Match Game question: Snow White was really amazed when, after sleeping for 100 year, she woke up and found out she had turned _________________.
Celebrity #1–Black
Celebrity #2–Black
Charles Nelson Riley–I didn’t want to offend anybody, so I said “Jewish.”
I loved watching him as a kid, and was absolutely blown away by his X-Files performance. If you don’t know, he also reprised his Jose Chung character in an even better episode of Millennium, Jose Chung’s Doomsday Defense. Even more, the plot of that episode consisted of ripping Scientology a new one!
Loved that name too. Charles Nelson Riley looked like many things, but neither Mexican nor Chinese…
"We’ll get letters!!!"
Didn’t he do several “guest star” appearances on various sitcoms and other shows? I just remember him being on TV, not where, specifically. He appeared on variety shows, talk shows, and I think he was in a few episodes of Bewitched, as well as Fantasy Island and Love Boat. Or am I dreaming?
I liked him–I assumed he was dead already. Didn’t he also do the Dean Martin roasts? Ah, 70s TV–those were good times.
I remember him mostly from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He always cracked Carson up. Carson’s people had a knack for booking people who had good chemistry together – I remember one show with Reilly and either Michael Landon or Burt Reynolds – this would have been back in the 1970s, before anyone knew either of those guys had a sense of humor. They had Carson almost on the floor. I don’t remember anything that was said, only Reilly and the other guy (probably Reynolds, I think) taking shots at each other and Carson struggling to breathe. It was fanastic television.
I feel stupid… I love Charles, but thought all he did was TV and game shows- granted, I wasn’t allowed to stay up and watch Carson in the 70’s. Now I read he was one of Carson’s most frequent guests, was good friends with Burt Reynolds, and this gem from one obit:
>>Wearing his trademark ascot and oversized glasses, Reilly made a near-record 97 appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” often making ribald ripostes.
After a “Tonight Show” guest who was talking about Shakespeare dismissed Reilly’s attempt to join the conversation, he silenced her by delivering Hamlet’s “the play’s the thing” monologue straight, with depth and passion, the New York Observer reported in 2001.<<
Also, that he never hid his homosexuality (good for you Charles) and left his partner of 25 years 
His credits (probably incomplete).
Wow! Thanks. I used to love Love American Style. CNR would have been a great voice for Mr Toad as well.
Godspeed, Charles.
Aimless musing: where are the actors and personalities that will replace CNR type of people?
Nathan Lane is equally funny and talented.
A very sweet tribute here, worth the read.
Elelle’s link states that Life of Reilly is going to be a documentary. That’s totally on my queue. Friends who saw it in Atlanta said that it was the funniest evening they ever spent in a theater. There’s a teaster trailer with NOT WORK SAFE LANGUAGE at the NOT WORK SAFE link.
Other select YouTube moments:
Here’s a work safe link of Charles twixt a leisure suited Jack Albertson and Johnny Carson ca. 1976. I presume the friend he’s speaking of is Guys & Dolls musical star Jean Simmons rather than the lesser known musical performer, though that would be interesting indeed, and a really odd piece of CNR doing Hamlet (mostly non comedically) from his one-man show.
On an episode of the TV show Barney Miller Harris was casting the movie version of his (flopped) novel. Being pissed at Dietrich that day he cast him with CNR.
CNR talking about being a child in that fire.
They don’t exist. We as a society no longer value that sort of celebrity, instead preferring such low-rent poser “celebrities” as Paris Hilton and her ilk, who couldn’t carry on a witty or charming conversation under pain of death.
I think I’d like to watch her try that.
Death match: Paris Hilton vs. the English language.
“Paris Hilton played Juliet last evening. Juliet lost.”
I just did the Slow Dial Up torture of downloading some of Sampiro’s good links, and worth it to understand a bit more about CNR. I knew him pretty much as most my age have, as a Game show colorful guy, Lidsville Zany character, but always outstanding and Fun.
In all these remebrances and video clips, I now see a great depth of personality in the Showbiz scale of things. He was a good bright light, a true theatrical presence. In those Carson clips, he commanded the stage, yet was very gracious to others.
So, goodbye to a decent person, and a fine artiste who knew exactly what he was doing, and ace at doing it.