Comedy wrg pneer Bce Vilanch is burstg wh gayns. One of the first openly gay edians, he's known for his ntug role on Hollywood Squar and as a head wrer for the Amy Awards show, as well as wrg jok for Bette Midler, Elizabeth Taylor, The Brady Bunch, Donnie and...
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GAY HISTORY: PL LYN 1926–1982
The star of Hollywood Squar ma a bchy, mp sensibily mastream — and spired a generatn of gay performers. But he paid a high price for beg different. The fascatg story and plex legacy of a troubled ic geni. * hollywood squares gay comedian *
| Photo: Getty ImagPAUL LYNDE WAS GAYLyn was a picture-perfect image of a edic geni on mera, but much of his personal life was shroud mystery. One of such securi was his was gay at a time when was owned upon and wily unaccepted. He feared that if his fans knew he was gay, would end his reer.
He land gay rol, and beg gay real life ma even easier for the in to give an outstandg performance. | Photo: Getty ImagPAUL LYNDE ON "BEWITCHED" AND "HOLLYWOOD SQUARES"One of his gay rol was the 1960s classic ABC s, "Bewched.
" In the seri, Lyn acted as Uncle Arthur — a gay man and uncle of the wch Samantha. Not long after, the edian land another gay role which was arguably the highlight of his had tried to save his iend when he lost his grip by sperately grabbg his arm but uld not hold Lyn appearg the Walt Disney Televisn TV seri 'The Pl Lyn Show' cir 1972.
COMEDIAN BCE VILANCH ON BEG MORE THAN A GAY RITURE
Some clud playg gay rol, which the actor quickly turned down out of Lyn appearg the Walt Disney Televisn TV seri 'The Pl Lyn Show' cir 1972.
Throughout his reer, Lyn’s humor was built on mp and a flamboyant persona; durg Hollywood Squar, his jok were often thly veiled referenc to his own homosexualy. But although he ma subversive gay humor palatable for Amerin hom, he never actually me out, except to close iends. Dpe the entertament dtry beg hred for years portrayg explicly homosexual characters, those “ the know” were well aware of how this rtrictn was subverted by the very prence of certa actors and celebri whose outrageo, cidly “unmanly” personas uld be terpreted as vertly gay.
Fellow gays cherished Lyn for hong to perfectn what uld only be scribed as “the bchy queen, ” lobbg a wherg retort at straight-laced Ameri, who lghed as well at what they perceived to be nothg more than a “quirky” edian, sce there was no thought of stg Lyn rol that were liberately gay. Posned the “center square, ” he beme the go-to favore among the celebry guts, beg fed qutns that ensured a tart, often surprisgly risqué reply, some of his answers clearly suggtg a d, mpy gay sensibily: i. To most of Ameri he was jt a “smart ass” who talked kd of funny, but to the gay muny his unapologetic, sldg manner was somethg to which they rpond, perhaps terpretg the Lyn w as a fense mechanism agast an tolerant world.