14 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

September 2, 2005

eveningsout

Center of attention

Although he was sharply funny in game shows, Paul Lynde's life was less so

by Anthony Glassman

With the success of the depictions of gay men on television, whether Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Will and Grace, Queer as Folk, the pay-per-view network Here or basic cable's Logo, it is now almost easy to take for granted a queer presence on the boob tube.

Three decades ago, however, that was not the case. It was not the "age of the gay"; rather, it was the era when the crypto-gay ruled, Tony Randall as the “bachelor uncle"

P

raising a child, Charles Nelson Reilly telling much, but not all, on Match Game.

It was the Age of Lynde.

The perennial center of attention on Hollywood Squares, Samantha's Uncle Arthur on Bewitched, most people are familiar with Paul Lynde and his bitchy-queeny, nasal voice from those two roles.

What the vast majority of those people don't know, however, is the rest of the story, told in Steve Wilson and Joe Florenski's Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story (Advo-

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cate Books, $15.95, paperback). Paul Lynde was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio in 1926, and went on to study at Northwestern University with Cloris Leachman and Charlotte Rae, Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life.

After graduating, Lynde moved to New York, where he chased after fame like a really pissed-off dog following a fleetfooted squirrel.

However, while characteractor success was always his, leading-man accolades seemed just out of his reach. He was the clown, the big gun to bring out when laughs were needed.

romantic life was seldom as successful as his professional life, and he turned to the easy gratification of, well, professionals. Call boys. Hustlers. They were easy, they were fun, and they gave Lynde the space he desired and the companionship he needed.

Advocate

When he was found dead in bed in 1982, rumors abounded that he suffered a fatal heart attack while in the throes of passion with one of his hustlers. Unfortunately for the dramatic side of things, Wilson and Florenski talked to the friends who found his body-he was dressed in his pajamas and the blan-

CENTER SQUARE

THE PAUL LYNDE STORY

Even into his years of appearing in bad movies and mediocre television, he longed for dramatic roles, to be seen as more than just a buffoon. Originating the role of Mr. MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway didn't quell his thirst for fame, although it did earn him a place in the history books.

Part of Lynde's problem may have been his fondness for alcohol, and by all accounts, he could be a mean drunk. Perhaps that is an understatement--a soused Paul Lynde could make Freddy Krueger run crying back to Elm Street. He would vent his wrath on friend and foe alike, perhaps burning some bridges that he might have one day crossed.

Insecure and subconsciously willing to be nasty enough to fulfill his insecurities, Lynde's

kets were up around

legs.

his

The wit of Paul Lynde was ended by a heart attack while he lay in bed, waiting for sleep.

Center Square is a fun book, not heavy enough to be dull. There's Lynde's appear-

enough wit from ances to keep it lively, and the reminiscences from his friends and coworkers are fascinating.

Neither a glorification nor a condemnation, Wilson and Florenski immortalize Lynde's life with an even hand, a fairness that is admirable in a pop-culture biography.

They might, at times, overstate Lynde's contributions to gay culture. Of course, given the sheer number of people who to this day, over 23 years after his death, immediately recognize even the worst Paul Lynde impression, perhaps it is not an overstatement at all.

Judy D. Levendula, LISW, BCD

216.991.3592

clinical social worker

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cell: 216.513.9071

24200 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 352 Beachwood, OH 44122-5533 levenge@earthlink.net

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