Charles Nelson Reilly Biography

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: Los Angeles, California

Best Known For

Charles Nelson Reilly was a Tony-Award winning actor also known for a variety of roles on TV programs, including The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and The Match Game.

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Charles Nelson Reilly

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Charles Nelson Reilly. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:47, May 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338.

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Charles Nelson Reilly. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338 [Accessed 18 May 2013].

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Charles Nelson Reilly [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338.

Bluebook Style

Charles Nelson Reilly, http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338 (last visited May 18, 2013).

AMA Style

Charles Nelson Reilly. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/charles-nelson-reilly-227338. Accessed May 18, 2013.

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 starred in the 1980 play Charlotte and directed the original comedy The Nerd, starring Mark Hamill.

Later Career

In the later part of his career, Reilly continued to work on television and the stage. He made numerous guest appearances on such programs as The X Files and The Drew Carey Show and lent his voice to several animated series, including Hercules and SpongeBob SquarePants. In 1997, he received his third Tony Award nomination for his direction of a revival of The Gin Game starring Julie Harris and Charles Durning. Reilly himself became the subject of one of his final productions - Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly. He began performing his autobiographical one-man show in 2000.

Charles Nelson Reilly died of complications from pneumonia on May 25, 2007, in Los Angeles, California. He was survived by his partner, Patrick Hughes. Around the time of his death, friend and director of Reilly's one-man play, Paul Linke, told the Los Angeles Times, "The world is a slightly less funny place now. He made people laugh along the way, and that's a legacy that lives on long after the game shows."