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Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926 – January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well known for his roles as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched, the befuddled father Harry MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie and a regular "center square" panelist on the game show The Hollywood Squares from 1968 to 1981. He also voiced animated characters for five Hanna-Barbera productions. 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 Lynde as being capable of getting laughs by reading "a phone book, tornado alert, or seed catalogue". Lynde once said that, while he would rather be recognized as a serious actor, "we live in a world that needs laughter and I've decided if I can make people laugh, I'm making a more important contribution." Early life Paul Lynde was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, the son of Sylvia Bell Lynde (née Doup) and Hoy Corydon Lynde, who owned and operated a meat market. Fifth-born among six siblings, Lynde had older sisters, Grace and Helen, older brothers, Richard Hoy and Coradon ("Cordy") George and younger brother, John ("Johnny"). His favorite brother, Coradon, was killed in action in 1944 at the age of 21, in World War II. Five years later in 1949, his parents died within three months of each other. Lynde graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1944, where he played the bass drum in the high school band. He 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. At Northwestern, he was active in the school's theatrical productions, and joined the Upsilon chapter of the fraternity Phi Kappa Sigma. He is listed among its most famous members. He graduated in 1948. Career After graduating from college, Lynde moved to New York City, taking odd jobs while looking for his show business break. His first appearance as a comic was at the famed supper club Number One Fifth Avenue. He 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. In his monolog from that revue, the "Trip of the Month Club", Lynde portrayed a man on crutches recounting his misadventures on the African safari trip he took with his late wife. The show was filmed and released as New Faces in 1954. After the revue's run, Lynde co-starred in the short-lived 1956 sitcom Stanley opposite Buddy Hackett and Carol Burnett, both of whom were also starting their careers in show business. That year, he guest-starred on NBC's sitcom The Martha Raye Show. Lynde returned to Broadway in 1960 when he was cast as Harry MacAfee, the father in Bye Bye Birdie. He also played the role in the 1963 film adaptation. That year, he recorded a live album, Recently Released, issued as an LP. He wrote all six tracks. Once he could afford writers, he rarely used his own material until his tenure on The Hollywood Squares years later. Lynde was in great demand in the 1960s. During the 1961–62 television season he was a regular on NBC's The Perry Como Show as part of the Kraft Music Hall players with Don Adams, Kaye Ballard, and Sandy Stewart. He 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 on variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Dean Martin Show. He also was featured in several 1960s films, including Send Me No Flowers and The Glass Bottom Boat, both starring Doris Day. Lynde is widely known for his sitcom role on Bewitched. Bewitched In 1965, Lynde made his debut appearance on Bewitched during the first-season episode "Driving is the Only Way to Fly" (air date March 25, 1965). His role as mortal Harold Harold, Samantha Stephens' nervous driving instructor, was well received by viewers. Lynde also impressed series star Elizabeth Montgomery and her husband, director/producer William Asher, who created a recurring role for Lynde as Endora's practical-joking brother Uncle Arthur. Lynde made ten appearances on Bewitched as the beloved character, the first being "The Joker is a Card" (air date October 14, 1965). His final appearance in the sitcom was in "The House That Uncle Arthur Built" (February 11, 1971) in the series' seventh season. Paul Lynde, Elizabeth Montgomery, and William Asher became good friends and were regularly seen together off the set. Television pilots Lynde starred in four failed television pilots in the 1960s: Howie (1962, CBS) Two's Company (1965, ABC) Sedgewick Hawk-Styles: Prince of Danger (1966, ABC) Manley and the Mob (1967, ABC) Of the four shows, only the Victorian detective spoof Sedgewick Hawk-Styles: Prince of Danger was initially picked up by ABC, only to be canceled at the last minute. William Asher commented in the A&E Biography episode on Lynde that ABC had reservations about Lynde, most notably his increasingly erratic offscreen behavior and the persistent rumors of his homosexuality. The Hollywood Squares In 1966, Lynde debuted on the fledgling game show The Hollywood Squares and quickly became its iconic guest star. Eventually, he assumed a permanent spot as the "center square", a move that ensured that he would be called upon by contestants at least once in almost every round. Despite an urban legend claiming Lynde's contract guaranteed him the center square, he remained in the center at the producers' discretion. On The Hollywood Squares, Lynde was best able to showcase his comedic talents with short, salty one-liners, spoken in his signature snickering delivery. Many gags were thinly-veiled allusions to his homosexuality. Other jokes relied on double entendre, an alleged fondness for deviant behaviors, or dealt with touchy subject matter for 1970s television. Appearing in 1083 episodes, Lynde garnered considerable fame and wealth from the series. He eventually became disenchanted with being what he called "boxed in" to The Hollywood Squares and he departed the series in 1979. In 1980, The Hollywood Squares experienced a downward trend in Nielsen ratings and Lynde was approached about returning to the program. He initially declined but changed his mind when told he would receive co-star billing with host Peter Marshall. He returned to the series in the spring of 1980 and remained with the show until its cancellation in February 1981. Voice acting Between 1969 and 1974, Lynde did extensive voice work on animated cartoons, particularly for Hanna-Barbera Productions. His most notable roles include: Templeton, the gluttonous rat in the 1973 animated feature Charlotte's Web; Mildew Wolf, from It's the Wolf! (a segment of Cattanooga.... Discover the Francis Lynde Author popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Francis Lynde Author books.