Paul Lynde was born in 1926 in Mount Vernon, Ohio (one of six children and the middle of four boys). His father was a local police officer and the sheriff of the Mount Vernon Jail for two years. Lynde got his inspiration to become an actor at the age of four or five after his mother took him to see the original silent film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the ...
January 10, 1982, Beverly Hills, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Mount Vernon, Ohio, USA
Height
5' 11" (1.8 m)
Profession
Actor, Soundtrack, Writer
Education
Northwestern University
Nationality
American
Parents
Sylvia Bell, Hoy Lynde
Siblings
Grace Lynde, Helen Lynde, Cordon Lynde, John Lynde, Richard Lynde
Nominations
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy, Primetime Emmy Award for Special Classification Of Outstanding Program Achievement, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Daytime Programming - Individuals
Movies
Bye Bye Birdie, Charlotte's Web, The Glass Bottom Boat, Send Me No Flowers, The Villain, Son of Flubber, Under the Yum Yum Tree, Journey Back to Oz, Hugo the Hippo, New Faces, For Those Who Think Young, The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Gidget Grows Up, Gidget Gets Married, Beach Blanket Bingo, How ...
TV Shows
Hollywood Squares, Temperatures Rising, The Paul Lynde Show, Bewitched, Where's Huddles?, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, The Pruitts of Southampton, The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Cattanooga Cats, It's The Wolf, The Jonathan Winters Show, The Red Buttons Show
[to a traffic cop who had flagged him down for drunk driving] I'll have a double cheeseburger and a chocolate shake.
2
I always wanted to be Anna May Wong. She seemed so much more exotic and exciting than plain ordinary folk. But no-go. I wasn't fated to be Wong, just white.
3
I had a drag scene in Doris Day's The Glass Bottom Boat (1966). An elegant gown. Actually, it was more expensive than any of the ones Doris had to wear. That day that I came in fully dressed and coiffed, I was the belle of the set! Everybody went wild! Doris came over and looked me up and down and told me, 'Oh, I'd never wear anything that feminine.'
4
I was in 'Bye Bye Birdie' on Broadway - played the father. I was in the film version, but they should have retitled it 'Hello, Ann-Margret!' They cut several of my and the other actors' best scenes and shot new ones for her so she could do her teenage-sex-bombshell act.
5
Sometimes, I think you're better off not being married today. When you see your married friends split up, it's devastating. Call it scared! Call it an obsession. But I took it for granted I was going to marry a girl I went with for nine years. That is, until I received her wedding invitation. [in 1974]
6
I don't meet enough women outside show business, and I wouldn't marry anyone in this field. [in 1969]
7
I'm used to living alone, and I like it that way. You become so selfish living alone...I'd make a terrible husband anyway.
8
I have so many friends who were lovers. After they got married, it was over.
9
I don't know who the hell Paul Lynde is or why he's funny, and I prefer it to be a mystery to me. An actor shouldn't undergo psychoanalysis, because there are a lot of things you're better off not knowing.
10
Upon telling his family he wanted to go into show business: "My dad hit the roof and I hit the road, simultaneously."
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Fact
1
Paul had two sisters.
2
One of only a handful of actors to have appeared on both "magic" television shows Bewitched and I Dream Of Jeannie.
3
His father's name was Hoy Lynde, and his mother's name was Sylvia Bell. He had three brothers: Richard, Cord, and John.
4
Portrayed Mr. MacAfee in the original Broadway stage version of "Bye Bye Birdie" which opened April 14, 1960 and ran for 607 performances. He reprised the role in the film Bye Bye Birdie (1963).
5
Was an accomplished cook.
6
Lynde and long-term companion, Bing Davidson were staying at the Drake hotel in San Francisco, California on July 17, 1965. The two went out the next day for a good time and got very drunk. Davidson decided to show Lynde a trick and dangled off the hotel balcony by his fingers. He was slipping and Paul desperately tried to help him in, but Davidson fell to his death. They are buried next to each other in Amity Cemetery in Ohio.
7
The sign proclaiming Mount Vernon, Ohio, as the birthplace of Paul Lynde was recently changed to read: "Home of Daniel Decatur Emmett, Author of [the song] 'Dixie.'"
8
In "Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story," biographers Steve Wilson and Joe Florenski lay to rest rumors that there was something suspicious about Lynde's death at the age of 55. Dismissing such rumors that the comedian was murdered by a hustler who robbed Lynde's house and left him dead and naked, the authors say that Lynde did die of a heart attack, as the coroner's report contended he did. Lynde expired at almost the same age as his father, who also died from a heart attack. The authors express surprise that Lynde didn't have a heart attack sooner, what with his transgressive lifestyle. Lynde was heavily into alcohol and also used drugs. He claimed to have quit these habits cold-turkey not long before his death, having been transformed by a personal event that he never revealed.
9
Holds a unique place in show business history - he actually got to sing on "The Ed Sullivan Show" the song he performed nightly in the Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie" about the excitement of appearing on the iconic "Ed Sullivan Show".
