Quick Facts
- NAME: Charles Nelson Reilly
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor, Director, Television Personality
- BIRTH DATE: January 13, 1931
- DEATH DATE: May 25, 2007
- EDUCATION: Hartt School of Music
- PLACE OF BIRTH: South Bronx, New York
- PLACE OF DEATH: Beverly Hills, California
Best Known For
Charles Nelson Reilly was a stage actor and director, known for his numerous guest appearances on Match Game, Hollywood Squares and The Tonight Show.
Charles Nelson Reilly. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 10:10, May 25, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338
Charles Nelson Reilly [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338, May 25
" Charles Nelson Reilly." 2012. Biography.com 25 May 2012, 10:10 http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338
' Charles Nelson Reilly', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338 [accessed May 25, 2012]
" Charles Nelson Reilly," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338 (accessed May 25, 2012).
Charles Nelson Reilly [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 25]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338.
Charles Nelson Reilly, http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338 (last visited May 25, 2012).
Charles Nelson Reilly, http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338 (last visited May 25, 2012).
Synopsis
Hollywood Squares
and The Tonight Show. The audiences loved his wacky and witty persona.Early Life
Actor, director. Born on January 13, 1931, in New York, New York. Known to many for his numerous television guest appearances on such shows as Match Game, Hollywood Squares, and The Tonight Show, Charles Nelson Reilly was also an accomplished stage actor and director. After spending some of his early years in the Bronx, he moved with his Swedish-born mother to Hartford, Connecticut, to live with some of her relatives. Reilly showed an interest in theater early on and worked as an usher in a local theater.Broadway Debut
Around the age of 18, Reilly moved to New York City to study with Uta Hagen and her husband Herbert Berghof at their acting school, HB Studio. He landed his first Broadway stage role in the original production of the musical Bye, Bye Birdie (1960) with Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, and Paul Lynde. Taking on a more substantial part, Reilly appeared in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in 1961, earning a Tony Award for his performance as Bud Frump, the lackadaisical nephew of the company president and the nemesis of the lead character, J. Pierrepont Finch.Continuing his success on the Broadway stage, Reilly received another Tony Award nomination for his work on the musical Hello, Dolly! in 1964. By the end of the 1960s, however, he made the move to California to co-star in the supernatural comedy television series The Ghost and Mrs. Muir with Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare. Reilly later appeared as a regular on Dean Martin Presents in 1970. The following season he appeared on the short-lived sitcom Arnie.
Game Show Regular
In 1973, Reilly began making appearances on such games shows as Match Game ’73 (which later became Match Game PM and then The Match Game) as well as lending his distinct, nasal-sounding voice to the animated adaptation of the E. B. White novel, Charlotte’s Web. Reilly found time for stage work, directing Julie Harris in the one-woman show about Emily Dickinson, The Belle of Amherst in 1976. Again working with Harris, he directed the 1979 comedy Break a Leg. But his talents as a director and serious actor were often lost in the shadow of his wacky, witty television persona. While his serious theatrical career may have suffered, Reilly remained a popular guest on game shows and talk shows, making more than 90 appearances on The Tonight Show alone.Along with his television work, Reilly had roles in a few films as well as voiced some characters for animated films. He appeared with friend Burt Reynolds in Cannonball Run II (1984) and voiced the dog Killer in All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989). A well-regarded acting teacher for years, he also returned to stage work. He
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