(viewed 10/14/11)
When you play in the orchestra for a musical, it’s rare that you ever actually see the performance. You might see a rehearsal or two, but never the full show. Thus, I learned all the songs and interludes on my trumpet in high school, and knew the general plot, but never actually saw the theater or film version of Bye Bye Birdie. All these years later, it was Season 3 Episode 2 of Mad Men (ohgodwhendoesitstartagain????) that sparked my interest in seeing the film.
For me, the real star of Bye Bye Birdie is not Ann-Margret. It’s Paul Lynde:
If you’re not sure who Paul Lynde is apart from Harry McAfee, you may better remember his roles in Bewitched, Hollywood Squares, or even Seth MacFarlane’s impersonation of his dynamo voice for Roger the Alien in American Dad.
Lynde actually did a few cartoon voices while he was alive, including The Hooded Claw on The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, a show about a winsome girl with a Southern accent, a tiny brain, and a large inheritance. I used to watch this show before high school on Cartoon Network, because I hated Penelope, and I always wanted The Hooded Claw to actually kill her. He never did, but that’s probably where my Paul Lynde love began…
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