Paul Lynde Halloween Special | 
 enlarge | Actors: Billy Barty, Margaret Hamilton, Billie Hayes, Florence Henderson, Kiss
Studio: S'more Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $7.14
You Save: $7.81 (52%)
New (34) Used (8) from $7.14
Rating:  31 reviews
Sales Rank: 8470
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 50
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 7022
UPC: 089353702229
EAN: 0089353702229
ASIN: B000TEUSMC
Theatrical Release Date: 1976
Release Date: October 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED
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Description
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special aired only once (on October 29, 1976) and featured a "Who's Who" of mid-'70s TV and film stars; Paul held everything together as the ringmaster of a circus that featured Margaret Hamilton (her only prime time TV appearance wearing the full outfit from The Wizard of Oz), Witchie Poo from H.R. Pufnstuf, Donnie and Marie (who had Paul as a regular on their series), Tim Conway, Billy Barty and in their first prime time TV appearance, KISS. They perform three songs but the on-stage conversation with KISS, Paul and Margaret Hamilton is priceless. Special Features: Extensive photo scrapbook containing images from The Hollywood Squares, at home, family shots, young Paul. This includes large quantities of photos provided by his family and heirs Three stage interactive trivia game based on questions asked on The Hollywood Squares with a bonus feature when consumer answers all 30- 60 questions correctly Extensive quotes from Paul Lynde about family, entertainment, food and mental health Liner notes by producer and writer, Bob Booker
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| Customer Reviews: Read 26 more reviews...
 Great DVD November 15, 2008
I am very happy with this DVD. I seen this show when it originally aired and it was great to see it again. I had forgotten about Tim Conway being on it so that was a bonus. Excellent buy and good price for some memories !!
 Campy Queen Paul November 13, 2008
Oh, my. You mean people back in 1976 really didn't know that Paul Lynde was gay? The only thing missing here is Paul strutting down Fifth Avenue in a full length fur and with a peacock on a leash! Lynde, who inexplicably built a career on playing frustrated straight husbands on Broadway and television, minced, pranced, sneered, snickered, and cackled through three decades of show business and game shows. He could deliver a comic line better than Jack Benny. By the time that he made this odd special, he was bloated from alcoholism (he had four DUI's), pills, a three pack a day cigarette habit, and endless nightlife with male hustlers (who he would favor with hundred dollar tips if they pleased him). Hilarious onscreen, he was a terror off. People dreaded working with him. He had an acid sharp tongue and either loved you or despised you. He would get drunk during breaks and let his co-stars have it afterward. He was insanely popular. Women sent him marriage proposals.
What we have here is a very strange Halloween special starring Lynde, KISS (a good choice for Halloween), Margaret Hamilton (The wicked witch from Oz), Florence Henderson, Pinky Tuscadero (remember her from Happy Days? If you do, you are one of the very few) doing a lousy disco number (with Lynde kicking up his light heels and doing a simplified version of the Bus stop dance from the disco era), bad jokes, campy and funny good jokes. My favorite sketch (because it is so very bad) features the sloppy fat Lynde with a chest wig (to make him look like he has an absurdly hairy chest - you'd think that was shrubbery growing there) prancing around with Pinky and Tim Conway in a saloon.
Back in 1976, this was considered wholesome family entertainment. Today, it looks like a very gay, very campy spoof on the kind of network variety specials that flooded the airwaves in the sixties and seventies. The only thing missing is a couple of drag queens and men in leather (wait, The members of "KISS," bare and hairy chested, cover the leather angle).
Jaw dropping at times, at other times so awful that you will groan, this is definitely the one to get for your next adult Halloween party - you know, the one where you give out adult novelties as trick or treat gifts to your swinging friends in the theater, fashion, and cosmetics industries.
Be forewarned: this is not good entertainment unless you are able to see it through a very campy lens. Think John Waters if he produced the Carol Burnett show.
70s kitsch gone wrong November 10, 2008
I ordered this DVD because it highlighted a few of my favourite 70s stars (KISS and Florence Henderson, especially) and because it aired on my birthday (I love Halloween). Anyway, it was worth the price I paid ([...]). Most of it was so bad, it's painful. I can understand why it aired only once. Most 70s variety shows (series or specials) are like bad LSD trips, and this one follows suit. I enjoyed Paul Lynde on Bewitched. He was hysterical then. This time around he was so not funny. It was so painful to watch a series of lame jokes, one right after another. The only redeeming qualities are KISS (Detroit Rock City and Beth) and Florence Henderson (Old Black Magic). If the price is under $[...], then why not? But, I wouldn't pay over $[...] for it. The extras are okay, but I would've liked to have had perhaps an episode of Hollywood Squares or more about Paul Lynde on the squares and some about him on Bewitched.
Paul Lynde Beyond Belief October 24, 2008
I think this show can only be appreciated by people who remember watching this type of show in the 70's. Anyone else will just think it is terrible, which it is. Where else will you find Kiss and Donny and Marie on the same show along with a whole cast that will always belong to the 70's. This definitely fits into the so bad, it's good category.
Kitsch and Camp September 25, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
"Paul Lynde Hollywood Special"
Kitsch and Camp
Amos Lassen
Paul Lynde was so gay and his kitschy and campy TV special from the 70's, believed lost, has been found, remastered and finally released on DVD. If you remember it, you undoubtedly will remember just how campy it was and now, almost 40 years later, it is still full of gay camp.
Paul Lynde appears as a bitch to the nth degree and he is joined by some incredible
guests--Margaret Hamilton (remember the wicked witch from "The Wizard of Oz"), Billie Hayes, Betty White, Tim Conway and Florence Henderson and rockers Kiss who sing disco here.
The show brought back some fond and wild memories of how I lived back then. Nostalgia can be fun but unfortunately it is not always good. He special looks extremely dated and the quality of the recording is poor.
Lynde's jokes are really corny and I am not sure if I laughed with him or at him and the supporting cast tried very hard to make this special somewhat special but alas the best thing here is Kiss. Watching Gene Simmons perform was as incredible as ever even if the group sang some minor songs and seeing them do disco was wonderful (if that is the right word). I found Lynde's mugging to be very distracting. The skits might have been funny then but now they fall flat.
A redeeming aspect of the DVD is that it contains some very good extras. Remembering that TV specials clock in at under and hour, obviously something else was needed to fill the disc. The extras include Lynde' scrapbook and a trivial test about him, a featurette entitles "The Wit and Wisdom of Paul Lynde", and an audio interview with Peter Marshall about Lynde's tenure on "Hollywood Squares".
If you are not in the mood for serious TV watching, this may just be the thing for you. It's not bad but neither is it good and it does take us back in time.
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