35 Facts About Paul Lynde

Paul Edward Lynde was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist.

Paul Lynde regularly topped audience polls of most-liked TV stars, and was routinely admired and recognized by his peers during his lifetime.

Mel Brooks once described Paul Lynde as being capable of getting laughs by reading "a phone book, tornado alert, or seed catalogue".

Paul Lynde was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, the son of Sylvia Bell and Hoy Corydon Lynde, who owned and operated a meat market.

Fifth-born among six siblings, Paul Lynde had older sisters, Grace and Helen, older brothers, Richard Hoy and Coradon George and younger brother, John.

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Paul Lynde graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1944, where he played the bass drum in its high school band.

Paul Lynde then studied speech and drama at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where his classmates included Cloris Leachman, Charlotte Rae, Patricia Neal, Jeffrey Hunter and Claude Akins.

Paul Lynde made his Broadway debut in the hit revue New Faces of 1952 in which he co-starred with fellow newcomers Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Alice Ghostley and Carol Lawrence.

Paul Lynde returned to Broadway in 1960 when he was cast as Harry MacAfee, the father in Bye Bye Birdie.

Paul Lynde was a familiar face on many sitcoms, including The Phil Silvers Show, The Farmer's Daughter, The Patty Duke Show, The Munsters, The Flying Nun, Gidget, I Dream of Jeannie and F Troop; and variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Dean Martin Show.

Paul Lynde was featured in a number of 1960s films, including Send Me No Flowers and The Glass Bottom Boat, both starring Doris Day.

In 1965, Paul Lynde made his debut appearance on Bewitched during the first-season episode "Driving is the Only Way to Fly".

Paul Lynde made 10 appearances on Bewitched as the beloved character, the first being "The Joker is a Card".

Paul Lynde starred in four failed television pilots in the 1960s:.

In 1966, Paul Lynde debuted on the fledgling game show The Hollywood Squares and quickly became its iconic guest star.

Paul Lynde eventually became disenchanted with being what he called "boxed into" The Hollywood Squares and he departed the series in 1979.

Paul Lynde initially declined, but changed his mind when told he would receive co-star billing with host Peter Marshall.

Paul Lynde returned to the series in the spring of 1980 and remained with the show until its cancellation in February 1981.

Between 1969 and 1973, Paul Lynde did extensive voice work on animated cartoons, particularly those of Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Paul Lynde was nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe for the show.

Contemporaneous media reports showed that viewers liked Lynde but not The Paul Lynde Show and liked another ABC show, Temperatures Rising, but disliked co-star James Whitmore.

Paul Lynde's continuing popularity led to his being signed by ABC to host a series of specials from 1975 to 1979, including:.

Paul Lynde remained a Life Member of the Beaux Arts Society from 1980 until his untimely death.

In 1976, at the Sixth Annual American Guild of Variety Artists "Entertainer of the Year Awards", Paul Lynde received an award for being voted the funniest man of the year.

Paul Lynde immediately turned his award over to host Jackie Gleason, citing him as "the funniest man ever".

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Paul Lynde lived there with his beloved dog, Harry MacAfee, until Harry died in 1977.

Paul Lynde struggled with alcoholism and had numerous run-ins with the law, including frequent arrests for public intoxication.

In July 1965, Paul Lynde was involved in an incident in which a friend, another young actor, accidentally fell to his death from the window of their hotel room in San Francisco's Sir Francis Drake Hotel.

In October 1977, Paul Lynde was involved in an incident at his alma mater, Northwestern University, when he was the Grand Marshal for homecoming.

Paul Lynde's vehicle had been broken into and his valuables stolen while he was inside the tavern.

The arresting officer had been investigating a different car burglary and claimed Paul Lynde kept insisting that he "attend to Paul Lynde's complaint" instead.

Stories circulated suggesting that Paul Lynde had a visitor at the time of his death who fled the scene, but evidence indicated the stories were false.

Paul Lynde regularly activated his house alarm before retiring for the evening.

Paul Lynde's cremated remains are interred at Amity Cemetery, in Amity, Knox County, Ohio, next to those of his brother Johnny and sister Helen.

Authors Steve Wilson and Joe Florenski described Paul Lynde as "Liberace without a piano" and that to most 1970s-era viewers, he was "a frustrated bit player and character actor on a daytime game show".