10
When he first went to New York, he lived in an apartment building that housed many other struggling actors. The building had communal kitchens, kitchens shared by all the tenants of a floor. One of the other actors in the building claimed that Lynde used to steal his food from the refrigerator. That actor was a young Marlon Brando.
11
He had a weight problem that he fought to control his entire life.
Explained his lifelong bachelorhood to fans (in the days before "coming out") by telling them his high-school sweetheart had broken his heart, and he was still too hurt to give other women a chance.
14
Lynde left The Hollywood Squares (1965) in 1979, in a dispute over his salary. When tabloids ran stories claiming he had been fired for his drinking as well as on-set problems, he sued them for libel, seeking $10 million in damages.
15
His older brother Cordon died in World War II.
16
A fan once set up a museum full of Paul Lynde memorabilia in his home town on Mount Vernon, Ohio
17
Long-time "center square" and court jester in residence on the original The Hollywood Squares (1965), Paul Lynde's quips on that show are still quoted, and laughed at, to this day.
18
Told his agent shortly before his death that he had given up cigarettes and alcohol.
19
The coroner who examined his body said he had the heart of an 88-year-old man.
20
Posthumously "outed" by Boze Hadleigh, who has written extensively about previously closeted Hollywood actors/actresses.
Stanley (segment 'Love and the House Bachelor') / (segment "Love and the Pregnancy") / Grisdale (segment "Love and the Nervous Executive")
Bewitched
1965-1971
TV Series
Uncle Arthur
Harold Harold
Where's Huddles?
1970
TV Series
Claude Pertwee / Uncle Pertwee Famouse
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
1969-1970
TV Series
The Hooded Claw
Sylvester Sneekly
The Kraft Music Hall
1970
TV Series
Doctor Zodiak
Gidget Grows Up
1969
TV Movie
Louis B. Latimer
The Jackie Gleason Show
1969
TV Series
Worthington Kenmore
Cattanooga Cats
1969
TV Series
Mildew Wolf (voice)
That's Life
1968-1969
TV Series
Clerk
The Flying Nun
1968
TV Series
Father Lundigan
The Mothers-In-Law
1968
TV Series
Wally Logan
How Sweet It Is!
1968
The Purser
I Dream of Jeannie
1966-1968
TV Series
Porter / Allen Kerr / Harry Huggins
The Beverly Hillbillies
1967
TV Series
Passport Clerk
Hey, Landlord
1967
TV Series
Mr. Gregory
That Girl
1967
TV Series
Nate Caswell
The Phyllis Diller Show
1967
TV Series
Harvey
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1966
TV Series
Judge
F Troop
1966
TV Series
Sgt. Ramsden
The Glass Bottom Boat
1966
Homer Cripps
Gidget
1966
TV Series
Herman Marshall
The Farmer's Daughter
1965
TV Series
Tony / Tony Parrish
Beach Blanket Bingo
1965
Bullets
Burke's Law
1963-1965
TV Series
Guy Hawthorne Jr. / Dr. McCoy / Arthur Clark
The Munsters
1964-1965
TV Series
Dr. Edward Dudley
Two's Company
1965
TV Movie
Paul Greg
The Cara Williams Show
1964
TV Series
Charles Crump
The Jack Benny Program
1964
TV Series
Veterinarian
Send Me No Flowers
1964
Mr. Akins
For Those Who Think Young
1964
Sid Hoyt
Grindl
1963
TV Series
Purvis Inchback
Under the Yum Yum Tree
1963
Murphy
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special
1976
TV Special performer: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", "Deck the Halls", "Here Comes Peter Cottontail", "My Funny Valentine", "Dixie I Wish I Was in Dixie" - uncredited
Charlotte's Web
1973
performer: "A Fair is a Veritable Schmorgasboard-orgasboard-orgasboard"
Bewitched
1965-1969
TV Series performer - 2 episodes
Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers
1968
TV Series performer - 3 episodes
Bye Bye Birdie
1963
performer: "Hymn for a Sunday Evening" aka "The Ed Sullivan Song", "Kids"
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
New Faces
1954
additional sketches
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America
2009
TV Series documentary
Bob Hope for President
1980
TV Special
The Hollywood Squares
1966-1979
TV Series
Himself - Center Square / Himself - Panelist / Himself -The Center Square / ...
Dinah!
