#the Paul Lynde Halloween Special

[silverstarfoxx]

KISS + The Paul Lynde Halloween Special

[gameraboy2]

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976)

[schlock-luster-video]

Remembering classic film icon and The Wizard of Oz star Margaret Hamilton on the anniversary of her death.

R.I.P. (1902 - 1985)

[turnupthestrobe]

[rolandrockover]

Halloween Special

First of all, I am one of those who have never, and I emphasize never ever, seen the Paul Lynde Halloween Special from 1976 in my entire life.

So I could easily be persuaded to claim that this production could only have any real meaning for anyone who sat in front of the television as a child and watched the recording on the original broadcast date. It should go without saying that this circumstance has more than often provided the decisive impulse for a lifelong fan existence, and I'm not talking about the one and only Paul Lynde, but once more about everyone's favorite band, of course.

And even if the television had happened to be switched on in my parents' house on 29 October 1976 and actually had US reception, I think I was still a little too focused on maintaining a reasonably steady balance between my dignity and my diapers as a newcomer to this material world to recognize what was going on in the flickering box with regard to my future beloved rock artists. If my baby carriage had been next to the TV. Anyway, so much for me personally.

But none of this should be a reason enough for me not to take on this challenge, after all, it's Halloween, the perfect setting for the likes of us. So let's sit down and watch together as Kiss impatiently storm the stage of the Paul Lynde Show and perform playback and short versions of their selected hits, all of which come from the then best-selling studio album Destroyer (1976).

Paul (Stanley), at the beginning, almost seems a little insecure and innocent like a young fawn, which nevertheless quickly gives way to his newfound Sturm und Drang post Destroyer performance extraordinaire. And it should, because after all, he has to lift two of the three performances almost exclusively on his shoulders, and the cameras hardly want to let go of him. And it should come as no surprise, because it's almost uncanny how young and handsome he looks. That can hardly be just the make-up.

Gene remains fully in rock n' roll jump demon mode, at least as long as the band performs, but thus only acts in the background and almost invisibly, see above, and when he is allowed to speak is pretty reminiscent of his appearance in Attack of the Phantoms (1978). But the fire, when spitting, is real in this case, and no low budget special effect.

For Beth, Peter gets to do what Eric Singer has been condemned to eternal fan death for years by all those old schooled real fans, namely sit at the piano and pretend he's actually playing the orchestral background music single-handedly while laying his voice over that shapely crust of frosting in real time. Gently, but equally anonymous. Maybe that was somehow for the best.

And Ace, well, Ace mostly just stands around stoically and bravely shakes his upper body left and right beyond his center, occasionally letting his tired arms hang out like a windmill, which may have something to do with his guitar playing. Ace is Ace and has always been Ace. What else can I say?

There's also one or two forced one-liners in the margins, devised by routined TV writers who, in the mercy of us all, we'd be better off saving. If Sean Delaney signed off on it, he must have been obviously pretty lenient. And that's basically it. More or less, because I only watched the Kiss segments, I just couldn't face the rest.

Only... those sequences with Margaret Hamilton, you know, the green witch from The Wizard of Oz (1939), reprising her role in full costume, almost 40 years after that fantastic movie. And there's just this one thing that still gives me pause, because of this little photo I stumbled across.

Did Gene get her laid or not? The witch. In full witch uniform and demon battle armor, of course. I mean, without wanting to be indiscreet, I think there should be reason enough to suggest that he kinda did (1).

What kind of sight would that have been?

Burn Witch Burn, Oo-Ooh?

Side Note:

(1) Anyone who has read Gene's biography Kiss and Make-Up (2001) should have no major doubts about this possibility. And if you had a culinary preference for sea food before, you might not have had any afterwards.

I highlighted the Kiss segments. The first includes Detroit Rock City, and the second Beth, some talk and jokes and King of the Night Time World:

Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976) (1)

Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976) (2)

[gargledmesh]

Made a trailer for my 2022 Halloween Mix which is now on sale physically here! https://gargledmesh.storenvy.com/

[zebrarainblowpopcorn23444976]

Ace Frehley on The Paul Lynde Halloween Special 1976

[flapperdame16]

I'm 2 degrees from Margaret Hamilton!

