Free Paul Lynde - A Biography by Cathy Rudolph Page B

his fear of forgetting his lines or walking on stage and not getting laughs. Reluctantly, he touched on the significant people he loved and lost to early deaths: his brother and both his parents. He talked of Marilyn, who had married another man.
    He had no love life and wanted the passion he had seen in his favorite movie, Wuthering Heights. He longed to feel how Heathcliff felt for Cathy. The way he felt she belonged to him, referring to her as “My Cathy.” Paul told Ohio Magazine that he became inconsolable every time he watched it. He also related to Heathcliff’s dark side that emerged after he lost the love of his life. Heathcliff had become cruel and mean, the way Paul could become with the effects from alcohol.
    Paul was not very comfortable talking about himself. “An actor should never undergo psychoanalysis,” he later told People Magazine. “The mystery of not knowing why is important to an actor, and should be kept that way.” He told Sylvia that he didn’t seem to have time to take care of his dogs, Orville and Wilbur, the way they should be. She suggested he give them away, which he did, with a heavy heart.
    After months of sessions, the two discussed how his weight was part of the problem. It was crushing his self-esteem and limiting his career. Paul was determined to change all that. He paid the three dollar fee for the session and headed out. He liked Sylvia and did not want to disappoint her, so he skipped dinner that night, continued to eat less, and began to lose weight. Later that year, he was in a car accident and lost more weight. When he recovered, he continued to ferociously diet, practically starving himself, and he began to exercise. In less than two years, he would drop one hundred pounds.
    Paul was in his apartment when his phone rang, with what he thought was good news for a change. He was told that Gower Champion had seen him perform, and he wanted him for a part in a new musical. Paul did not know who he was, but was excited for an acting job and agreed to read the script. Edward Padula was producing the new show called Bye Bye Birdie. It was based on the book Let’s Go Steady by Michael Stewart, who also wrote the script for the play. It was the story of a sexy rock star, mirroring Elvis Presley, named Conrad Birdie. Like Elvis, this idol was being drafted into the army. One lucky girl was to be chosen from his fan club for that one last kiss, to represent all his fans. Albert Peterson was his manager and Rose was Albert’s secretary and girlfriend. The rock star would sing, One Last Kiss, to that teenage fan on a staged Ed Sullivan Show.
    The musical had over a dozen songs and dance numbers. Charles Strouse composed the music and Lee Adams wrote the lyrics. Champion Gower was both director and choreographer. Dick Van Dyke, who had just finished in his first Broadway appearance, The Girls Against The Boys, auditioned for the lead role of Albert, singing Til There Was You, and then he performed with a few dance steps. When he finished, Gower told him he got the part. Charles Nelson Reilly, who played Mr. Henkel in the show, later became Dick’s understudy and filled in when he took vacations. (Later Peter Marshall would play the part of Albert.)
    The script was sent to both Eydie Gorme and Carol Hanley — to play Rosie, the female lead — but they both turned it down. Chita Rivera arrived, considering the part. She had become a star with her performance as Anita in West Side Story. According to Chita, after she read the script, she didn’t think it was so good. “Kids and telephones, who would relate. I wasn’t an Elvis Presley fan.” Then Chita sat and watched the first act. “The music was fun and I watched the guys and I was taken by it. I have to do this,” she told her agent. And she did.
    Kaye Medford played Mrs. Peterson, Albert’s overbearing mother.Paul’s wife was played by Marijane Maricle. Their daughter, Kim, was played by Susan Watson, and their son,