New Faces

Steven Suskin, who writes regularly for Playbill and provided a bit of guidance for the book, has posted some comments about New Faces, the film version of Paul's first Broadway success. Always a good read.

Basil Cross

I received word today that Basil Cross, a long-time friend of Paul Lynde, has passed away.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Cross in 2000 when the two of us travelled separately to Mount Vernon, Ohio, to take part in the A&E Biography about Paul. I was able to talk to him briefly in the lobby of the hotel in which the tapings were done, and he graciously allowed me upstairs to watch his interview be taped. (Both of us were videotaped in the same room, but it was rearranged to suggest different locations.)

Cross's stories about Paul's college years were great, and I made sure we interviewed him ourselves when we started the book. I'm grateful that he agreed and that he was as gracious then as before. Paul Lynde certainly was lucky to know him.

Pruitts of Southampton

For some reason, a lot of TV encyclopedias state that Paul was a cast member of The Pruitts of Southampton, a Phyllis Diller sitcom that aired on ABC during the 1966/67 season. In fact, he only appeared on one episode, as Diller's brother Harvey. An ill-prepared interviewer for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences asks Phyllis about the show and her co-stars here (around 3:00). I think she's shaking her head not because she doesn't want to talk about Paul but because he wasn't a regular on the show. When we talked to her for the book, she said she didn't even remember him showing up as a guest.

Albert & Rosie, Together Again

Here's some exciting Birdie-related news. Dick Van Dyke is going to appear with Chita Rivera for a couple of performances of her Broadway show.

Simon Says

Although it's not the gist of his article, Simon Doonan of the New York Observer makes an interesting point about Paul's role as a trailblazer of sorts in what I assume is a regular column of his called Simon Says:

Every time I turn on Logo (the gay channel), I find myself confronted with a discussion program featuring the same group of hard-done-by homosexualists, all complaining about the same issue. The cause of their suffering? Gay bashing? The Christian right? No, these inverts are focused on something far more gruesome: their homo-media invisibility, i.e., the dearth of gay character depictions on TV during the latter part of the last century. Unlike the fabulously privileged straight folk of the world, or so goes the argument, we gays were deprived of the unspecified benefits of "seeing ourselves" represented on TV during our formative years.

Putting aside the fact that this line of thinking is rather insulting to all the poofs and dykes who worked their asses off on TV during the offending period (Paul Lynde, Rip Taylor, Charles Nelson Reilly, Alan Sues, JM J. Bullock, Nancy Kulp, to name almost all of them), I cannot shake the feeling that these well-meaning folk are scraping the barrel in search of victimhood.

The Quintessential Querulous Queer Man

I'm spending the day filing some of the research about Paul that I've collected over the past couple of months.

Last year, Ken Tucker, an Entertainment Weekly critic, published Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy, a book of essays about the pop culture he loves and hates. Thankfully, he loves Paul:

Go on the Internet, and you'll find stories about Lynde being fired from Squares for drinking on the job - ye gods, who wouldn't need more than a few belts to work with personalities like Abby Dalton and David Brenner? - and letting loose sodden tirades at the host and audience during tapings. Give the guy a break. Lynde was an endlessly amusing, intelligent man whose sexual persona limited his choices in show biz in a way that's tragic and criminal... He was queer before queer was cool.

I agree, except maybe the part about Abby Dalton.

Lou Rawls, 1935-2006 *

Lou Rawls passed away today. In 1969, he worked with Paul Lynde on the summer replacement series called Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers, frequently teaming with Paul in a running sketch about the Lone Ranger and Tonto, although they weren't allowed to call themselves that. Paul would call Lou an "Indian person"; Lou would often respond, "Yes, my cowboy friend." Obviously, Rawls did far more important things, both as an artist and philanthropist, but as a Lynde fanatic, I've always loved the fact that their career paths crossed, however briefly.

* or maybe 1933. Sources can't seem to agree...

Horn Tooting

Just came across a rather nice review from the Midwest Book Review:

Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story is the true biography of Paul Lynde, well-known for his three decades of appearances as a character actor on TV, film, and stage. A popular actor known for his portrayal of a gay persona long before Ellen, Rosie, or "Will & Grace", Lynde dared to sneak doses of slanted wit into American living rooms during a noticeably more straight-laced era than today. In addition to Lynde's boisterous professional life, Center Square offers a glimpse into Lynde's tumultuous personal life, including his struggles with alcohol, his ever-changing love affairs, and his notoriously explosive temper. For all his flash, wealth, triumphs, and weaknesses, Lynde stayed true to himself - certainly a feat in Hollywood. Enthralling from first page to last.