Monday, May 28, 2007

Quote of the Week (7) and a little bit more...

"When I die, it's going to read, 'Game Show Fixture Passes Away'. Nothing about the theater, or Tony Awards, or Emmys. But it doesn't bother me"
~ Charles Nelson Reilly

(When asked years ago what his Obit. would say...)

Saddly he passed away last Friday (May 25th) of complications from pneumonia.

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For the record...*

He is survived by his partner Patrick Hughes.

Was Gene Rayburn's understudy in "Bye-Bye Birdie" on Broadway, where they met.

Appearing in his one man show at the Irish Repertory Theater in New York. (November 2001).

Earned a Tony nomination as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role opposite Carol Channing in the original "Hello, Dolly!" in 1964.

Won Broadway's 1962 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for portraying Bud Frump in "How To Succeed In Business without Really Trying". Was also nominated in the same category in 1964 for "Hello, Dolly!". Also earned a 1997 Tony nomination as Best Director (Play) for working with longtime pal Julie Harris in the revival of "The Gin Game". Reilly previously directed Harris in her Tony-winning role as Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst (1976) (TV).

Reilly was a long-time teacher of acting at HB Studio, the acting studio created by Herbert Berghof and his wife Uta Hagen.

He was born in The Bronx, New York (Jan 13 1931), but was raised in New Haven, Connecticut.
At age 13, he was in the audience during the Ringling Bros. Circus tent fire in Hartford, Connecticut on July 6, 1944, which claimed the lives of 168 people. The mother of his neighbor friend had taken the two boys to the show and the three managed to escape physically unharmed. Charles was saved by an older sister also in attendance, who lowered him from the side of the bleachers because the bottleneck below made it practically impossible to get out any other way.

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Just wanted to add that I was indeed a fan, from Hollywood Squares and Match Game, to Spongebob Squarepants. and yea... even all that acting stuff too. He was a master of heavy, laden double entendres. He was a real Fasionista... all ya gotta do is look at any appearance on Match Game or H. Squares to know that. .. The man could wear the sh*t out of a neckerchief!

I'll miss him.

* info from IMDB

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