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Paul Edward Lynde (June 13, 1926 – January 10, 1982) was an American comedian and actor, best known for occupying the center square on ''Series/TheHollywoodSquares''. He also appeared on numerous TV sitcoms (most notably in the recurring role of Samantha's mischievous Uncle Arthur on ''Series/{{Bewitched}}''), did some animation voice work, and was a recurring guest on the ''Series/DonnyAndMarie'' variety show.

With a CampGay persona (despite never publicly coming out during his lifetime, he pretty much occupied a TransparentCloset)[[note]]The closest he came to outing himself was when he snidely quipped, in response to a query from a fan on the question of when he would finally settle down with a nice girl, "Have you been living in a ''cave''?" -- it was also an OpenSecret that Lynde spent a number of years in a relationship with hairstylist Stan Finesmith, and was more than likely lovers with fellow actor Bing Davidson until Davidson's tragic death in a fall from a hotel balcony (right in front of Lynde's eyes, no less) in 1965.[[/note]], Lynde was also a rather LargeHam.

Lynde's distinctive vocal affect (nasal, halting, and sing-songy) lended itself very well to a side career in voice acting, and has often been imitated in many productions after his death, including Creator/SethMacFarlane's portrayal of Roger the Alien on ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Creator/JeffBennett's portrayal of Peppermint Larry on ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'', and Creator/JohnStephenson's portrayal of Wilford Wolf on ''WesternAnimation/TheKwickyKoalaShow''. Creator/SteveCarell portrayed "the spirit of Uncle Arthur" in a fantasy sequence in the film remake of ''Bewitched'', performing a spot-on Lynde imitation often regarded as one of the highlights of the film.

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!!Works with articles on this wiki
* ''Film/SonOfFlubber'' (as The Sportscaster)
* ''Film/BeachBlanketBingo'' (as Bullets)
* ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'' (recurring, as Uncle Arthur)
* ''Theatre/ByeByeBirdie'' (as Harry [=MacAfee=]; he originated the role on Broadway and also appeared in the film adaptation)
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCattanoogaCats'' (as the voice of Mildew Wolf in the segment ''It's the Wolf''; he was [[UncreditedRole uncredited]])
* ''WesternAnimation/CharlottesWeb'' (1973) (as the voice of the rat Templeton)
* ''Series/TheDatingGame'' (as himself)
* ''Series/DonnyAndMarie'' (as himself)
* ''Series/TheHollywoodSquares'' (as himself, most often occupying the center square)
* ''Series/TheMunsters'' (recurring, as nearsighted physician Dr. Dudley; except for a Season 2 episode in which the character was portrayed by Creator/DomDeluise)
* ''Series/ThePaulLyndeHalloweenSpecial'' (as, unsurprisingly, himself)
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop'' (as the voice of Sylvester Sneekly a.k.a. The Hooded Claw; he was [[UncreditedRole uncredited]])
* ''Film/TheVillain'' (as Nervous Elk)
* ''WesternAnimation/WheresHuddles'' (as the voice of neighbor Claude Pertwee)

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* BigFun: How Lynde discovered his talent for comedy. After having mononucleosis, his weight ballooned to 250 pounds as a teen. When other teens began to make fun of him, he used humor to make them laugh ''with'' him instead of ''at'' him. Despite this, however, Lynde hated being overweight and as an adult, he was extremely self-conscious about it.