Well this was an absolute shock to hear that Charles Nelson Reilly passed today. The news reports say he'd been ill for a while but to be honest I hadn't heard anything about it. As of around a year or two ago he was doing a one-man show here in L.A. that had gotten pretty good reviews from my friends who'd seen it.

Well what is there to say about a man who is a total game show legend? Alongside Paul Lynde, he's probably the most famous game show celebrity who never really hosted a show (yes, I'm intentionally forgetting "Sweethearts"). Without Charles there would have been no Match Game, an absolute comedic wit who could turn a one-liner faster than Brett could take a swig of her drink. He pushed the envelope all over the place on the show, never hiding his sexuality even when it was certainly taboo to discuss it.

Favorite memories? I have to say the episode of Match Game '75 which started without him (Mark Goodson filled in temporarily) because Charles was late getting a new toupee. They talked about it openly on the show. It was fantastic. There were no limits to what he and Brett would do. There may not have been a more amazing twosome in the history of game shows.

Another legend is gone, but luckily we will always have the video record of Charles' great contribution to the genre.

 

posted by Brad @ 1:23 AM   7 comment(s)