The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976)

Witchipoo and the Wicked Witch of the West give Paul Lynde three wishes for Halloween. KISS performs three songs. Florence Henderson sings a disco version of "That Old Black Magic."

Director:

Sid Smith (as Sidney Smith)

Writers:

Bob Booker (writing supervisor), George Foster (writing supervisor)

Stars:

Paul Lynde, Tim Conway, Roz Kelly

Cast

Credited cast:
Paul Lynde	...	Self / Big Ruby Red / Sheik
Tim Conway	...	Dynamite Dan / Long Haul Howard / Seymore
Roz Kelly	...	Self / Hinky Pinky (as Roz 'Pinky Tuscadero' Kelly)
Margaret Hamilton	...	Housekeeper / The Wicked Witch of the West
Billie Hayes	...	Witchiepoo
Billy Barty	...	Gallows
Florence Henderson	...	Self / Cecily Westinghouse
Betty White	...	Miss Halloween
KISS	...	Themselves
Donny Osmond	...	Self
Marie Osmond	...	Self
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Biff Manard	...	Biker Wedding Clergy

Storyline

Paul Lynde attempts to celebrate Christmas, Easter and Valentine's Day before his housekeeper, Margaret, gives him the bad news. It's Halloween: the time of the year when a kid can carve up a pumpkin and Lynde's sports car at the same time. Lynde is no fan of ignorant youngsters, who seem to know more about Alice Cooper than Alice Faye. Margaret drives her employer to her sister's house, so he can escape the little pranksters. Unluckily, the sister turns out to be Witchipoo; and Margaret herself is the Wicked Witch of the West. The two witches believe witches in general have a bad rap. And so they want Lynde to be their spokes-human. In return, they give him three wishes. Lynde uses two of them to become a rhinestone trucker and a romantic sheik. Meanwhile, KISS performs three songs and Florence Henderson sings a disco version of "That Old Black Magic."

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Plot Keywords:

three wishes | witch | halloween | trucker | valentine's day | 

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Taglines:

What better place to spend Halloween than in a haunted house with Paul Lynde?

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul's opening number about trick-or-treaters is adapted from the song "Kids", which Paul had sung in the 1963 movie Broadway musical adaptation movie "Bye Bye Birdie."

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Goofs

As KISS converses with Paul Lynde Paul Stanley's arms are at his side, suddenly folded, then at his side again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Paul Lynde: [singing] # We wish you a Merry Christmas, / We we wish you a Merry Christmas. #

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Crazy Credits

Donnie and Marie Osmond are given verbal credit only. In his closing speech, Paul Lynde mentions them among his guest stars, the rest of whom are credited in the opening titles.

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Connections

References The Ballad of Smokey the Bear (1966)

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Soundtracks

Detroit Rock City
(uncredited)
Written by Paul Stanley and Robert Ezrin
Performed by KISS

User Reviews

Must be seen, cannot be believed

The planets align, the time capsule opens, and out pops Paul Lynde's 1976 Halloween special for ABC, finally released on DVD. Lay off the mind-altering substances if you watch this. This relic is enough of a mind-blower.

Avant-garde in its stupidity, the special features Paul in a variety of skits with a Halloween theme. See Paul trapped in a castle run by witches, played by Margaret Hamilton and Billie Hayes. See Paul as the Rhinestone Trucker, competing with Tim Conway for the affections of Roz Kelly (Pinkie Tuscadero from "Happy Days.") See Paul as the Chic Sheikh, wooing Florence Henderson. See Florence lip-sync her way through "That Old Black Magic," and see Paul bump and grind with Roz Kelly as she warbles "Disco Lady." Also lending a hand — as if that weren't enough — are Donny and Marie, Betty White and Billy Barty.

Of course, this special is best known as KISS' network debut, and they do "Detroit, Rock City," "Beth" and "King of the Nighttime World" on a bizarre stage with orange neon bats and dancers with fluorescent wigs. It would only be a matter of time before the band made "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park," another surrealistically stupid masterpiece.

The bonus features on the S'More DVD are disappointing, with some unremarkable quotes from Paul's interviews, a collection of archive photos (with barely readable captions), and a "Name that Quip" trivia challenge. An audio interview with "Hollywood Squares" host Peter Marshall, however, is remarkably candid.

I can't guarantee you'll laugh – I did, though not always for the right reasons – but you're certain to be astonished. For better or worse, they don't make 'em like this anymore!

Details

Official Sites:

YouTube - Full TV special

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hoysyl Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1