Because he thought of himself as an afterthought, even though he had Hollywood Squares, he was funny, made money and was famous.
But one has to ask, why? Why didn’t the culture, society, the industry, bolster him the way that it bolstered Woody Allen, or Mel Brooks? He did have demons, and the final thing I’ll say is that when people look back at Paul Lynde, and friends of his like Bruce Vilanch have told me this, if Paul Lynde was around to hear that people were still talking about him, he would be floored, shocked. He’s a complicated person, who didn’t always believe in himself, as much as he should have. (L-R) “Bye Bye Birdie” cast members Paul Lynde, Gretchen Wyler, Kay Medford and Gene Rayburn celebrate the musical’s one-year run in 1961 AP Images It’s more complicated than that, and I like that it’s more complicated than that, because again, he’s not just a symbol. He wasn’t a Mel Brooks, or Woody Allen, or one of these guys who were also very unconventional comedy stars, who may not have had the career that they had if they didn’t sit down and write it for themselves. After The Paul Lynde Show failed, he was always waiting around, wanting someone to write him a great vehicle. Now he’s a complicated guy, so some of it was his own doing. It was more the general sense that, how could he be the star of this show, this real mainstream hit, in Hollywood Squares, where everyone’s saying he’s hilarious, waiting on the edge of their seats to see what he has to say, but that could be the extent of his opportunity? It’s hard to imagine that, had he been straight, and not as flamboyant, that he wouldn’t have had such limited options. He was offered, apparently, some gay roles, coming off of Hollywood Squares, that he didn’t want to take. So, he was hypocritical, himself, in certain ways. We’re not seen as fully complex people, emotionally complicated, and as messy as anyone else. He could be a real asshole, and again, one of the reasons I think it’s a compelling story is because when we are presented with these biopics about gay people, we’re often seen as martyrs, victims. He had terrible substance abuse problems. He’s a complicated guy, he’s not a martyr or an angel. I just think it was a general sense of, you don’t have access to those types of roles. I think it lasted one season, premiered to decent numbers, and then fell off pretty quickly, and wasn’t picked up. He got his own sitcom, The Paul Lynde Show, and they made him this straight, suburban dad. Before Hollywood Squares, coming off of Bewitched, where he played Uncle Arthur, which was kind of another wink wink gay character, he was beloved. It made him a very famous, wealthy person.ĭEADLINE: Were there roles he coveted but had no chance getting, and what toll did it take on him?ĮICHNER: Well, here’s the thing. Hollywood Squares was a huge hit, always in the top 10 or 20 shows, for over a decade. That wasn’t some underground, indie film being shot in New York it was as mainstream as you can get. It’s not even subtle, and rather bold for the time. He’s making thinly veiled, at best, references to gay sex, to finding men attractive, to swinging both ways. I think that was very admirable, for the time, and also, if you look at those jokes on Hollywood Squares, he comes as close to admitting he’s gay as you possibly can. You didn’t see him getting set up on dates with women, or having phony relationships with women, to try to present to the world as a straight man. Unlike Rock Hudson, and Tab Hunter, and Cary Grant, and all these other actors, he wasn’t pretending to be straight. But he was as out as you could be, at that time, in that he was clearly leaning into a flamboyant persona. Even though I was always very out, Paul was never technically out.
#STRAIGHT MEN ACTORS OR GAY MEN TUBE MOVIE#
He had so many powerful thoughts on why the story of Lynde and his frustrations reflect what gay actors still feel in Hollywood that I thought it best to just run the whole interview.ĭEADLINE: Paul Lynde was a very funny actor, but what about him made this worth movie treatment for you?ĮICHNER: There’s some overlap, between Paul and I, in that we both had our breakthrough in the industry, as performers, presenting a rather larger-than-life, flamboyant, gay persona on screen.
#STRAIGHT MEN ACTORS OR GAY MEN TUBE SERIES#
New Regency Television Re-Configures 'Rub & Tug' Into Series Our Lady J To Write Pilot & Pittsburgh Massage Parlor Owner Tex Gill Will Be Played By Trans ActorĮichner’s versatility can be seen in everything from hosting Billy on the Street to voicing Timon in The Lion King to playing Matt Drudge in the upcoming American Crime Story, and he has written with Judd Apatow a star vehicle for himself with Nick Stoller directing at Universal.