Tony Winner & Game Show Star Charles Nelson Reilly Dies

Tony Award-winner Charles Nelson Reilly, the acclaimed actor and director who became a familiar face to millions through his flamboyantly witty appearances on "Match Game" and other game shows, has passed away at the age of 76, according to the New York Times.  

Survived by his partner Patrick Hughes, Reilly died on Friday, May 25th from complications of pneumonia.

From the mid-seventies through early-eighties, Reilly - who was born in New York, New York on January 13th, 1931 - was a regular presence on "Match Game," the popular game show with a cocktail party flavor and a yen for double entendres.  Before his career as a game show panelist and TV star (he also appeared on such shows as "Hollywood Squares" and appeared more than 95 times on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson), Reilly had won a Tony for originating the role of Bud Frump in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and received a Tony nomination for creating the role of Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly!. 

Reilly's other Broadway credits included the original production of Bye, Bye Birdie (in which he played Mr. Henkel and understudied the role of Albert Peterson), the Julie Harris-headlined musical Skyscraper, God's Favorite and Charlotte.  He also worked as an acting teacher and, later in his career, became a Tony-nominated director.  He received a Tony Award nomination for directing Harris and Charles Durning in a revival of The Gin Game, but was personally proudest of having helmed the original production of The Belle of Amherst, the 1976 solo play that had starred Harris as Emily Dickinson.  Other directorial credits included Paul Robeson, Break a Leg and The Nerd.

Reilly - who was openly gay in a time of repression and homophobia - made dozens of TV and film appearances, including "The Drew Carey Show," "Love, American Style," All Dogs Go to Heaven, "The Wind in the Willows" and "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir."  In 2002, he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for his autobiographical one-man show Save it for the Stage: The Life of Reilly.