Hollywood Squares
“Just Thinking”
On this day in 1983, M*A*S*H aired its final episode after 11 seasons, featuring a special finale watched by 77% of the television audience. This was the largest audience share ever for a single TV show.
I think that M.A.S.H. would be a great article by itself, with 11 seasons of material to choose from, I could also include references to the classic movie starring Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland. We are, however, going in a different direction. I got to thinking, once again, about television shows that we watched growing up, on one of the 3 networks, on our one TV with the entire family. Hollywood Squares was one of the shows that was often watched on our family’s television. I remember Mom and Dad cracking up and us not getting most of the jokes.
Peter Marshall was the long-time host and straight man who would pitch the set-up lines to the squares. The squares were famous actors, but I didn’t know many of them for anything other than Hollywood Squares; Charley Weaver, Rose Marie, I knew her from The Dick Van Dyke Show, George Gobel, Wally Cox, Joan Rivers, Buddy Hackett, Vincent Price, scary, the King of the Horror film, Karen Valentine, the hottie teacher from Room 222 and Marty Allen. Sometimes we would get Burt Reynolds, Tony Randal, Richard Dawson or Betty White.
One of the stars that I couldn’t figure out but was funny as heck was Phyllis Diller, her distinctive laugh, her long cigarette holder, flamboyant style, and sharp wit made her a constant crack up.
The most popular and consistent Hollywood Square was Paul Lynde, the undisputed King of the Center Square. Paul Lynde was the funniest guy on the show, he was known for his snarky humor, flamboyant persona, and comedic timing. I couldn’t find out anything about his sexuality, but his flamboyant mannerisms made him an early icon for the gay community. I was aware of Paul Lynde because of his recuring roll as Uncle Arthur the mischievous warlock on Bewitched.
Here are some of his most famous zingers:
Host: Paul, what is a good reason for pounding meat?
Paul Lynde: Loneliness!
Host: Why do Hell’s Angels wear leather?
Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily!
Host: Paul, in "Alice in Wonderland," who kept crying, "I'm late, I'm late?"
Paul Lynde: Alice’s OB-GYN!
Host: Paul, according to the old song, "A whistle is just a whistle, but a sigh is..."
Paul Lynde: Just an undercover moan!
Host: In the Bible, who was found in the bulrushes?
Paul Lynde: I don’t know, but I bet it was an embarrassing moment!
Host: Paul, how many men are on a hockey team?
Paul Lynde: About half!
Just some good memories of days gone by.
Let me know what you think.
@ChuckBarberini - #ChuckBarberiniRealEstate - @ChuckBarberiniRealEstate
Comments
Post a Comment