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Charles Nelson Reilly | |
|---|---|
 Reilly in a 1969 publicity photo | |
| Born | (1931-01-13)January 13, 1931 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | May 25, 2007(2007-05-25) (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | Hartt School of Music |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1957–2007 |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Partner | Patrick Hughes (1980–2007; his death) |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical 1962How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying |
Charles Nelson Reilly (January 13, 1931 – May 25, 2007) was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher. He performed in the original Broadway casts ofBye Bye Birdie;Hello, Dolly!; andHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, for which he won theTony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. His television credits includeThe Ghost & Mrs. Muir andMatch Game. A recording of his autobiographical one-man playSave It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly was adapted into a 2006 independent film.
Reilly was born January 13, 1931,[1] in New York City in theBronx, to anIrish-Catholic father and a SwedishLutheran mother.[2] When young, he would amuse himself by creating puppet theater, and his mother often told him to "save it for the stage".[3]
In 1944, at age 13, Reilly was at a circus inHartford, Connecticut before itcaught fire that killed 167 people.[4] Because of the event's trauma, he was afraid of sitting in an audience, the large crowds reminding him of what happened that day.[5] As he often stated onThe Tonight Show and other such venues, he rarely attended plays—even when directing a play or stage production, he preferred to sit at the back of the house or the back of a balcony near the exits to preview his work, including one time where his leading lady's costume caught fire (but on recounting this episode toJohnny Carson, Reilly assured him "but you know, these things always work out okay.")
Reilly developed a love of opera and wanted to become an opera singer. He entered theHartt School of Music as a voice major, but abandoned this pursuit when he realized that he lacked the natural vocal talent to have a major career. However, opera remained a lifelong passion, and he was a frequent guest on opera-themed radio programs, including theMetropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. He directed opera productions for theChicago Opera Theater,Dallas Opera,Portland Opera,San Diego Opera, andSanta Fe Opera. He was good friends with opera singersRenée Fleming,Rod Gilfry,Roberta Peters, andEileen Farrell.[6]
Reilly made his film debut with an uncredited role inA Face in the Crowd (1957), directed byElia Kazan, although most of his early career was spent on the stage. He was a regular performer in comic roles for several summer seasons in the 1950s at the Starlight Theatre inKansas City, Missouri. Reilly appeared in manyOff Broadway productions. His big break came in 1960 with the enormously successful original Broadway production ofBye Bye Birdie. In the groundbreaking musical, Reilly had a small onstage part and wasDick Van Dyke's understudy/replacement for the leading role.[7]
In 1961, Reilly was in the original cast of another Broadway show, thePulitzer Prize-winning musicalHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. For his memorable origination of the role of Bud Frump, Reilly earned a 1962Tony Award for featured actor in a musical.[8]
In 1964, Reilly was in the original cast ofHello, Dolly!, another successful Broadway show. For originating the role of Cornelius Hackl, Reilly received a second nomination for aTony Award for performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical.[8]
Reilly kept active in Broadway shows but he became better known for his TV work, appearing regularly on television in the 1960s. He appeared as a Mystery Guest and was a panelist on theWhat's My Line? quiz show. In 1965 he appeared several times onTheSteve Lawrence Show, which aired for a single season. Television commercials that he made throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s includedExcedrin,Bic Banana Ink Crayons andPurina Mills Dog Food.
From 1968 to 1970, he appeared as the bumbler Claymore Gregg on the television seriesThe Ghost & Mrs. Muir, for which he received an Emmy nomination. He also appeared as a regular onThe Dean Martin Show and had guest appearances on various television series, includingMcMillan & Wife,The Patty Duke Show,Here's Lucy,Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In,The Love Boat, andLove, American Style. In 1971, he appeared as the evil magician Hoodoo inLidsville, a children's program on ABC created bySid and Marty Krofft.
