Paul Edward Lynde (/lɪnd/; 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 as 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 an important contribution."
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, died in 1944 at the age of 21, in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Five years later in 1949, his parents died within three months of each other.

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