The Paul Lynde Show

It's supposed to be about a harried lawyer with a wife and kids but with Lynde it's actually about a campy gay man with a wife and kids. A full season was probably fifteen episodes too long.

I believe my mom summed up "The Paul Lynde Show" accurately, after watching an episode or two. "He's really funny in short segments," she said, "but 30 minutes of him at a time is just too much."

Apparently Mom wasn't the only one who felt that way. Still, the series had one great trailer moment. Paul walks from his car, toward the door of the house, and someone (Howie, the son-in-law, I believe) cries out "How goes the rat race?" Lynde, in his patented style, gives a grimacing smile and replies "The rats are winning!" (Incidentally, has anyone ever tried to DESCRIBE Paul Lynde to someone who has never seen him on TV? Unless one can actually imitate his voice & mannerisms, it isn't easy!)

The plot, of course, was Paul being frustrated by his over-educated, unambitious, freeloading son-in-law. (Sound like any other 1970s sit-coms?) Lynde and the crew gave it a good whirl and the show wasn't bad at all. It was just as Mom said -- in snippets on Bewitched, Hollywood Squares, guest appearances on The Munsters and numerous sit-coms, or in his classic performance in Bye, Bye Birdie, Paul Lynde earned his reputation as one of the funniest comics of the 1960s and 1970s. But, like the Brylcream ad of the day, "A little dab'll do ya!"

I have only seen the premiere episode of THE PAUL LYNDE SHOW. Perhaps there were better episodes. If the premiere episode is any indication, however, it seems that Lynde's talents were misused.

Lynde had successfully played an uptight father griping about the younger generation in the Broadway and Hollywood versions of BYE BYE BIRDIE, so it's easy to understand why producer William Asher believed Lynde would triumph in this role on television. But his manic persona which was appropriate for the larger than life stage and film mediums comes off too strong in the intimate television medium. Another liability is Lynde's lack of chemistry with the other actors who play his wife and children. He acts in a campy farcical manner while they act in a restrained realistic style. Lynde never connects with them as a husband or father, merely treating them as straight people. If this was always the case on every episode, it's no wonder THE PAUL LYNDE SHOW only lasted one year.

The most successful televison sitcom fathers have down-to-earth Everyman qualities. Think of Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker, Tom Bosley's Howard Cunningham and even Ed O'Neill's Al Bundy. Paul Lynde became famous because he was memorably fey and iconoclastic. He could never credibly head a typical sitcom family.

For years,Paul Lynde was one of the biggest stars of Broadway,films and television. His style of comedy was sharp and witty and often times downright hilarious to boot. Lynde had successfully played an uptight father griping about the younger generation in the Broadway and Hollywood versions of the musical "Bye,Bye,Birdie". It was also his guest appearances on several sitcoms including "The Munsters", "The Dick Van Dyke Show","I Dream Of Jeannie","F-Troop",earned his reputation as one of the funniest comedians of the 1960's and 1970's. But his greatest fame was about to come,playing the uncanny Uncle Arthur opposite Elizabeth Montgomery in "Bewitched",which lasted several seasons. Not to mention his regular guest spots of several shows as well including "The Hollywood Squares",and not to mention the talk show-circuit as well with included "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson","The Mike Douglas Show","The Merv Griffin Show",and not to mention "The Dick Cavett Show". And was also the voice-over for several animated cartoon characters for Hanna-Barbera,including Templeton for the animated feature,"Charlotte's Web".

But it wasn't until September of 1972,when producers William Asher and Harry Ackerman(the team behind the array of the Screen Gems-Columbia Pictures Television Shows which produced "Bewitched",& "The Flying Nun")gave Paul Lynde has own weekly situation comedy show which lasted one season and produced 26 episodes for ABC-TV ending its run in May of 1973. The show was created by Ron Bobrick and Sam Clark,in which William Asher served as executive producer of this series along with Harry Ackerman. Paul Lynde plays Paul Simms,who is a respectable attorney living with his wife(Elizabeth Allen),and his two daughters (the oldest-Jane Actman,and the youngest-Pamelyn Ferdin). And judging for the format of this series,its no wonder THE PAUL LYNDE SHOW lasted only one season. For one,Lynde was all wrong here for this show,since some of the talent that he had was completely zapped from this show since Asher believe him would triumph on television,but it was all wrong from the get-go. The chemistry between him and the other actors was never connected,basically treating them like they were people of other stuffs,and it was the case in just about every episode of the series. Lynde became famous because he was just that--fey and iconoclastic which by the way could never head a typical family oriented sitcom.

I missed this show during its run and while that was no great loss, the reruns are allowing me to actually see it. The format is standard for that time period, the anxious, put-upon father and lawyer who gets no peace at home. Lynde's snide, prissy, nasal delivery never grated on me the way it does on others. He was much funnier in his Munster episodes than on this show but then The Munsters had better writers. Paul Simms' conversations with his still attractive wife (Elizabeth Allen 43 at the time) seem to indicate that their marital relations are fading as they raise their younger daughter (Pamela Ferdin (13 at the time) who's a handful as she enters her early teens. The nubile older daughter (the late Jane Actman, 23 at the time) is married to a beach-boy style genius (John Calvin) who has little ambition. One episode "Whose Lib?" put a different spin on Simms personality when his excited attempt to hire a flirtatious, busty secretary (Barbara Rhoades) fails to his frustration when his son-in-law gets hired instead. To its credit, the show hired a slew of great, familiar TV faces like Rhoades and some social issues are tackled, in a ridiculous way. In "Pollution Solution," the running gag if you can call it that is a smarmy Paul trying to physically restrain over-enthusiastic pollution protester bikini-clad Ronda Copland, a friend of his daughter. There's lot of groping as Ronda struggles to break free from his arms. There are other episodes in which Paul is either flirting or holding younger, sexy women in front of his wife at home or in the office. His kind of veiled, grinning lechery was a big departure from the traditional TV dad stereotype in countless other sit-coms.

On her Facebook page, Pamela Ferdin wrote, "Paul Lynde could be wildly funny, but didn't like kids much and was very serious. He also had a short temper, so it wasn't a fun show for me to work on and it only lasted a year and then it was cut from the air because of low ratings." She had a better relationship with Tony Randall during her time on The Odd Couple.

I don't know if Lynde ever played Felix Unger of The Odd Couple on-stage. He would have excelled in that role.