Charles Nelson Reilly

**Charles Nelson Reilly II** (January 13, 1931 – May 25, 2007) was an American actor, comedian, director, and drama teacher known for his comedic roles on stage and in films, television shows, and cartoons. Reilly made his film debut with an uncredited role in *A Face in the Crowd* (1957), directed by Elia Kazan, although most of his early career was spent on the stage. He was a regular and popular performer in comic roles for several summer seasons in the 1950s at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. Reilly appeared in many Off Broadway productions. His big break came in 1960 with the enormously successful original Broadway production of *Bye Bye Birdie*. In the groundbreaking musical, Reilly had a small onstage part and was the standby for Dick Van Dyke in the leading role of Albert Peterson.[*citation needed*]

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 origination of the role of Bud Frump, Reilly earned a 1962 Tony Award for featured actor in a musical.[6]

In 1964, Reilly was featured in the original cast of yet another giant Broadway success, *Hello, Dolly!* For originating 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.[6]

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 one of the *What's My Line?* Mystery Guests and as a panelist on that program. In 1965, he made regular appearances on *The Steve Lawrence Show*, which aired for a single season. Television commercials that he made throughout the 1960s and 1970s included Excedrin and Bic Banana Ink Crayons.

From 1968 to 1970, he appeared as the constantly flustered bumbler Claymore Gregg on the television series *The Ghost & Mrs. Muir*. He also appeared as a regular on *The Dean Martin Show* and had multiple guest appearances on various television series, including *McMillan & Wife*, *The Patty Duke Show*, *Here's Lucy*, *Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In*, *The Love Boat*, and *Love, American Style*. In 1971, he appeared as the evil magician Hoodoo in *Lidsville*, a children's program on ABC. Reilly was also a frequent guest on *The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson*, appearing more than 100 times. He was a lively and reliable talk-show guest and lived within blocks of the Burbank studios where *The Tonight Show* was taped, so he was often asked to be a last-minute replacement for scheduled guests who did not make it to the studio in time.[*citation needed*]

Reilly was a fixture on game shows, primarily due to his appearances as a regular panelist on *Match Game*. He was one of the longest-running guests, and often engaged in playful banter with fellow regular Brett 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-themed double entendres which pushed the boundaries of 1970s television standards.[7]

During the taping of *Match Game '74*, Reilly left for a short time to film *Hamburgers* (1974). From 1975 to 1976, he starred in another live-action children's program called *Uncle Croc's Block*, with Jonathan Harris. He was often a guest celebrity on the 1984 game show *Body Language*, including one week with Lucille Ball and another week with Audrey Landers.[*citation needed*]

From 1976 on, Reilly primarily taught acting and directing for television and theater, including directing Julie Harris (with whom he had acted in *Skyscraper* in 1965–66), who was portraying Emily Dickinson in her one-woman Broadway play *The Belle of Amherst*, by William Luce. In 1979, he directed Ira Levin's play *Break a Leg* on Broadway. Despite the previous year's success of Levin's *Deathtrap,* *Break a Leg* closed after one performance. Reilly earned a 1997 Tony Award nomination as Best Director of a Play for the revival of *The Gin Game*, starring Julie Harris.[6]

In 1990, he directed episodes of *Evening Shade*. Reilly also made guest appearances in the 1990s 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*"), *Millennium* ("Jose Chung's *Doomsday Defense*"), and occasionally as the voice of "The Dirty Bubble" in the animated series *SpongeBob SquarePants*, before he was replaced by Tom Kenny. Reilly was nominated for Emmy Awards in 1998 and 1999 for his performances in *The Drew Carey Show* and *Millennium*, respectively.[8]

Reilly was a longtime teacher of acting at HB Studio, the acting studio founded by Herbert Berghof and made famous by Berghof and his wife, the renowned stage actress Uta Hagen. His acting students included Lily Tomlin, Bette Midler, and Gary Burghoff.[*citation needed*]

Reilly had a voice role in three films by Don Bluth: *All Dogs Go to Heaven* as Killer in 1989, *Rock-a-Doodle* as Hunch in 1991, and *A Troll in Central Park* as King Llort in 1994. In each one, he played the villain's dim-witted sidekick.[*citation needed*]