I Liked Paul Lynde Before I ‘Met’ Him

I’m a fan of comedy and comedians and I like the old school guys & girls (like Ohio natives Jonathan Winters and Phyllis Diller, to name two) and Paul Lynde was no exception. As a young kid I remember finding him funny in Bye Bye Birdie and on his many TV appearances and especially on Bewitched where he scored a home run as the bitchy and antagonistic warlock Uncle Arthur, a role he made his own. And then there was his long time stint on the Hollywood Squares, a show that may have given him entertainment immortality.

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The Hollywood Squares, it debuted in 1966, was the only game show I would ever watch, mainly because it was more of a comedy show with big stars than a game show. Especially the night time version.  

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To prove how insulated I must have been I was a teenager before I figured out, or heard, or read, that Paul Lynde was gay.  The double entendres on Hollywood Squares flew right over my head when I was a kid and it wasn’t until a couple years after its debut when I was a teenager that I caught the ‘real’ jokes. I think that knowledge made him even more funnier. All I know is he was damn funny and I liked his cranky, sarcastic attitude he portrayed.  

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Paul Lynde was born right here in Ohio in Mount Vernon. He studied drama at Northwestern University. Some of his classmates included Patricia Neal, Cloris Leachman, Charlotte Rae, Claude Akins and a fellow named Jack Monteith. Lynde started out as a stand up comedian before moving to stage, television and film work.

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One beautiful, warm evening at dusk in 1978 I stopped to see my Aunt Margie who lived on Elm Street in Orrville. Right beside her home was another where Jack Monteith lived, a friendly guy who for years owned Jack’s Beverage in Orrville. While standing in front of her porch in her front yard talking to her while I enjoyed a cup of coffee and a smoke a big, long, white limousine pulled up directly behind my Oldsmobile Cutless Supreme.

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The driver gets out, opens the door and out pops…Paul Lynde???

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He walks quickly up the short sidewalk towards the front porch of Monteith’s and glances over our way. I nod my head and say, ‘Hello, sir’ and he nods in acknowledge. Just then my aunt realizes who it is and let’s out a shocked and surprised, ‘Oh My! Oh My God!’ Paul Lynde glances back over to my aunt, who is only 15 feet away, cracks a small grin, gives half a wave and says, ‘Good evening, sweetheart!’ And into Monteith’s home he went.

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I left before he came out but my aunt later related he stayed about a half hour and left. Apparently Paul Lynde and Jack Monteith had become good friends in college and remained friends afterwards. Lynde was in Warren, Ohio performing in The Impossible Years with the famed Kenley Players and took time to ride down to Orrville to see an old pal.

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I’ll never forget the reaction of my Aunt Margie. Just utter shock and dismay that a celebrity like Paul Lynde, who she was a big fan of, would walk into her neighbors home right out of the blue. She talked about it for many years afterwards.

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Paul Lynde may have been, in ‘real life’, a hard drinking, bitchy, caustic, demanding old queen, but he sure gave a lot of entertainment over the years. He passed away on January 11, 1982 and is buried in the Amity Cemetery in Amityville, Ohio in Knox County.

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Just about everything you would want to know about Paul Lynde you can find HERE.  THIS WEBSITE has several pages of Paul Lynde’s famous one-liners, come backs and answers from vintage Hollywood Squares episodes.

Tags: Bewitched, Bye Bye Birdie, Charlotte Rae, Claude Akins, Cloris Leachman, Hollywood Squares, Jack Monteith, Jonathan Winters, Kenley Players, Mount Vernon Ohio, Northwestern University, Orrville Ohio, Patricia Neal, Paul Lynde, Phyllis Diller, The Impossible Years, Uncle Arthur