Reilly was a frequent guest onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, appearing more than 100 times.[9] He was a lively and reliable talk-show guest and lived within blocks of the Burbank studios whereThe Tonight Show was taped, so he was often asked to be a last-minute replacement for scheduled guests who canceled or did not make it to the studio on time.[9]
Reilly was a fixture on game shows, primarily due to his appearances as a regular panelist onMatch Game. He was one of the longest-running guests, and often engaged in playful banter with fellow regularBrett Somers (the two generally sat next to each other on the show—Somers in the upper middle seat and Reilly in the upper right seat). He typically offered sardonic commentary and peppered his answers with homosexuality-themeddouble entendres which pushed the boundaries of 1970s television standards.[10]
During the taping ofMatch Game '74, Reilly left for a short time to filmHamburgers (1974) and to star in theNeil Simon playGod's Favorite (December 1974 to March 1975). From 1975 to 1976, he starred in another live-action children's program titledUncle Croc's Block, withJonathan Harris. He was often a guest celebrity on the 1984 game showBody Language, including one week withLucille Ball and another week withAudrey Landers.[11]
From 1976, Reilly primarily taught acting and directing for television and theater, including directingJulie Harris (with whom he had acted inSkyscraper in 1965–66), who was portrayingEmily Dickinson in her one-woman Broadway playThe Belle of Amherst, byWilliam Luce. In 1979, he directedIra Levin's playBreak a Leg on Broadway. Despite the previous year's success of Levin'sDeathtrap,Break a Leg closed after one performance.The New York Times reported that Reilly resigned from directing the show before it actually opened. Citing creative differences with Levin, Reilly requested through his attorney that his name be removed from the program andPalace Theatre marquee.[12] Within days, Reilly appeared onThe Tonight Show, joking and speaking at length about the show's failure, saying, "So [a play] can open and last six years, eight years ... or two hours and five minutes." Reilly earned a 1997Tony Award nomination as Best Director of a Play for the revival ofThe Gin Game, starring Julie Harris.[8]
In 1988, Reilly hosted the syndicated game showSweethearts, which ran for one season.[13]
In 1990, he directed episodes ofEvening Shade. Reilly also made guest appearances in the 1990s onThe Drew Carey Show,The Larry Sanders Show,Family Matters,Second Noah, and as eccentric writer Jose Chung in the television seriesThe X-Files ("Jose Chung'sFrom Outer Space") andMillennium ("Jose Chung'sDoomsday Defense"). Reilly was nominated forEmmy Awards in 1998 and 1999 for his performances inThe Drew Carey Show andMillennium, respectively.[14]
Reilly was a frequent vocal presence in animation, with lead roles as Fred and Wilma's neighbor Frank Frankenstone in Hanna-Barbera'sThe Flintstone Comedy Show (1980), and as Mr. Toad in the Rankin/Bass feature,The Wind in the Willows (1987). Reilly had a voice role in three films byDon Bluth:All Dogs Go to Heaven as Killer in 1989,Rock-a-Doodle as Hunch in 1991, andA Troll in Central Park as King Llort in 1994. In each one, he played the villain's dim-witted sidekick who reformed at the end. He was the original voice of the Dirty Bubble onSpongeBob SquarePants.
Reilly was a longtime teacher of acting atHB Studio, the acting studio founded byHerbert Berghof and made famous by Berghof and his wife, the renowned stage actressUta Hagen. His acting students includedLily Tomlin,Bette Midler, andGary Burghoff.[15]
Magazine and newspaper profiles of Reilly throughout the 1970s and 1980s did not mention his personal life. Years after the cancellation ofMatch Game, he revealed his orientation as gay in his July 2000 theatricalone-man showSave It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly.[16]
Much like fellow actor and game-show regularPaul Lynde of the same era, despite Reilly's off-camera silence, he gave signals on-camera of acampy persona. In many episodes ofMatch Game, he lampooned himself by briefly affecting "YO!" in a deep voice, using the nickname "Chuck", and self-consciously describing how "butch" he was. Many years after his game show career ended, he mentioned in a 2002 interview withEntertainment Tonight that he felt no need to explain his jokes about Chuck and that he never purposely hid his homosexuality from anyone. Patrick Hughes, a set decorator and dresser, was Reilly'sdomestic partner; the two met backstage while Reilly appeared on the game showBattlestars, although their partnership was not revealed publicly. They lived together inBeverly Hills.[17]
Reilly did appear on several episodes of the game showTattletales with actressElizabeth Allen as a couple, though their relationship was never discussed on the air.
