Paul Lynde

Paul Lynde was born in 1926 in Mount Vernon, Ohio, as one of six children, specifically the middle of four boys, to a family with a father who served as a local police officer and sheriff of the Mount Vernon Jail for two years. This unique upbringing had a profound impact on Lynde, as he found his inspiration to become an actor at the tender age of four or five after his mother took him to see the original silent film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). After completing his education at Northwestern University, Lynde relocated to New York City, where his first big break came as a stand-up comedian at the renowned Number One Fifth Avenue nightclub. This led to an appearance on the Broadway show "New Faces of 1952".