Charles Nelson Reilly

'Weird Al' Yankovic created and performed a song about 'Charles Nelson Reilly' entitled "C.N.R." in 2009.

His final work was an autobiographical one-man show, "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly," about his family life growing up in the Bronx. The Life of Reilly (2006) was his last filmed project. He got the first part of the show's title from a patented remark his mother use to say to him when he said something clever. His longtime partner Patrice Hues was set designer for the film.

Not only was he performing his one-man show "Save it for the Stage: The Life of Reilly", Charles was an acting coach at Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater in Jupiter, Florida, and he had directed many Broadway and off-Broadway shows. (Reilly and Reynolds had been friends for years). [April 2002]

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

In the 2000s, Reilly was primarily known for the autobiographical play "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly", and for its film adaptation. While touring the United States, he developed respiratory problems which led to his retirement.

While semi-retired and living in Beverly Hills, Charles occasionally directed opera, taught, and voiced cartoons (most recently "The Dirty Bubble" on Spongebob Squarepants (1999)). The filmed version of his autobiographical one man play "The Life of Reilly" (The Life of Reilly (2006)) premiered at the South By Southwest film festival in March of 2006 to rave reviews. [May 2006]

He directed Broadway shows regularly and was nominated for a Tony Award for directing in 1997. He also directed a number television episodes.

Along with Lance Henriksen, Brittany Tiplady and David Fredericks, he is one of only four actors to play the same character (Jose Chung) in both The X-Files (1993) and Millennium (1996).

In the 1990s, he had guest roles in television series such as "X-Files" and "Millennium".

American satirical punk rock band The Dead Milkmen mention him several times in their song "Serrated Edge" on their 1985 album "Big Lizard in My Backyard.".

A very close friend of Burt Reynolds, Reilly moved to Florida in 1979 to teach at the Burt Reynolds Institute. He also ran an acting school in North Hollwyood and taught at the HB Studio headed by Herbert Berghof and wife Uta Hagen; among his students were Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Lily Tomlin and Christine Lahti.

In 1976, Reilly started teaching acting to others, while shifting his own career from acting to directing.

Alec Baldwin did a hilarious take-off on Reilly on a Saturday Night Live (1975) sketch in which he was being interviewed by an overly-fawning Inside the Actors Studio (1994) host James Lipton played by Will Ferrell.

In the 1970s, Reilly was a regular in game shows and children's series, such as "Match Game" and "Uncle Croc's Block".

Muir", where he appeared from 1968 to 1970.

Was a close friend of multiple Tony-winning actress Julie Harris, and directed her in many plays and one-woman shows (over 10), including "The Belle of Amherst". He met Harris while they were performing in the short-lived musical "Skyscraper" in 1965.

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

He won his first Tony Award in 1962 for that performance. He kept appearing in Broadway shows for the rest of the decade.

In 1961, Reilly joined the cast of the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying".

In 1960, Reilly first gained critical attention, for a small but noteworthy part in Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie".

As a notable actor, Reilly started making television appearances in the 1960s. He started as a guest in panel shows and as a player in television advertisements. He eventually gained a key role in the television series "The Ghost & Mrs.

He turned to theater next, and debuted in film with a bit role in "A Face in the Crowd" (1957).

During the late 1950s, Reilly appeared regularly in comic roles in theatrical performances Off Broadway.

Charles Nelson Reilly was born to Charles Joseph Reilly and Signe Elvera Nelson. His father was Irish-American and Catholic, his mother was Swedish-American and Lutheran. As a child he amused himself with improvised puppet theater performances. He had a traumatic experience in 1944, when present for the Hartford circus fire in Hartford, Connecticut. A fire during a performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus killed 167 people and injured 700 people. While Reilly was one of the survivors, he was left with a life-long fear of fires. He never attended public performances of theater and circus again, as an audience member, for fear of another fire. Reilly wanted to enter show business as a youth, and in particular to become an opera singer. He took lessons at the University of Hartford Hartt School, but eventually realized that his voice skills were inadequate.