Meet Paul Lynde, the Original Roger from “American Dad”

Young people: If you like the deliciously acerbic, perfectly-pitched character Roger from TV’s  “American Dad,” you should know about Paul Lynde, the comic actor upon whom Roger is based. The video below (in which Judd Apatow appears) is a serviceable introduction to the brilliantly funny Lynde.

Note too where Lynde stands in the history of gay characters portrayed on TV. It would have been so easy for a man of his talents to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. But Lynde chose a different tack, indeed, and for that is rightly considered a pioneer, if not a hero.