Paul Lynde

Paul Edward Lynde (June 13, 1926–January 10, 1982) was an American comedian and actor. He was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio to Hoy Lynde and Sylvia Bell Doup.

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A noted character actor, Lynde was well known for his roles as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched and Harry McAfee, the befuddled father in Bye Bye Birdie. He was also the center square on the classic game show, Hollywood Squares, in which his jokes grew increasingly bitter and venomous as the years went by, although nobody dared to say anything about it.

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Lynde first got recognition in the Broadway revue New Faces of 1952 in which he co-starred opposite fellow newcomers Eartha Kitt, Alice Ghostley, and Carol Lawrence. One notable skit involved Lynde as a husband in crutches coming back from an African safari. The play was filmed into a movie in 1954. After the revue's run, Lynde co-starred in the short-lived sitcom Stanley opposite Buddy Hackett and Carol Burnett, both of whom were also starting out their careers in show business. He became a regular on several sitcoms and variety shows such as The Perry Como Show.

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Lynde did extensive voice work on animated cartoons, particularly those of Hanna-Barbera Productions. His most notable Hanna-Barbera roles were those of Sylvester Sneakly (a.k.a. "The Hooded Claw") in The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop, Mildew Wolf from The Cattanooga Cats and Laff-a-Lympics, Pertwee from ??Where's Huddles???, and Templeton the rat from the animated feature Charlotte's Web.

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Lynde was found dead in his Beverly Hills home from a heart attack. The coroner said that Lynde, then 55, had the heart of an 80-year old man. This condition was brought on by years of extreme substance abuse. A story that Lynde died while using poppers during sex with a male prostitute, who left and did not call the police, has no basis in truth.

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Lynde was gay, but despite his stereotypically flamboyant mannerisms and sometimes rather overtly gay double entendres on Hollywood Squares, he never publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, although he was widely known to be gay in Hollywood. According to Elizabeth Montgomery, Lynde was specifically cast in Bewitched to be her gay uncle.

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Lynde is interred at Amity Cemetery in Amity, Ohio.

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June 13: June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining....

1926: 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar)....

January 10: January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 355 days remaining (356 in leap years)....

Paul Lynde related Images and Photos (experimental)

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