Go4It
05-29-2007, 06:11 PM
Charles Nelson Reilly, whose persona as a wacky game show panelist on the 1970s game show "Match Game" and talk show guest overshadowed his serious work as a director and Tony Award winning actor, has died. He was 76.
Reilly, a longtime resident of Beverly Hills, California, died Friday of complications from pneumonia at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medican Center, said Paul Linke, who directed Reilly's one-man show "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly."
He broke through on Broadway in 1961, winning a Tony Award for playing Bud Frump in the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Reilly also received Tony nominations for his role in "Hello, Dolly!" in 1964 and for directing a revival of "The Gin Game" with Julie Harris in 1997. Reilly often directed plays that starred Harris, including "The Belle of Amherst" in 1977, a one-woman play about Emily Dickinson that reminded one of his proudest achievements.
He was known by wearing his trademark ascot and oversized glasses.
Reilly, a longtime resident of Beverly Hills, California, died Friday of complications from pneumonia at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medican Center, said Paul Linke, who directed Reilly's one-man show "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly."
He broke through on Broadway in 1961, winning a Tony Award for playing Bud Frump in the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Reilly also received Tony nominations for his role in "Hello, Dolly!" in 1964 and for directing a revival of "The Gin Game" with Julie Harris in 1997. Reilly often directed plays that starred Harris, including "The Belle of Amherst" in 1977, a one-woman play about Emily Dickinson that reminded one of his proudest achievements.
He was known by wearing his trademark ascot and oversized glasses.