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left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
Thu May 21, 2020, 06:39 PM May 2020

The mad, sad, totally fab life of Paul Lynde

Being gay was the secret of Lynde’s success, even though it was a (half-hearted) secret. He hid his truth in plain sight, reveling in a camp persona. All these years later, people still don’t know what to make of him.

Lynde’s brilliance was rooted in gayness, but he was deeply conflicted about it. “Paul’s following was mostly straight,” says Cathy Rudolph, author of Paul Lynde: A Biography. “He was afraid if his following was mostly gay, it would open the eyes of his fans that he was also gay and that would end his career.” Lynde was both a role model and a walking stereotype.

There was no one else quite like him on any screen. “He was probably the first gay person — whether he was using the word or not — in a lot of people’s homes across America,” actor-comedian Billy Eichner says. “He was ahead of his time in terms of being as overtly gay as one could be, unlike so many stars of that time.”

https://ew.com/celebrity/paul-lynde-life-legacy/

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The mad, sad, totally fab life of Paul Lynde (Original Post) left-of-center2012 May 2020 OP
Was kind of a dick to people including other celebs, they say...but funny as hell... Eliot Rosewater May 2020 #1
I regarded him as an arrogant prick. Never watched him. n/t monmouth4 May 2020 #16
He was the best Center Square ever. catbyte May 2020 #2
omg yes! FirstLight May 2020 #5
I loved him! MuseRider May 2020 #3
I remember him as EXTREMELY entertaining Skittles May 2020 #4
Same! FirstLight May 2020 #6
I loved him, who cared that he was gay! demigoddess May 2020 #7
The Best Hollywood Squares answers (Paul L. in bold.) CurtEastPoint May 2020 #8
. Susan Calvin May 2020 #11
. left-of-center2012 May 2020 #13
Those were great! CaptYossarian May 2020 #14
😂 "hey, culligan man" Duppers May 2020 #17
Maybe gay, but also, Cracklin Charlie May 2020 #9
He used to do Kenley Players every summer in Columbus. luvs2sing May 2020 #10
I loved him! GreenPartyVoter May 2020 #12
Paul was great. CaptYossarian May 2020 #15

MuseRider

(34,111 posts)
3. I loved him!
Thu May 21, 2020, 06:50 PM
May 2020

He was so darned funny and so quick. I wish he had been able to be out and proud of it, I feel so bad for those whose lives were closeted although his closet door never quite closed all the way.

CurtEastPoint

(18,650 posts)
8. The Best Hollywood Squares answers (Paul L. in bold.)
Thu May 21, 2020, 07:08 PM
May 2020

Hollywood Squares:

These great questions and answers are from the days when 'Hollywood Squares' game show responses were spontaneous, not scripted, as they are now. Peter Marshall was the host asking the questions, of course..

Q. Paul, what is a good reason for pounding meat? A. Paul Lynde: Loneliness! (The audience laughed so long and so hard it took up almost 15 minutes of the show!)

Q. Do female frogs croak? A. Paul Lynde: If you hold their little heads under water long enough.

Q. If you're going to make a parachute jump, at least how high should you be? A. Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking should do it.

Q. True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years. A. George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes.

Q. You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman? A. Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me awake.

Q. According to Cosmopolitan, if you meet a stranger at a party and you think that he is attractive, is it okay to come out and ask him if he's married? A. Rose Marie: No wait until morning.

Q. Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you get older? A. Charley Weaver: My sense of decency..

Q. In Hawaiian, does it take more than three words to say 'I Love You'? A. Vincent Price: No, you can say it with a pineapple and a twenty..

Q. What are 'Do It,' 'I Can Help,' and 'I Can't Get Enough'? A. George Gobel: I don't know, but it's coming from the next apartment.

Q. As you grow older, do you tend to gesture more or less with your hands while talking? A. Rose Marie: You ask me one more growing old question Peter, and I'll give you a gesture you'll never forget.

Q. Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather? A. Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.

Q. Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries. Are you going to get any during the first year? A. Charley Weaver: Of course not, I'm too busy growing strawberries.

Q. In bowling, what's a perfect score? A. Rose Marie: Ralph, the pin boy.

Q. It is considered in bad taste to discuss two subjects at nudist camps. One is politics, what is the other? A. Paul Lynde: Tape measures..

Q. During a tornado, are you safer in the bedroom or in the closet? A. Rose Marie: Unfortunately Peter, I'm always safe in the bedroom.

Q. Can boys join the Camp Fire Girls? A. Marty Allen: Only after lights out.

Q. When you pat a dog on its head he will wag his tail. What will a goose do? A. Paul Lynde: Make him bark?

Q. If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give birth to? A. Paul Lynde: Whatever it is, it would never be afraid of the dark.

Q. According to Ann Landers, is there anything wrong with getting into the habit of kissing a lot of people? A. Charley Weaver: It got me out of the army.

Q. It is the most abused and neglected part of your body, what is it? A. Paul Lynde: Mine may be abused, but it certainly isn't neglected.

Q. Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head, what was he trying to do? A. George Gobel: Get it in his mouth.

Q. Who stays pregnant for a longer period of time, your wife or your elephant? A. Paul Lynde: Who told you about my elephant?

Q. When a couple have a baby, who is responsible for its sex? A. Charley Weaver: I'll lend him the car, the rest is up to him.

Q. Jackie Gleason recently revealed that he firmly believes in them and has actually seen them on at least two occasions. What are they? A. Charley Weaver: His feet.

Q. According to Ann Landers, what are two things you should never do in bed? A. Paul Lynde: Point and laugh

luvs2sing

(2,220 posts)
10. He used to do Kenley Players every summer in Columbus.
Thu May 21, 2020, 07:27 PM
May 2020

The first summer I worked downtown, I passed him on High Street one day when I was walking to the bus stop. He had an amazing tan, was wearing a bright turquoise shirt and white pants, and he was walking two white standard poodles. Everyone noticed him, but no one said a word to him. He just slowly glided down the busy sidewalk like royalty. I think it was the first experience I told my mother about living in the “big city” that impressed her.

Now, after reading the article, I have to wonder..whose dogs were those?

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