Charles Nelson Reilly Dies at 76

[Zoneboy]

Charles Nelson Reilly, who acted and directed on Broadway but came to be best known for his campy television appearances on talk shows and “Match Game,” died on Friday in Los Angeles. He was 76 and lived in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his partner, Patrick Hughes, who is his only immediate survivor. Mr. Reilly had been ill for more than a year, he said.

Long before moving west to become what he somewhat ruefully described as a “game show fixture,” Mr. Reilly was an actor and an acting teacher in New York City. In 1962, he won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Bud Frump in the original Broadway production of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

But he was proudest of “The Belle of Amherst,” a one-woman play starring Julie Harris based on the life of Emily Dickinson, which he directed on Broadway at the Longacre Theater in 1976, said Timothy Helgeson, who collaborated with him on the show. Two decades later, Mr. Reilly directed Ms. Harris and Charles Durning in a revival of “The Gin Game” at the Lyceum Theater. He was nominated for a Tony for best director in 1997, and Ms. Harris was nominated for best actress.

His final work was an autobiographical one-man show, “Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly,” in which he recounted his difficult childhood. Born in the Bronx, the only child of a Swedish mother and an Irish father, Mr. Reilly told of the pain of being considered the oddest member of a decidedly odd family.

He explained the title of his show by saying that, when he was a child, his mother would often cut him off from speaking by admonishing him to “save it for the stage.” His father, he told audiences, never got over having passed up a chance to move to Hollywood and work with a budding animation artist named Walt Disney.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Reilly, with his ascots, oversize spectacles and over-the-top penchant for double-entendres, was a regular on television. He appeared more than 95 times on the “Tonight” show with Johnny Carson and was a panelist on game shows like “Match Game” and “Hollywood Squares.”

In a 2001 interview with The Advocate, the national gay magazine, Mr. Reilly reflected on the effect those shows had on his professional prospects. “You can’t do anything else once you do game shows,” he said. “You have no career.”

Mr. Reilly’s openly gay persona was many years ahead of its time on television, and it had its risks. He recalled being dismissed early in his career by a network executive, who told him that “they don’t let queers on television.” Paul Linke, who directed the one-man show, said Mr. Reilly later had the last laugh when he would page through TV Guide and count how many times he was on the air that week.

[Ireneparalegal]

[Janice]

Rest In Peace Mr. Reilly. He was a laughriot, a real hot ticket back in the day.

[friendsfan77]

RIP, Charles.

[catlover79]

[Zoneboy]

Lidsville Theme

[Brian Damage]

Another one of the greats of Match Game has passed on.

[Dynomite]

The game show world will forever be grateful to Charles Nelson Reilly. He was to Match Game what Paul Lynde was to Hollywood Squares, and ironically, as I do recall, Charles' last game show appearance was on Hollywood Squares in 2002, reunited with Brett Somers. He was truly a class act, and although he and Paul Lynde had one thing in common(I'm not going into detail over what that is, due to the possibility of some backlash over same-gender relationships), he did help pave the way for other comics with nearly the same similiarities in comical demeanor, namely Bruce Vilanch. May Charles say hello to Gene Rayburn and for that matter, Paul Lynde, once he reaches the Good Lord's City, because we'll miss him down here on Earth. No comic can ever be like Charles Nelson Reilly, but a little bit of him will live on through other comics.

[samanddiane4eva]

RIP Charles

[jayman75]

Charles Nelson Reilly passes away

Biography


He really was a flamboyent character... but enjoyable.

[Already Gone]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/...8-reilly_N.htm

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charles Nelson Reilly, the Tony Award winner who later became known for his ribald appearances on the Tonight Show and various game shows, has died. He was 76.

Reilly died Friday in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia, his partner, Patrick Hughes, told the New York Times.

Reilly began his career in New York City, taking acting classes at a studio with Steve McQueen, Geraldine Page and Hal Holbrook. In 1962, he appeared on Broadway as Bud Frump in the original Broadway production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The role won Reilly a Tony Award.

He was nominated for a Tony again for playing Cornelius in Hello, Dolly! In 1997 he received another nomination for directing Julie Harris and Charles Durning in a revival of The Gin Game.

After moving to Hollywood in 1960s he appeared as the nervous Claymore Gregg on TV's The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and as a featured guest on The Dean Martin Show.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: TV | Hollywood | Tonight Show | Johnny Carson | Award winner

He gained fame by becoming what he described as a "game show fixture" in the 1970s and 80s. He was a regular on programs like Match Game and Hollywood Squares, often wearing giant glasses and colorful suits with ascots.

His larger-than-life persona and affinity for double-entendres also landed him on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson more than 95 times.

Reilly ruefully admitted his wild game show appearances adversely affected his acting career. "You can't do anything else once you do game shows," he told The Advocate, the national gay magazine, in 2001. "You have no career."

His final work was an autobiographical one-man show, Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly, about his family life growing up in the Bronx. The title grew out of the fact that when he would act out as a child, his mother would often admonish him to "save it for the stage."

The stage show was made into the 2006 feature film called The Life of Reilly.

Reilly's openly gay television persona was ahead of its time, and sometimes stood in his way. He recalled a network executive telling him "they don't let queers on television."

Hughes, his only immediate survivor, said Reilly had been ill for more than a year.

No memorial plans had been announced.
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This is so sad, I grew watching him on The Match Game and on reruns of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

[Jrnygrl]

Thanks for the post, just heard about this. I wonder why they didn't mention he was HooDoo on the children's show "Lidsville" and Uncle Crock on another ABC children's show.

RIP CNR!

[ABlairican Pie]

Yeah, I remember him from the Match Game, and Lidsville (with Butch Patrick), and I even remember him from this religious cartoon he did once way back when. I remember he had a distinctive laugh on a Bic Banana commercial from back in the 70's. The last time I saw him was on an episode of the Fox show Millenium around 1997/98 where he even featured a clip of his "past life" as the villain on Lidsville

[ABlairican Pie]

Yeah, I remember him from the Match Game, and Lidsville (with Butch Patrick), and I even remember him from this religious cartoon he did once way back when. I remember he had a distinctive laugh on a Bic Banana marking pen commercial from back in the 70's. The last time I saw him was on an episode of the Fox show Millenium around 1997/98 where he even featured a clip of his "past life" as the villain on Lidsville.

[LuLu Rogers]

This is really sad. He was such a funny guy. Rest In Peace Charles!