A fan once set up a museum full of Paul Lynde memorabilia in his home town on Mount Vernon, Ohio
Attended Northwestern University (Evanston, IL).
Explained his lifelong bachelorhood to fans (in the days before "coming out") by telling them his high-school sweetheart had broken his heart, and he was still too hurt to give other women a chance.
He had a weight problem that he fought to control his entire life.
His classmates at Northwestern University included Cloris Leachman, Charlotte Rae, Jeffrey Hunter, Claude Akins, Martha Hyer, Patricia Neal, and Agnes Nixon.
His father's name was Hoy Lynde, and his mother's name was Sylvia Bell. He had three brothers: Richard, Cord, and John.
His older brother Cordon died in World War II.
Holds a unique place in show business history - he actually got to sing on "The Ed Sullivan Show" the song he performed nightly in the Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie" about the excitement of appearing on the iconic "Ed Sullivan Show".
In "Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story," biographers Steve Wilson and Joe Florenski lay to rest rumors that there was something suspicious about Lynde's death at the age of 55. Dismissing such rumors that the comedian was murdered by a hustler who robbed Lynde's house and left him dead and naked, the authors say that Lynde did die of a heart attack, as the coroner's report contended he did. Lynde expired at almost the same age as his father, who also died from a heart attack. The authors express surprise that Lynde didn't have a heart attack sooner, what with his transgressive lifestyle. Lynde was heavily into alcohol and also used drugs. He claimed to have quit these habits cold-turkey not long before his death, having been transformed by a personal event that he never revealed.
Long-time "center square" and court jester in residence on the original "The Hollywood Squares" (1965), Paul Lynde's quips on that show are still quoted, and laughed at, to this day.
Lynde and long-term companion, Bing Davidson were staying at the Drake hotel in San Francisco, California on July 17, 1965. The two went out the next day for a good time and got very drunk. Davidson decided to show Lynde a trick and dangled off the hotel balcony by his fingers. He was slipping and Paul desperately tried to help him in, but Davidson fell to his death. They are buried next to each other in Amity Cemetery in Ohio.
Lynde left "The Hollywood Squares" (1965) in 1979, in a dispute over his salary. When tabloids ran stories claiming he had been fired for his drinking as well as on-set problems, he sued them for libel, seeking $10 million in damages.
Portrayed Mr. MacAfee in the original Broadway stage version of "Bye Bye Birdie" which opened April 14, 1960 and ran for 607 performances. He reprised the role in the film Bye Bye Birdie (1963).
Posthumously "outed" by Boze Hadleigh, who has written extensively about previously closeted Hollywood actors/actresses.
The coroner who examined his body said he had the heart of an 88-year-old man.
The sign proclaiming Mount Vernon, Ohio, as the birthplace of Paul Lynde was recently changed to read: "Home of Daniel Decatur Emmett, Author of [the song] 'Dixie.'"
Told his agent shortly before his death that he had given up cigarettes and alcohol.
Was an accomplished cook.
When he first went to New York, he lived in an apartment building that housed many other struggling actors. The building had communal kitchens, kitchens shared by all the tenants of a floor. One of the other actors in the building claimed that Lynde used to steal his food from the refrigerator. That actor was a young Marlon Brando.