[witchesoz]

The Wicked Witches of the West (2)

Of course, when talking about the most famous Wicked Witch of Oz, we HAVE to go by the 1939 "The Wizard of Oz" movie, the MGM production that ended up making Oz a worldwide phenomenon and shaped pop culture's view of the Land of Oz to this day, overshadowing the original Baum novels for many, many decades, up until... Well up until today.

The 1939 movie is also a crucial part of the development of the Wicked Witch of the West's design, as the MGM's Witch played by Margaret Hamilton became THE most famous face of the character, and a defining visual for basically most witches in pop culture. The black dress with the pointy hat, the long chin with the hooked nose, the sharp fingernails, the broomstick, the wicked cackle and above all the green skin - all of this became utterly iconic, despite none of these elements being present in Baum's novel.

Of course a huge part of the success of this specific incarnation of the Witch was Margaret Hamilton's performance. She famously played back the Wicked sorceress a few times - never actually putting back the exact same makeup or outfit, but still carrying on the spirit of the character throughout various media.

The most famous example being the Sesame Street episode considered "lost" for a very long time and that the Internet has been so obsessed about. There Hamilton plays back the Wicked Witch, though in a more disheveled version and with as an added touch a green lining on the cape:

Hamilton would also play back the Wicked Witch of the West on the "Paul Lynde Halloween Special":

Several other media were created as a direct follow-up or continuation of the 1939 MGM movie, and as such reuse the "MGM design" of the Wicked Witch, though with various modifications. For example I am thinking of the 1990 cartoon series "The Wizard of Oz", an animated direct-sequel to the MGM movie, where the Witch reappears with some design change (the facial features are more bulbous, the pointy nails are painted red, the outfit is purple instead of black)

A more recent example would be the children cartoon "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz", another serial-sequel to the MGM movie and where the witch makes recurring appearances. Though the design was made to fit more Hamilton's makeup and outfit, the purple touch remains, to help with the natural difficulty of animating an all-black outfit.

And, of course, you also have the infamous "Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz"

A much more well-received and famous revival of Hamilton's character, however, was the 2011 musical "The Wizard of Oz", a stage transposition of the MGM movie by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The witch in this production, while taking back all the MGM-specific traits (the green skin, the black outfit, the broomstick), also has personal features that make her stand out - notably the heavy use of feathers in her outfit, and the evolution of her hair, which goes from a spiral hairdo evoking both a witchs hat and a tornado, to an "exploded" form more reminiscent of a storm cloud. This results in a more "aerial" witch with a strong sky-motif to her (plus, she also falls into the "sexier take on the witch" category, but that's for another post)

[milfjagger]

halloween recs 2024 🎃

more halloween/horror recs for you all!!! these are all movies that meet at least two (if not all) of my "halloween movie" criteria, which are as follows:

set in autumn or october specifically

features halloween decorations, or typical halloween activities such as pumpkin carving, trick or treating etc

features elements of the supernatural, especially typical "halloween" characters like ghosts, witches and vampires

gothic, scary, spooky or creepy

comedic or campy

not all of these are horror; not all of the "horror" movies are scary in any quantifiable way. movies that (i think) are suitable for people who have a fairly low horror tolerance will be marked with an asterisk (*). movies that are (generally regarded as) not scary at all will be marked with a double asterisk (**). ENJOY!!!

🎃 ghosts & haunted(?) houses 🎃 oddity (2024) cobweb (2023) the black phone (2021) terrified (2017) crimson peak (2015) lake mungo (2008) the orphanage (2007) the devil's backbone (2001)* the others (2001) ghostwatch (1992) candyman (1992) lost hearts (1973) the haunting (1963) the innocents (1961)

🎃 curses, witches & demons 🎃 longlegs (2024) the first omen (2024) late night with the devil (2023) talk to me (2022) smile (2021) & smile 2 (2024) the dark and the wicked (2020) halloween party (2019)* pyewacket (2017) the devil's candy (2015) the witch (2015) the blackcoat's daughter (2015) the babadook (2014) sinister (2012) the house of the devil (2009) wake wood (2009) the ring (2002) the blair witch project (1999) ringu (1998) the craft (1996)* the serpent and the rainbow (1988) hellraiser (1987) suspiria (1977) the omen (1976) the exorcist (1973) & the exorcist iii (1990) the blood on satan's claw (1971) the devil rides out (1968)* black sunday (1960) night of the demon (1957)*

