillies
Hey, Landlord
(*) Personnel Note: I grew up watching Paul Lynde on television. He
was a talented and gifted man. He was quick whitted and fast with the
punch-lines. Paul had a laugh that would bring tears to my eyes. He
was one one the last of the real comedians. Thanks Paul for all the
laughs, you are truly missed here. The NEW Hollywood Squares center
square is empty without you!
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