RIP Charles Nelson Reilly

kedoane · May-27th-2007, 10:49 PM

I remember him from Hollywood Squares.

From New York Times.

May 28, 2007
Charles Nelson Reilly, Tony-Winning Comic Actor, Dies at 76
By PATRICK McGEEHAN

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.

patricia · May-27th-2007, 10:59 PM

I always found Charles Nelson Reilly to be perversely hilarious.
But, the one off-hand remark I remember him making during an interview was regarding his appearance.
He said that he loved wearing a hat and to demonstrate it's effect he took the one he was wearing off and said that without a hat he looked fifty and with one he looked twenty-eight.
And it was true. He started losing his hair quite young.
He was very self-deprecating, without seeming pitiful.
Loved him.
RIP Charles Nelson Reilly.

hornplayer · May-27th-2007, 11:10 PM

"perversely hilarious"

good one, Patricia!

I liked him, too.

RIP, Charles Nelson Reilly.

Sandi22 · May-27th-2007, 11:51 PM

I don't think I ever saw him without him giving me a laugh, and in his more dramatic rolls, a heart felt warmness towards him was there as well.

He was so good, and seemed such a decent man. He will be missed.

gonzo · May-28th-2007, 04:19 AM

good actor. i remember him from my childhood in a sid and marty krofft show called lidsville.

Monte Smith · May-28th-2007, 10:39 AM

Die, archfiend! Your end came not soon enough! Snicker now, if you dare, before your infernal reward. May your victims find the peace you ever denied them.

cookie · May-28th-2007, 01:13 PM

I loved that guy every time I saw him. RIP Charles Nelson Reilly.

Ron Thorne · May-28th-2007, 04:21 PM

Count me as a longtime fan, too. He always brought a smile to a scene, often with intelligence missed by many.

R.I.P., Charles Nelson Reilly~

tippy · May-28th-2007, 04:26 PM

RIP Chuck. You were one of many entertainers from the 70s (think Charo, Misty Rowe, et al.) who had me perpetually perplexed as a child with the question "Are they for real like that or are they kidding?"

GoodSpeak · May-28th-2007, 05:42 PM

I seem to remember him in some sort of 70s TV show wherein there was some ghost involved at a coastal mansion...?

At any rate, he always made me laugh.

RIP, Charles.

Valerie · May-28th-2007, 09:08 PM

very sorry to hear this news but knew he was quite ill for awhile. i sure wish i had seen his one-man show recently. i think it was in north hollywood. i did, however, see his marvelous performance in "how to succeed" several times. he was a unique character and he will be missed.

gonzo · May-28th-2007, 10:41 PM

goodspeak, i think you are referring to the ghost and mrs. muir with hope lange.

GoodSpeak · May-28th-2007, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonzo

goodspeak, i think you are referring to the ghost and mrs. muir with hope lange.

Claymore Gregg.

Thanks, Gonz.

gonzo · May-29th-2007, 04:17 AM

i've watched the show in reruns in recent years and its still perty good. miss lange was a beauty.

Surfer · May-29th-2007, 12:47 PM

Alec Balwin was a better CNR than CNR. RIP Charles.

Gentle Giant · May-30th-2007, 09:15 AM

A real character. For his time, folks like him and Paul Lynde were quite courageous to be so openly gay - and lucky to be so and still be in demand. They made homosexuality safe for daytime TV long before it was so prevalent.

RIP

Monte Smith · May-30th-2007, 10:33 AM

Charles Nelson Reilly was GAY??

hornplayer · May-31st-2007, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

Charles Nelson Reilly was GAY??

DUH!

Ron Thorne · May-31st-2007, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

A real character. For his time, folks like him and Paul Lynde were quite courageous to be so openly gay - and lucky to be so and still be in demand. They made homosexuality safe for daytime TV long before it was so prevalent.

RIP

I was discussing this exact topic with my wife today at lunch. We're both saddened that these two brave, funny men are gone.

They were both favorites of ours. It's too bad that many young people will not be hip to them or their many struggles.

Thankfully, our children knew of, enjoyed and respected both Charles and Paul.

Monte Smith · May-31st-2007, 09:54 AM

That Charles Nelson Reilly was a role model for children goes without saying. Ethically, he was a giant. But that's peripheral to his art. Anyone who was blessed enough to witness Reilly's remarkable Hamlet must think of him first of all as one of the most gifted thespians of his age.

Surfer · June-1st-2007, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

That Charles Nelson Reilly was a role model for children goes without saying. Ethically, he was a giant. But that's peripheral to his art. Anyone who was blessed enough to witness Reilly's remarkable Hamlet must think of him first of all as one of the most gifted thespians of his age.

tippy · June-1st-2007, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

Charles Nelson Reilly was GAY??

Honestly, I had the same reaction as Monte. I had no idea CNR was gay and to be honest I would need proof before I really believed it (were it that important to go to the trouble, which clearly it is not). Anyway, even if he was, he didn't throw his smarmy bedroom behavior around like that slut Paul Lynde. Worlds apart those two. RIP (again), CNR.