CHARLES NELSON REILLY
Name: Charles Nelson Reilly
Born: 13 January 1931 The South Bronx, New York, New York, USA
Died: 25 May 2007 Beverly Hills, California, USA
Charles Nelson Reilly (January 13, 1931 – May 25, 2007) was an American actor,
comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in movies,
children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show
Match Game.
Reilly was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of Charles Joseph Reilly,
an Irish Catholic commercial artist, and Signe Elvera Nelson, a Swedish Lutheran.
When young he would often make his own puppet theater to amuse himself. His
mother, foreshadowing his future as an entertainer, often would tell him to "save
it for the stage". At age 13, he escaped the Hartford Circus Fire where over
a hundred people died, and as a result he never sat in an audience again through
the remainder of his life.
Reilly made his first motion-picture appearance in 1957, playing an uncredited
role in A Face in the Crowd, directed by Elia Kazan. Most of his work during
this period was on the stage. Reilly appeared in many Off-Broadway productions.
His big theatrical break came in 1960 with the enormously successful original
Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie. In the ground-breaking musical, Reilly
had a small onstage part, and was the standby for Dick Van Dyke in the leading
role of Albert Peterson. In 1961, Reilly was in the original cast of another big
Broadway hit, the Pulitzer prize-winning musical How to Succeed in Business
Without Really Trying. For his memorable creation of the role of Bud Frump ("Coffee
Break"), Reilly earned a 1962 Tony Award for featured actor in a musical. In
1964, Reilly was featured in the original cast of yet another giant Broadway
success, Hello, Dolly! For creating the role of Cornelius Hackl, Reilly received
a second nomination for a Tony Award for performance by an actor in a featured
role in a musical.
While he kept active in Broadway shows, Reilly would soon become better known
for his TV work. Reilly appeared regularly on television in the 1960s. For
example, he did stints both as one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests and as
a panelist on the popular Sunday Night CBS-TV program. In 1965, he made regular
appearances on The Steve Lawrence Show, which aired for a single season. From
1968 to 1970, he appeared as uptight Claymore Gregg on the television series The
Ghost & Mrs. Muir, which also starred Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare. In one
episode, Reilly was reunited with his Hello, Dolly! original Broadway castmate
Eileen Brennan.
In 1971, he appeared as the evil magician Hoodoo in Lidsville, a psychedelically
flavored live-action children's program produced by Sid and Marty Krofft that
aired on Saturday mornings on ABC. The show was about a boy who falls into a
magician's hat and enters a magical world of hat-humans. It is through these
roles, as well as his playing the titular role in Uncle Croc's Block, that
Reilly's voice and mannerisms were embedded in a generation of young fanatics.
During the 1970s, Reilly also appeared as a regular on The Dean Martin Show, and
had multiple guest appearances on television series including McMillan and Wife;
Here's Lucy; Laugh In; The Love Boat; and Love, American Style. He was also a
frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, appearing more than one
hundred times. Because Reilly was such a lively and reliable talk-show guest and
lived within blocks of the Burbank studios where The Tonight Show was taped, he
was often asked to be a last-minute replacement for scheduled guests who did not
make it to the studio in time. During this time, Reilly was perhaps best known
as a fixture of game shows, primarily due to his appearances as a regular
panelist on the television game show Match Game. Reilly was the longest-running
guest, and often engaged in petty, hilarious arguments with fellow regular Brett
Somers. Reilly typically offered sardonic commentary and peppered his answers
with homosexually themed double entendres that pushed the boundaries of 1970s
television standards.
From 1975 to 1976, Reilly starred in another live-action children's program
called Uncle Croc's Block with Jonathan Harris. Reilly was often a guest
celebrity in the 1984 game show Body Language, including one week with Lucille
Ball and another week with Audrey Landers.
From 1980, Reilly was primarily active teaching acting and directing for
television and theater. He directed episodes of Evening Shade in 1990 and earned
a 1997 Tony Award nomination as Best Director of a Play for working with
longtime pal Julie Harris, opposite whom he had acted in Skyscraper, and whom he
had also directed in The Belle of Amherst and a revival of The Gin Game.
Reilly was a longtime teacher of acting at HB Studio, the acting studio founded
by Herbert Berghof and made famous by Berhof and his wife, the renowned stage
actress Uta Hagen. Reilly's acting students included Lily Tomlin and Bette
Midler.
In the 1990s, Reilly made guest appearances on The Drew Carey Show, The Larry
Sanders Show, Family Matters, Second Noah, and as eccentric writer Jose Chung in
the television series The X-Files ("Jose Chung's From Outer Space") and
Millennium ("Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense"). Reilly was nominated for Emmy
Awards in 1998 and 1999 for his performances in The Drew Carey Show and
Millennium, respectively. From the late 1990s, Reilly directed theater and opera,
touring the country performing a critically acclaimed one-man stage show
chronicling his life called Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly and
occasionally performing as the voice of "The Dirty Bubble" on the animated
series SpongeBob SquarePants, though that character was taken over by Tom Kenny.
In 2006, his one-man, autobiographical stage show was made into a feature film
called The Life of Reilly, offering audiences a glimpse into his background and
personal life.