1975-1979
TV Series
Himself
Paul Lynde Goes MA-A-A-AD
1979
TV Movie
Himself - Host
Paul Lynde at the Movies
1979
TV Special
Himself / Maurice Darlyrimple
Donny and Marie
1975-1979
TV Series
Himself
A Mac Davis Special: Christmas Odyssey - 2010
1978
TV Special
Himself
The Paul Lynde Comedy Hour
1978
TV Movie
Himself - Host
America 2-Night
1978
TV Series
Himself
ABC's Silver Anniversary Celebration
1978
TV Special
Himself
The 29th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
1977
TV Special
Himself
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Peter Marshall
1977
TV Special
Himself
The Paul Lynde Comedy Hour
1977
TV Movie
Himself - Host
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special
1976
TV Special
Himself / Big Ruby Red / Sheik
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1964-1976
TV Series
Himself - Guest / Himself
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Dean Martin
1976
TV Special
Himself
The Second Annual Comedy Awards
1976
TV Special
Himself
The Paul Lynde Comedy Hour
1975
TV Movie
Himself - Host
Donahue
1975
TV Series
Himself
The Mac Davis Show
1975
TV Series
Himself - Guest
The Smothers Brothers Show
1975
TV Series
Himself
The $10,000 Pyramid
1975
TV Series
Himself
Sandy Duncan Special
1974
TV Special
Himself
Perry Como's Summer of 74
1974
TV Movie
Himself
All-Star Baffle
1973
TV Series
Himself
Password All-Stars
1972
TV Series
Himself - Celebrity Contestant
The Jerry Reed When You're Hot You're Hot Hour
1972
TV Series
Himself - Cameo
The 24th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
1972
TV Special
Himself
The Dean Martin Show
1968-1972
TV Series
Himself
The Carol Burnett Show
1970-1972
TV Series
Himself
Laugh-In
1972
TV Series
Himself
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
1971
TV Series
Himself
This Is Your Life
1971
TV Series
Himself
The Hollywood Squares
1971
TV Series
Center Square
Mantrap
1971
TV Series
Himself
The Pet Set
1971
TV Series documentary
Himself
The Golddiggers
1971
TV Series
Himself
The 25th Annual Tony Awards
1971
TV Special
Himself
The Kraft Music Hall
1968-1970
TV Series
Himself / Restaurant Critic
Name Droppers
1970
TV Series
Himself
Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers
1968-1969
TV Series
Himself
The 21st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
1969
TV Special
Himself
Stump the Stars
1969
TV Series
Himself
The Jerry Lewis Show
1968-1969
TV Series
Himself
The Jonathan Winters Show
1967-1969
TV Series
Himself
Silent Treatment
1968
Documentary
Himself
Funny You Should Ask
1968
TV Series
Himself
Operation: Entertainment
1968
TV Series
Himself
Personality
1968
TV Series
Himself
Snap Judgment
1968
TV Series
Himself
The Mike Douglas Show
1964-1968
TV Series
Himself - Co-Host / Himself
Dream Girl of '67
1967
TV Series
Himself - Bachelor Judge
The Hollywood Palace
1964-1967
TV Series
Himself
You Don't Say
1967
TV Series
Himself - Panelist / Himself
Everybody's Talking
1967
TV Series
Himself
The Steve Allen Comedy Hour
1967
TV Series
Himself
P.D.Q.
1967
TV Series
Himself
Gypsy
1967
TV Series
Himself
The Bob Braun Show
1967
TV Series
Himself (1967-1984)
The Bob Hope Show
1966
TV Series
Himself
Crossword
1966
TV Movie
Himself
The Celebrity Game
1964
TV Series
Himself
The Jack Paar Program
1964
TV Series
Himself
Fractured Flickers
1963
TV Series
Himself
Arthur Godfrey Loves Animals
1963
TV Movie
Himself
The Ed Sullivan Show
1952-1962
TV Series
Himself / Harry McAfee - Scene from 'Bye Bye Birdie'
The Andy Williams Show
1962
TV Series
Himself
Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall
1961-1962
TV Series
Himself
Henry Fonda and the Family
1962
TV Special
Himself
The Jack Paar Tonight Show
1957-1959
TV Series
Himself
The George Gobel Show
1959
TV Series
Himself
The Lux Show
1958
TV Series
Himself
Social Security in Action
1958
TV Series
Himself
The Jerry Lewis Show
1957
TV Special
Player in TV Production Skit
Frankie Laine Time
1956
TV Series
Himself
The Martha Raye Show
1954-1956
TV Series
Himself
The Saturday Night Revue
1954
TV Series
Himself
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1954
TV Series
Himself
New Faces
1954
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Carol Burnett's Favorite Sketches
2016
TV Movie
The Sixties
2014
TV Mini-Series documentary
Uncle Arthur
Making the Boys
2011
Documentary
Uncle Arthur
The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics
2008
TV Movie documentary
Sportscaster
Pioneers of Television
2008
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself / Harry McAfee
Bewitched
2005
Uncle Arthur (uncredited)
Broadway: The American Musical
2004
TV Mini-Series documentary
Harry McAfee (in 'Bye Bye Birdie')
E! True Hollywood Story
1999-2003
TV Series documentary
Himself
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
2002
TV Movie documentary
Himself (uncredited)
Rock Hudson's Home Movies
1992
Documentary
Mr. Akins
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
1980
TV Series
Sportscaster
The Mike Douglas Show
1976
TV Series
Himself - Comic Actor
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1976
Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Daytime Programming