Paul Lynde - A Biography

by Cathy Rudolph

This book will let you into the heart and soul of Paul Lynde. Best remembered for outrageous jokes on The Hollywood Squares, as Uncle Arthur from Bewitched, and as the frantic father in Bye Bye Birdie, Paul was never satisfied with his career - or his personal life. But even as he suffered through some of the cruelest of times, Paul continued to make us forget our troubles, and was forever gracious to his fans. This is the book those fans have been waiting for. Though he was one of the most original, hilarious, and private actor-comedians of all time, author Cathy Rudolph, his trusted friend, reveals her adventures with Paul - along with his turbulent life story. Here for the first time are interviews with his relatives, personal notes, and never-before-published photos. Also included are memories from his friends and peers including Cloris Leachman, Chita Rivera, Florence Henderson, Kaye Ballard, Peter Marshall, Les Roberts, Betty White, and many more. (paul lynde halloween special dvd, paul lynde a biography - his life his love s and his laughter, paul lynde a biography - his life his love s and his laughter, paul lynde book, paul lynde dvd, paul lynde halloween special dvd, paul lynde recently released, paul lynde show, Bye Bye Birdie, Bewitched, hollywood romance, hollywood Babylon, hollywood scandals, hollywood stories, hollywood hearts, hollywood wives, hollywood biographies, hollywood hearts series, hollywood sinners, hollywood heat, hollywood and mine, hollywood at war, hollywood actor romance, Hollywood autobiographies, hollywood actors, movies for kindle fire, movies for kindle fire download, movies for kindle for free, movies to download, movies for kindle fire hd, movies on demand, movies free, movies and tv, movies and videos, movies and tv shows for kindle fire, movies amazon prime, movies based on books, movies books, movies dvd, movies download, movies epic, movies for ipad, movies for kindle fire hdx, movies on amazon prime, movies on ipad, movies online, movies on prime, movies on amazon, movies on line, movies streaming, movies to download, movies to download on kindle fire)

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Gay, Media Tie In

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2013

About the author

http://www.amazon.com/Cathy-Rudolph/e...

Reviews

[Stewart Sternberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would be easy to tear this apart, but that wouldn't be fair. This is simply an uncritical love letter written by a fan. She doesn't explore the issues a gay man surely dealt with in the late fifties and early sixties, coming halfway out of a closet at a time when it could still kill his career.

She doesn't really give insight into his neurosis or loneliness, or his chronic depression. Instead she flashes on his life in simple anecdotes and it is really up to the reader to stop and fill in the blanks, to try and understand the underlying subtext the writer clearly missed.

Cathy Rudolph has at least given us something to smile at and help ignite a few memories.

[Mediaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This shallow telling of Lynde's life is a decent basic overview but lacks enough depth to make it a successful biography. The author was basically a kid that was a Lynde fan who he allowed into the later part of his life. The book reads like a fan piece, with the writer constantly telling us not only how great Lynde was but that he was the greatest comedian of all time. While I loved Lynde as a comedic actor, he certainly wasn't anywhere near the greatest comedian, as he himself felt.

There are stories of Lynde's tragedies, arrests, drinking, weight issues, crabbiness, love of his dog, his houses, and very little about his male lovers. Much of the information is pulled from other books. Nothing has enough detail to provide any insight into the star. In some cases there are plenty of basic facts missing from stories. Yet the author is extremely repetitive with the little information she has, so throughout the book you hear some of the same statements about his friends or plays in Ohio or Northwestern background. After awhile I wanted to scream, "Get an editor. You've said that five times already!"

Is the book worth reading? Maybe for $5, but at $20 the 182 pages seem a bit thin. Lynde is worthy of a great biography but this isn't it.

[Amber the vintage girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Intimate portrait of Paul's life. I enjoyed this book. I found it hard to put down. If you are a fan of Paul Lynde or like celebrity biographies this is a must read!

[Bonney Teti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a long time fan with lots of pictures. Reads a bit like a book report and tells of the insecurity and dissatisfaction with Lynde's career and is indeed a sad story. I guess I'd rather be left with my laughs. This was a tough read.

[Kathy Simcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having grown up in Centerburg, Ohio, only about 10 miles south of Mt. Vernon, I wish I had known of him during my childhood; I was only 11 when he died. I'm so glad my high school English teacher and now friend gave me this book to read. The Paul Lynde I read about was a complex, complicated and flawed person - like we all are - and simultaneously one of the most beautiful souls to ever walk this Earth. Like the Greatest Generation he was a part of, he was original and there will never be another one like him. We were blessed to have him as long as we did.

[npaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have given 3.5 if I could. I love Paul Lynde. The start of the book is great & it's so cute to hear how the author meets Uncle Arthur but then she disappeared while his story is told. Granted it's his bio but until the prologue, I had no idea if they remained friends or in contact or what. Also, very little on Bewitched. Overall, interesting read and good insight. Amazing man who still makes me laugh. Nobody like him.

