Paul Edward Lynde (/lɪnd/; June 13, 1926 – January 10, 1982)[1][2] 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.

Lynde regularly topped audience polls of most-liked TV stars,[3] 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".

[6] 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.

After graduating from college, Lynde moved to New York City, taking odd jobs while looking for his show business break.

[6][8] 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.

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.

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 also was featured in several 1960s films, including Send Me No Flowers and The Glass Bottom Boat, both starring Doris Day.

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).

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.

[4] Lynde starred in four failed television pilots in the 1960s: 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.

In 1966, Lynde debuted on the fledgling game show The Hollywood Squares and quickly became its iconic guest star.

On The Hollywood Squares, Lynde was best able to showcase his comedic talents with short, salty one-liners, spoken in his signature snickering delivery.

Other jokes relied on double entendre, an alleged fondness for deviant behaviors, or dealt with touchy subject matter for 1970s television.

In 1980, The Hollywood Squares experienced a downward trend in Nielsen ratings and Lynde was approached about returning to the program.

His most notable roles include: Lynde's sardonic inflections added a dimension to such lines as the sly, drawn-out whine, "What's in it for meeee?"

Critics considered the show to be derivative of All in the Family, television's then most-popular primetime program, although many admitted the writing was excellent and that the sexual innuendoes gave it an extra note of spice.

ABC later decided to resuscitate the program, with additional cast changes (most notably, Alice Ghostley, who replaced Sudie Bond in the role of Lynde's sister, Edwina).

[25] Acting jobs continued to be scarce for Lynde, although it is unclear whether or not this was related to his alcoholism, which made him difficult to work with.

In 1978, he appeared as a guest weatherman for WSPD-TV in Toledo, Ohio, to publicize both The Hollywood Squares and a summer stock performance.

According to an essay on the website for The Biography Channel, in the 1970s, entertainment journalists did not investigate the private lives of performers who were best known as game show regulars.

Lynde struggled with alcoholism and had numerous run-ins with the law, including frequent arrests for public intoxication.

[35][36] In October 1977, Lynde was involved in an incident at his alma mater, Northwestern University, when he was the Grand Marshal for homecoming.

At a fast food restaurant near the campus after the homecoming parade, he made racist remarks and gestures to black NU professor James P.

[38] In January 1978, while in Salt Lake City to record a segment for the TV variety show Donny & Marie, Lynde was arrested outside a tavern and charged with interfering with a police officer.

Authors Steve Wilson and Joe Florenski described Lynde as "Liberace without a piano" and that to most 1970s-era viewers, he was "a frustrated bit player and character actor on a daytime game show".