With the publication of Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story
“He kept a fairly rigid line between his gay friends and his celebrity friends, rarely mixing the two except when he might bring a fling along on a ‘Squares’ junket or the like. Publicly, he still kept himself in the closet, but just barely by the end. A 1976 article in People came the closest of any mainstream media in outing him. It featured pics of him with Stan Finesmith, his ‘chauffeur-bodyguard,’ who, according to the article’s photo caption, also doubled as his ‘hair stylist and suite mate.’
I’ve personally never considered Paul a gay hero. True, in his own way, he played a part in gay liberation, but it’s not like he led the Stonewall Riots. Had he lived longer, maybe he’d have outed himself on the cover of a magazine. But if he had come out, it would probably have meant the further end of his career, as in putting the nail in its coffin. That would have been that.”