[Chip Carman · Rating 2 out of 5]

My advise. Never buy a biography written by a super fan. Full of boring stories of following Paul Lynde around as he did theater across the country in the 70's. He was such an important comic actor I'd love to see a better written and better researched story.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so entertaining

I watched Paul Lynden on The Hollywood Squares growing up in the 70s and listening to him simply made my sides split, he was so funny. This book simply brought back a LOT of wonderful memories for me.

[Nancy Gilliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read

I loved the book. I started not to buy it when I saw it was written by a fan. Decided to give it a try. Glad I did! It flows so nice I forgot she was a fan. I could not put it down. Thanks for a very good book. Paul was a great man.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a Long Islander, who, as a young fan, met Paul and became a close personal friend - this is her celebration of the Man very few people got the priviledge to know. If you are a fan of Paul Lynde, please read this book - full of wonderful moments and information!

[Debi Emerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good telling of the story of Paul Lynde's life, tho she does a bit of white washing of his personal life and glosses over his childhood. Also, some parts are poorly edited which can be distracting.

[Helen Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice relaxing read, written by a fan so we know it is somewhat biased. Kind of an Autumn read out on the deck kind of book.

[Italo Italophiles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some info in this book is from interviews with friends and family of Mr. Lynde, but most of this book comes from articles written during his lifetime, and a few years after his death.

The author lacks the depth of understanding needed to give a true portrait of Paul Lynde, and a true understanding of his friendship with her. He appears to this observer to have used her as a 'beard' to mask his homosexuality in public. The accounts of their time together made me cringe.

There also seems to be too much restraint at times, and then too much sharing at other moments. There are some editorial/English errors, but not many.

Sadly, so many of the comic actor's friends and family died young. If he and they had lived longer, perhaps he might have found some peace in the openness and acceptance he could have found today in many quarters of public life.

The lack of acceptance of who he was by his family was the saddest part of his story, for me. That they expected him to mask his true self when around them, was horrible and selfish on their part, and damaging to his mental/emotional well-being, his whole life long.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author begins as a 17-year-old girl in Levittown, NY, with a crush on Paul Lynde, TV legend. She finds a contact number which turns out to be the performer's home phone number in LA; she calls him and a friendship ensues. But this is a frame for a standard biography, with pictures, which tends to gloss over some of the rougher spots of the subject's life (though not his alcoholism and its effects on Lynde and those around him), but this can be forgiven; Paul Lynde's contribution to classic sitcom BEWITCHED and the game show HOLLYWOOD SQUARES is not to be underestimated, and as the book shows, there is much much more to Lynde's oeuvre. As a huge Paul Lynde fan, I was drawn to this, and I wasn't disappointed. Cathy Rudolph is no biographer in the league of Blake Bailey (CHEEVER: A LIFE), but she gives a good sense of Lynde the performer and Lynde the person.

[Myk Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can still hear Paul Lynda’s voice in my head when I think about him. He was so unique. I feel melancholy after reading this biography because it’s about a gay actor who made it big in the 60’s and 70’s but wasn’t able to fully be himself. Near the end of his career his sexuality was ‘mostly’ obvious but you still had to read between the lines. I feel like his inability to accept himself lead to his bitterness and alcoholism, which he did finally conquered in the end. He never did find his true love, and that hurts my heart.

[Ian Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A present from a friend to feed an obsession. This was surprising. It starts with the story of the author getting her hands on Lynde's phone number and calling him and asking him to be her prom date. What feels like it could go to so many dark or obsessive places turns into a very sweet, life-long friendship that has granted Rudolph some great access to Lynde. After those highly unusual chapters it drops into a pleasing and insightful biography which touches often on Lynde's frustrations with his pigeon-holed journey in the business. A light read that I enjoyed.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was hoping for more info on paul's life but this book was written from the perspective of a close friend who i felt wanted to leave stuff out or maybe they didnt know enough to include more in depth stuff like relationships he had, how he felt about them, breakups. it was pretty informative about his upbringing and breaking into hollywood and struggles to make it big but i felt there was more to tell that was not included.

[Paul Ditty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author’s love for Lynde come through in this book, but unfortunately it’s filled with inaccuracies (Elizabeth Montgomery did not die in the 1950s, etc) and reads frequently like an extended Wikipedia. That said, I enjoyed the glimpse into this comic’s world and appreciated the more earnest moments told about Lynda’s life.

[Bill Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Lynde, a life

This was a good biography of a very funny man. He knew it was a gift to be funny. Alcohol was a tough battle that he gained victory over in the last years of his life. It had cost him friends, some accolades, and his connection to his university. The story is well told and he is one man who changed the way people viewed game shows. His timing was impeccable.

[JK · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Lawrence Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must book for Paul Lynde Fans A detailed account of the ups and downs of his life by one of his closest friends

[Carol A · Rating 5 out of 5]

well done

I felt like I was with Paul while reading this. The book flowed and was hard to put down. His joy and pain was captured.

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Peter Marshall explained it best when he said, 'Paul was like chocolate mousse; you like a taste of it, but you can't have it for the whole meal.'"

This is a personal telling of the life of Paul Lynde written by a fan who became a friend. The author has done a lot of research into the nitty gritty details of Lynde's work and struggles, but infuses the writing with a clear affection for her subject and lots of direct quotes from Paul's colleagues. It is a pleasant and informative read.