Mr. Center Square: Paul Lynde's Strange Celebrity Story

1972: Paul Lynde appearing in the Walt Disney Television via Getty Images tv series 'The Paul Lynde Show'. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

Television in the 1960s and ‘70s wouldn’t be the same without Paul Lynde, the beloved, sassy comic actor who was best known for his work as the center square on Hollywood Squares and Uncle Arthur on Bewitched. But what exactly did Paul Lynde do? Aside from being a the leading sarcastic voice of the airwaves, Lynde carved out a space for himself as the least-convincingly closeted gay man in television. Lynde wasn’t a great actor, but he was so funny that he created his own source of gravity, figuratively speaking. He was a camp icon and someone who knew how to make everyone laugh whether they were in on the joke or not.