🎃 vampires, werewolves, zombies & monsters 🎃 lisa frankenstein (2024)* evil dead rise (2023) the ritual (2017) evil dead (2013) dog soldiers (2001) ginger snaps (2000) & ginger snaps 2: unleashed (2004) bram stoker's dracula (1992) it (1990) pet sematary (1989) pumpkinhead (1988) the lost boys (1987)* fright night (1985) re-animator (1985) & bride of re-animator (1990) gremlins (1984)* the howling (1981) an american werewolf in london (1981) evil dead movies (1981-1992) dracula (1958)* nosferatu (1922)*

🎃 dark fantasy 🎃 gretel & hansel (2020) the hallow (2015) red riding hood (2011)* coraline (2009)* pan's labyrinth (2006)* the spiderwick chronicles (2008)** sleepy hollow (1999)* edward scissorhands (1990)** the juniper tree (1990)* the witches (1990)* labyrinth (1986)** the company of wolves (1984) something wicked this way comes (1983)*

🎃 spooky anthologies 🎃 v/h/s 99 (2022) v/h/s 94 (2021) the mortuary collection (2019) tales of halloween (2015) trick 'r' treat (2007) creepshow (1982) & creepshow 2 (1987) the monster club (1981)* black sabbath (1963)

🎃 non-horror & barely-horror 🎃 the munsters (2022)** frankenweenie (2012)** corpse bride (2005)** scooby-doo (2002)** & scooby-doo 2: monsters unleashed (2004)** practical magic (1998)** halloweentown (1998)** casper (1995)** hocus pocus (1993)** the nightmare before christmas (1993)** the halloween tree (1993)** death becomes her (1992)** ernest scared stupid (1991)* the addams family (1991)** & addams family values (1993)** beetlejuice (1988)* the witches of eastwick (1987)* the halloween that almost wasn't (1979)** kenny & company (1976)** the paul lynde halloween special (1976)** the rocky horror picture show (1975)** the adventures of ichabod and mr toad (1949)** bud abbott and lou costello meet frankenstein (1948)** betty boop's hallowe'en party (1933)**

🎃 wacky, weird & so-bad-it's-good 🎃 NB: i cannot vouch for the quality of these movies. actually some of them are borderline unwatchable but i did personally enjoy them. real halloweeners will understand malignant (2021) the barn (2016)* 31 (2016) deathgasm (2015) the dog who saved halloween (2011)** dead silence (2007) the covenant (2006)* house of 1000 corpses (2003) casper meets wendy (1998)** the people under the stairs (1991) troll 2 (1990)** warlock (1989)* hack-o-lantern (1988)* killer klowns from outer space (1988)* ghost fever (1987)** trick or treat (1986)* the worst witch (1986)** ghoulies (1984)* halloween iii: season of the witch (1982) witch's night out (1978)**

[bitter69uk]

Premiered on this night (29 October 1976) on ABC: riotously kitschy and bizarre festive oddity The Paul Lynde Halloween Special. Snarky camp icon, patron saint of closet queens, Hollywood Squares panelist and Uncle Arthur from Bewitched Lynde welcomed a cavalcade of incongruous celebrity special guests, including Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz), Billie Hayes (Witchiepoo from H R Pufnstuf), Betty White, heavy metal band Kiss, Billy Barty, Roz Kelly (Pinky Tuscadero from Happy Days), Donny and Marie Osmond and “Mrs Brady” herself Florence Henderson (who warbles a catastrophic disco version of “That Old Black Magic”). You can inevitably find The Paul Lynde Halloween Special on YouTube. Everyone should experience it once (if only to find out why the Boston Globe calls it “the most fabulous train wreck of a holiday spectacular ever filmed”). If you find yourself watching it more than once – seek help!

(via (1) Facebook)

[silverstarfoxx]

Margaret Hamilton and Gene Simmons on set for The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, 1976

[turnupthestrobe]

[jedivoodoochile]

Its almost time for The Paul Lynde Halloween Special 1976.

[scottguy]

He was always the wittiest guest on the game show Hollywood Squares.

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976)