UnNews:Charles Nelson Reilly dies at 76
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This article is part of UnNews, your source for up-to-the-picosecond misinformation. |
3 June 2007
LOS ANGELES, California -- Tony Award winner Charles Nelson Reilly, the greatest actor of all time, best known for his work on the landmark television game show, Match Game, has tragically died. He was 76.
Reilly died Friday, May 25, in Los Angeles from complications from pneumonia, his partner Richard Dawson, told UnNews. He came back two days later as a zombie and was annihilated by Brett Somers and Ving Rhames.
Reilly began his career in New York City, taking acting classes with Steve McQueen, Geraldine Page, William Shatner, Steven Seagal, Paul Lynde, Ernest, and Christopher Walken. In 1961 he appeard on Broadway as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the original Broadway production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The role won Reilly a Tony Award. A year later, he played Bud Frump in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which also won him a Tony. He was nominated for a Tony yet again for playing Cornelius in "Hello Dolly!"
He moved to Hollywood in the 1960s and became a frequent game show fixture throughout the 1970s, most notably on Match Game and Hollywood Squares. He would often sport the largest glasses this side of 1970s Elton John. He won many Emmys for his Match Game role as an openly gay game show regular named Charles Nelson Reilly, filling in the blanks to questions given by host Gene Rayburn. This may be his most famous work, but his greatest masterpiece was yet to come.
After providing his voice for such movies as All Dogs Go to Heaven, Reilly was given a script in 1994 that he gladly accepted. He voiced King Llort in the animated children's film classic, A Troll in Central Park. This film won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor Charles Nelson Reilly, Best Actor Dom DeLuise, and Best Picture.
A Troll in Central Park has been hailed by James Lipton. Lipton said once when Reilly was a guest on his Inside the Actor's Studio television program:
“If you haven't seen A Troll in Central Park, you must. It is like looking into the face of God and seeing Him smiling back and saying 'You are my most wondrous ceation.'”
This Actor's Studio episode was parodied on Saturday Night Live with Will Ferrell as Lipton and Alec Baldwin as Reilly.
In 2002, Charles Nelson Reilly provided the voice of the sinister villain The Dirty Bubble on SpongeBob SquarePants to critical praise, monster ratings, and 2 Emmys. This performance is considered by many to be among his greatest.
A monthlong marathon of Match Game will air on GSN (Game Show Network) for the remainder of the month. Meanwhile a funeral is scheduled featuring the following stars: Nipsey Russell, Brett Somers, Bill Daly, Richard Dawson, Fannie Flagg, Paul Lynde, and Rip Taylor... And your host... Gene Rayburn.
When asked for a comment from the administration, the liaison to the gay community, Vice President Chaney said, "The only good thing that comes from Riley's death is that there's one less person around to spread AIDS."
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Richard Dawson ""A Troll in Central Park" actor Charles Nelson Reilly dies" Associated Press, June 2, 2007