World-class gymnastic coach and clown (I know, but stick with me here) Paul Hunt made a name for himself in the eighties for his comedic gymnastic routines. Certainly, there have been comedians who did great impressions of gymnasts before and since, most notably my favorite comedian of all time, Gilda Radner.* But what makes Hunt special is that in addition to being funny, he is actually phenomenally strong and a great gymnast!

He did these routines under the names Paulina Huntesque, Pauletta Huntenova, and Paulette Huntinova, always to the great amusement of all who were lucky enough to see him. He was even featured on the Wide World of Sports!

I can’t stop watching these, so I thought I’d better share them. Boy, are you ever in for a treat!

(Here’s a clearer video of the balance beam routine, but it spends a lot of time focusing on the audience, so you don’t get to see the whole thing)

*I searched endlessly to find a public video of Gilda’s Nadia Comaneci, but NBC has squashed them all. If you have Hulu, it’s SNL Season 3/Episode 3. Here’s the link, but it will only work if you’re logged in: http://www.hulu.com/watch/159702#i0,p48,d0)