Paying Respects to an Old Favorite

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The last time I was in this general vicinity (east-central Ohio), I stopped by the grave of the great baseball pitcher Cy Young. This time, I went to pay respects to a longtime favorite of mine, Paul Lynde. Paul Lynde was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio on June 13, 1926. He was one of six kids, and humor was the way he, as one of the youngest children, got attention in the large family. Lynde is best remembered for his role as the wisecracking Uncle Arthur on Bewitched, and as the center square on Hollywood Squares, where he made the double entendre an art form. He started with a bang in the play, then the film, Bye Bye Birdie, playing the frustrated father of the girl picked to kiss a music heartthrob on national television in his last appearance on TV before joining the Army. Despite having a number of major appearances in TV and film, Lynde never moved out of the “supporting cast” category to starring role. They tried, but every series he was the lead actor in bombed. (If you’re wondering about the rat on the grave, that’s a reference to a line from one of his series attempts that was used in the commercials: “How goes the rat race, Paul?” “The rats are winning.” ) Lynde had a troubled personal life. He was closeted (as were two other Bewitched actors: “second Darrin” Dick Sargent, and Maurice Evans, who played Samantha’s father, Maurice), even though that was probably one of the worst-kept secrets in Hollywood history. He was an alcoholic, and the word was that he was a nasty drunk. His favorite brother was killed in action in World War II. The day after his body was brought back to Mount Vernon for burial in 1949, Lynde’s father died of a heart attack at the relatively young age of 55. Three months later, his mother died. Lynde’s brother Johnny died at the age of 30 in 1965, the same year Lynde’s friend James Davidson fell to his death from a hotel balcony with Lynde looking on. Paul Lynde died like his father, of a heart attack at the age of 55, on January 10, 1982. He was in his home, once owned by Errol Flynn, when he was stricken. His remains were returned to his hometown, where he was buried in the Lynde family plot in the Amity Cemetery outside of Mount Vernon. I fully credit/blame Paul Lynde for my inability to be serious. I had to stop and thank him. Photo is the grave marker for Paul, his sister Helen, and brother Johnny.