Name: Charles Nelson Reilly
Born: 13 January 1931 The South Bronx, New York, New York, USA
Died: 25 May 2007 Beverly Hills, California, USA
Charles Nelson Reilly (January 13, 1931 – May 25, 2007) was an American actor,
comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in movies,
children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show
Match Game.
Reilly was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of Charles Joseph Reilly,
an Irish Catholic commercial artist, and Signe Elvera Nelson, a Swedish Lutheran.
When young he would often make his own puppet theater to amuse himself. His
mother, foreshadowing his future as an entertainer, often would tell him to "save
it for the stage". At age 13, he escaped the Hartford Circus Fire where over
a hundred people died, and as a result he never sat in an audience again through
the remainder of his life.
Reilly made his first motion-picture appearance in 1957, playing an uncredited
role in A Face in the Crowd, directed by Elia Kazan. Most of his work during
this period was on the stage. Reilly appeared in many Off-Broadway productions.
His big theatrical break came in 1960 with the enormously successful original
Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie. In the ground-breaking musical, Reilly
had a small onstage part, and was the standby for Dick Van Dyke in the leading
role of Albert Peterson. In 1961, Reilly was in the original cast of another big
Broadway hit, the Pulitzer prize-winning musical How to Succeed in Business
Without Really Trying. For his memorable creation of the role of Bud Frump ("Coffee
Break"), Reilly earned a 1962 Tony Award for featured actor in a musical. In
1964, Reilly was featured in the original cast of yet another giant Broadway
success, Hello, Dolly! For creating the role of Cornelius Hackl, Reilly received
a second nomination for a Tony Award for performance by an actor in a featured
role in a musical.
While he kept active in Broadway shows, Reilly would soon become better known
for his TV work. Reilly appeared regularly on television in the 1960s. For
example, he did stints both as one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests and as
a panelist on the popular Sunday Night CBS-TV program. In 1965, he made regular
appearances on The Steve Lawrence Show, which aired for a single season. From
1968 to 1970, he appeared as uptight Claymore Gregg on the television series The
Ghost & Mrs. Muir, which also starred Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare. In one
episode, Reilly was reunited with his Hello, Dolly! original Broadway castmate
Eileen Brennan.
In 1971, he appeared as the evil magician Hoodoo in Lidsville, a psychedelically
flavored live-action children's program produced by Sid and Marty Krofft that
aired on Saturday mornings on ABC. The show was about a boy who falls into a
magician's hat and enters a magical world of hat-humans. It is through these
roles, as well as his playing the titular role in Uncle Croc's Block, that
Reilly's voice and mannerisms were embedded in a generation of young fanatics.
During the 1970s, Reilly also appeared as a regular on The Dean Martin Show, and
had multiple guest appearances on television series including McMillan and Wife;
Here's Lucy; Laugh In; The Love Boat; and Love, American Style. He was also a
frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, appearing more than one
hundred times. Because Reilly was such a lively and reliable talk-show guest and
lived within blocks of the Burbank studios where The Tonight Show was taped, he
was often asked to be a last-minute replacement for scheduled guests who did not
make it to the studio in time. During this time, Reilly was perhaps best known
as a fixture of game shows, primarily due to his appearances as a regular
panelist on the television game show Match Game. Reilly was the longest-running
guest, and often engaged in petty, hilarious arguments with fellow regular Brett
Somers. Reilly typically offered sardonic commentary and peppered his answers
with homosexually themed double entendres that pushed the boundaries of 1970s
television standards.
From 1975 to 1976, Reilly starred in another live-action children's program
called Uncle Croc's Block with Jonathan Harris. Reilly was often a guest
celebrity in the 1984 game show Body Language, including one week with Lucille
Ball and another week with Audrey Landers.
From 1980, Reilly was primarily active teaching acting and directing for
television and theater. He directed episodes of Evening Shade in 1990 and earned
a 1997 Tony Award nomination as Best Director of a Play for working with
longtime pal Julie Harris, opposite whom he had acted in Skyscraper, and whom he
had also directed in The Belle of Amherst and a revival of The Gin Game.
Reilly was a longtime teacher of acting at HB Studio, the acting studio founded
by Herbert Berghof and made famous by Berhof and his wife, the renowned stage
actress Uta Hagen. Reilly's acting students included Lily Tomlin and Bette
Midler.
In the 1990s, Reilly made guest appearances on The Drew Carey Show, The Larry
Sanders Show, Family Matters, Second Noah, and as eccentric writer Jose Chung in
the television series The X-Files ("Jose Chung's From Outer Space") and
Millennium ("Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense"). Reilly was nominated for Emmy
Awards in 1998 and 1999 for his performances in The Drew Carey Show and
Millennium, respectively. From the late 1990s, Reilly directed theater and opera,
touring the country performing a critically acclaimed one-man stage show
chronicling his life called Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly and
occasionally performing as the voice of "The Dirty Bubble" on the animated
series SpongeBob SquarePants, though that character was taken over by Tom Kenny.
In 2006, his one-man, autobiographical stage show was made into a feature film
called The Life of Reilly, offering audiences a glimpse into his background and
personal life.