Reilly was linked publicly with theUnited States Coast Guard and made at least two films in conjunction with the Coast Guard.[18][19] He regularly advertisedNational Safe Boating Week as a panelist onMatch Game.[20] Reilly died on May 25, 2007, the last day of National Safe Boating Week.[21]
Despite sporting what appeared to be a full head of hair for most of the prime of his television career, Reilly was in fact bald, wearing atoupée throughout most of his appearances in the 1970s and 1980s.[22] During the taping ofMatch Game '74, his toupée became a joke when Reilly had to go to New York City to have his toupée adjusted. During the taping of several episodes, Reilly was seen wearing different hats because his toupée was back in New York waiting for him to be fitted. This was the start of the long-running jokes onMatch Game about his hair. He abandoned the toupée in the late 1990s and appeared bald in all of his subsequent public events. He dramatized the experience in his stage showThe Life of Reilly.[22] In one episode ofMatch Game PM, he took off his toupée and gave it to a bald contestant by putting it on his head. One can briefly see Reilly's bald head before he covers it up with a hat.[22]
Reilly spent his later life primarily touring America directing theater and opera and offering audiences a glimpse into his background and personal life with a critically acclaimed one-man play chronicling his life, titledSave It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly. In 2004, his final two performances of his play inNorth Hollywood, California, were recorded as the basis of an autobiographical independent film titledThe Life of Reilly.[23]
Reilly was stricken with respiratory problems while filmingThe Life of Reilly and retired from directing and performing immediately after the final day of shooting in 2004. The movie premiered in March 2006 at theSouth by Southwest film festival, and Reilly's film performance was acclaimed. He cancelled his personal appearance at South by Southwest due to his illness, and by the time the film premiered, he had been hospitalized. Reilly died of complications frompneumonia at theUCLA Medical Center on May 25, 2007.[24] That weekend, theGame Show Network dedicated its programming to Reilly, airing some of his funniest episodes ofMatch Game.[25]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | A Face in the Crowd | Unknown | Uncredited |
| 1967 | The Tiger Makes Out | Registrar | |
| 1984 | Cannonball Run II | Don Don Canneloni | |
| 1987 | The Wind in the Willows | Mr. Toad | Voice; television film |
| Body Slam | Vic Carson | Direct-to-video | |
| 1989 | All Dogs Go to Heaven | Killer | Voice |
| 1991 | Rock-a-Doodle | Hunch | |
| 1994 | A Troll in Central Park | Llort | |
| 1997 | Babes in Toyland | Humpty Dumpty | |
| 1998 | An All Dogs Christmas Carol | Killer | Voice; direct-to-video |
| The First of May | Dinghy | ||
| 2002 | Gaydar | Uncle Vincent | Short film |
| 2006 | Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers | Red Parrot Stan | Voice; direct-to-video |
| 2007 | The Life of Reilly | Himself / Archive footage | Documentary; posthumous release |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960–61 | Bye Bye Birdie | Mr. Henkel/Albert Peterson's understudy | |
| 1961–65 | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | Bud Frump | |
| 1964–70 | Hello, Dolly! | Cornelius Hackl | |
| 1965–66 | Skyscraper | Roger Summerhill | |
| 1968 | Private Lives | N/a | Director |
| 1974–75 | God's Favorite | Sidney Lipton | |
| 1976 | The Belle of Amherst | N/a | Director |
| 1979 | Break a Leg | N/a | |
| 1980 | Charlotte | Josias von Stein | |
| 1987–88 | The Nerd | N/a | Director |
| 1994 | Exile in Jerusalem | N/a | Director at the Williamstown Theatre Festival w/Julie Harris & Dennis Boutsikaris |
| 1997 | The Gin Game | N/a | Director |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Car 54, Where Are You? | Hilton Hartford Harlow | Episode: "Occupancy August 1st" |
| 1963 | The Patty Duke Show | Coach Coglan | Episode: "The Conquering Hero" |
| 1968–70 | The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | Claymore Gregg | Main role, 50 episodes |
| 1969–70 | It Takes Two | N/a | Game show |
| 1970 | Here's Lucy | Elroy P. Clunk | Episode: "Lucy the Crusader" |
| 1971–72 | Arnie | Randy Robinson | 8 episodes |
| 1971–73 | Lidsville | Horatio J. HooDoo | Main role, 17 episodes |
| 1972 | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | Walter O'Connell | Episode "Bernie Did It" |
| 1972 | Call Her Mom | Dean Walden | ABC Movie of the Week |
| 1973 | $10,000 Pyramid | N/a | Celebrity guest playing oppositeShani Wallis |
| 1973–74 | It Pays to Be Ignorant | N/a | Radio show Regular panelist |
| 1973–82, 1990–91 | Match Game | N/a | Game show |
| 1975–76 | Uncle Croc's Block | Uncle Croc | Voice Main role, 30 episodes |
| 1979–82, 1984–89, approx. | Password Plus andSuper Password | N/a | Game shows |
| 1980–82 | The Flintstone Comedy Show | Frank Frankenstone | Main role, 18 episodes |
| 1982 | Madame's Place | Himself | Episode: "The Blushing Bride" |
| 1983–84 | Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour | N/a | Game show |
| 1984–85 | Body Language | N/a | |
| 1987 | Out of This World | Himself | Episode: "Dueling Mayors" |
| 1988-89 | Sweethearts | N/a | Game show Host |
| 1992 | Goof Troop | Dutch Spackle | Voice Episode: "Unreal Estate" |
| Designing Women | Himself | Episode: "L.A. Story" | |
| 1992–93 | Space Cats | D.O.R.C. (Disembodied Omnipotent Ruler of Cats) | Voice Main role, 13 episodes |
| 1993 | Rugrats | Edmund Haynes | Voice Episode: "Game Show Didi" |
| The Pink Panther | Jules Parrot | Voice Main role, 60 episodes | |
| 1996 | The Larry Sanders Show | Himself | Episode: "Everybody Loves Larry" |
| The X-Files | Jose Chung | Episode: "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" | |
| Family Matters | Mr. Veerland | Episode: "Getting Buff" | |
| 1996–99 | All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series | Killer | Voice Main role, 40 episodes |
| 1997 | Millennium | Jose Chung | Episode: "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense" |
| 1998 | Disney's Hercules: The Animated Series | King Minos | Episode: "Hercules and the Minotaur" |
| 1998–99 | The Drew Carey Show | Mr. Hathaway | Episodes: "DrugCo", "The Salon" |
| 2000 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Dirty Bubble | Voice Episode: "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II" |
| Year | Title | Voice | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | You Don't Know Jack Volume 2 | Himself | |
| 1997 | You Don't Know Jack Movies | ||
| 2001 | SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge | Dirty Bubble | |
| 2005 | SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! | Final role |
ForBig Lizard in My Backyard, their 1985 debut album, Philadelphia punk bandThe Dead Milkmen recorded a song titled "Serrated Edge" that features numerous absurd references to Reilly as a Jesus figure and orgy centerpiece.[26]
In 2001, Reilly was the subject of a sketch onSaturday Night Live, spoofingInside the Actors Studio, and was portrayed byAlec Baldwin. A later Baldwin character, the Generalissimo from30 Rock, mentions both Julie Harris andThe Belle of Amherst, which Reilly had directed. A 2008 parody ofMatch Game onSaturday Night Live includedFred Armisen playing a Reilly-like character. In the sketch, the host is found murdered moments before the show's taping; the subsequent on-air police investigation reveals that he had been having a clandestine homosexual affair with the Reilly character. Baldwin briefly reprised his portrayal of Reilly in the30 Rock episode "Live from Studio 6H" (West Coast airing), appearing on the "joke wall" in a parody ofRowan & Martin's Laugh-In.[citation needed]
"Weird Al" Yankovic wrote and recorded a tribute song titled "CNR" done in the style ofThe White Stripes, jokingly caricaturing Reilly with parodies of the internet phenomenonChuck Norris Facts, with absurdities like winning theTour de France "with two flat tires and a missing chain", or how "every day he'd make thehost ofMatch Game give him a piggyback ride". This was part of Yankovic's digitalInternet Leaks EP and was included on the 2011 CD releaseAlpocalypse. The music video was released byJibJab on August 4, 2009.[27] Yankovic again referenced Reilly within asight gag present in the end credits of his 2022 spoof biopicWeird: The Al Yankovic Story which implies that Reilly engaged in career-long stalking of the fictionalized Yankovic.
In season two, episode one ofThe Life and Times of Tim, one character observes another acting a line from their play and says, "I saw Charles Nelson Reilly do that, and you did it better."[28]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962[29] | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | Won |
| 1964[30] | Hello, Dolly! | Nominated | ||
| 1970 | Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | Nominated |
| 1997[31] | Tony Award | Best Direction of a Play | The Gin Game | Nominated |
| 1998 | Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Millennium ("Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense") | Nominated |
| 1999 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Drew Carey Show | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Drama Desk | Outstanding Solo Performance | Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly | Nominated |
| Outer Critics Circle | Outstanding Solo Performance | Nominated |
...actor Charles Nelson Reilly in 1931...
Charles Nelson Reilly: 15 episodes (1984-1985)
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