And The Name Is Still Charles Nelson Reilly!

He went from being a major Broadway musical character actor to television's "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" (this being one of the shows that rode on the coattails of the success of "Bewitched" and "My Favorite Martian")...
...and from there to being the quintessential seventies game show celebrity and talk show guest...
... to becoming an in-demand theatre and television director, acting teacher and guest star of one of my favorite episodes of both "The X-Files" and "Millennium".

I cannot say enough great things about this actor. A great comedy technician and show biz personality, he left the world wa-a-a-a-y too soon (just as the filmed version of his stage show is being released to rave reviews). Here's what the truthful users-unfriendlytm Wikipedia says about his life and career...

Biography

Reilly was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of Charles Joseph Reilly, an Irish Catholic commercial artist, and Signe Elvera Nelson, a Swedish Lutheran.[1][2] When young he would often make his own puppet theater to amuse himself. His mother, foreshadowing his future as an entertainer, often would tell him to "save it for the stage". At age 13, he escaped the Hartford Circus Fire[3] where over a hundred people died, and as a result he never sat in an audience again through the remainder of his life.[4]

Career

Reilly made his first movie appearance in 1957, playing an uncredited role in the Elia Kazan film A Face in the Crowd. However, most of his work during this period was on the stage, as he appeared in many off-Broadway shows. His big Broadway break came in 1960 with a minor part in the hit Bye Bye Birdie. Reilly would go on to win a Tony Award for his performance in 1962's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,[5] and he was nominated for another Tony two years later, for his work as Cornelius Hackl in the Broadway production of Hello, Dolly![6] Reilly appeared regularly on television in the 1960s. For example, he did stints both as one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests and as a panelist on the popular Sunday Night CBS-TV program.

While he kept active in Broadway shows, Reilly would soon become better known for his TV work. In 1965, he made regular appearances on The Steve Lawrence Show, which aired for a single season. From 1968 to 1970, he appeared as uptight "Claymore Gregg" on the television series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, which also starred Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare, in which he was reunited with Hello, Dolly! Broadway co-star Eileen Brennan on one episode.

In 1971, he appeared as the evil magician "Hoodoo" in Lidsville, a psychedelically flavored live-action children's program produced by Sid and Marty Krofft that aired on Saturday mornings on ABC. The show was about a boy who falls into a magician's hat and enters a magical world of hat-humans. It is through these roles, as well as his playing the titular role in Uncle Croc's Block, that Reilly's voice and mannerisms were embedded in a generation of young fanatics.

During the 1970s, Reilly also appeared as a regular on The Dean Martin Show, and had multiple guest appearances on television series including McMillan and Wife; Here's Lucy; Laugh In; The Love Boat; and Love, American Style. He was also a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, appearing over 100 times, as he lived within blocks of the studio and would fill in for other guests who were unable to make it to the studio in time.

During this time, Reilly was perhaps best known as a fixture of game shows, primarily due to his appearances as a regular panelist on the television game show Match Game. Reilly was the longest-running guest, and often engaged in petty, hilarious arguments with fellow regular Brett Somers. Reilly typically offered sardonic commentary and peppered his answers with homosexually themed double entendres that pushed the boundaries of 1970s television standards.

From 1975 to 1976, Reilly starred in another live-action children's program called Uncle Croc's Block with Jonathan Harris. Reilly was often a guest celebrity in the 1984 game show Body Language, including one week with Lucille Ball and another week with Audrey Landers.

From 1980, Reilly was primarily active teaching acting and directing for television and theater. He directed episodes of Evening Shade in 1990 and earned a 1997 Tony Award nomination as Best Director of a Play for working with longtime pal Julie Harris, opposite whom he had acted in Skyscraper, and whom he had directed in The Belle of Amherst and a revival of The Gin Game.

Reilly was a longtime teacher of acting at HB Studio, the acting studio made by Herbert Berghof and his wife, Uta Hagen. His acting students included Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler.

In the 1990s, Reilly made guest appearances on The Drew Carey Show, The Larry Sanders
Show, Family Matters, Second Noah, and as eccentric writer Jose Chung in the television series The X-Files ("Jose Chung's From Outer Space") and Millennium ("Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense"). Reilly was nominated for Emmy Awards in 1998 and 1999 for his performances in The Drew Carey Show and Millennium, respectively. From the late 1990s,
Reilly directed theater and opera, touring the country performing a critically acclaimed one-man stage show chronicling his life called Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly and occasionally performing as the voice of "The Dirty Bubble" on the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. In 2006, his stage show was made into a feature film called The Life of Reilly.[7]

Personal life
Reilly did not publicly proclaim his homosexuality until his one man show Save It for the Stage. However, much like fellow game-show regular Paul Lynde, Reilly played up a campy on-screen persona. In many episodes of Match Game, he would lampoon himself by briefly affecting a deep voice and self-consciously describing how "butch" he was. He mentioned in a 2002 interview with Entertainment Tonight that he felt no need to note this and that he never purposefully hid his homosexuality from anyone.

Patrick Hughes III, a set decorator and dresser, was Reilly's partner; the two met backstage while Reilly was appearing on the game show Battlestars. They lived in Beverly Hills.[8]

On May 25, 2007, Reilly died at his home from complications from pneumonia after a year-long illness.[9]



When I was growing up in the seventies in a little town in Mississippi, the only ideas I had about show business came from game shows and afternoon talk shows like "Dinah" or "The Mike Douglas Show". Sad, possibly. Pathetic, sure. Tragic? Well, let's not get too drama-ytm.

The truth is people like Reilly made Hollywood, performing and being a celebrity seem like the best fun you could have. Living there quickly made me realize otherwise, but I think my love of the great faces and voices of character actors came from my love of game show and talk show celebrities. And no, I'm not going to use irony quotations around celebrities.

For the pure entertainment they give when they appear on TV or in the movies, I celebrate them every time I see them. No irony there.

...And The Name Is Charles Nelson Reilly! And Here Is The Trailer For The Film Of His One Man Show!

The actual "You Know The Face..." write-up will have to wait until I see the movie (it better come to DC!). But until then, please enjoy this smidgen of all good things that are CNR...

And The Name Is Beverly Garland!

You might know her now from her appearances on "7th Heaven" or "Port Charles" or maybe you've stayed at her hotel in North Hollywood...

.... or maybe you remember her from countless mother parts including Laura Holt's on "Remington Steele", Lois Lane's on "Lois And Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman", and, of course, Mrs. King's on "Scarecrow and Mrs. King"...
... but I'm not sure if you remember that she was also known as the best screamer in Hollywood for her horror film appearances in the fifties, like "Not Of This Earth".

One thing you can say about Garland- she's a survivor. Like a lot of the actors on this site, there has never been a time in her career when she has not worked. Unless it was to run her hotel, which I had the pleasure of going to while researching my character actor project. Which you can read about here, here, here, and here. The Beverly Garland Holiday Inn is where the "Stars Of The Twilight Zone" convention was held in 2002 and Garland was one of the stars we met the day we went.

And despite turning down my wife's perfectly reasonable sales pitch to carry "Seattle's Best Coffee" or "Starbucks" in her hotel*, she was still very nice and was slightly (politely is a better word) interested in our little documentary idea. Truth to tell, in approaching the actors with what little we had prepared, I'm still a little stunned that we weren't shot down more often.

Here's what Garland's website says about her amazing career...

Beverly Garland has combined the raising of four children with starring in 41 feature films and nearly 700 television programs to establish a list of entertainment industry credits perhaps unmatched for its combination of diversity and volume.

She has played opposite many of Hollywood’s most popular leading men-from Charles Boyer and David Niven to Clint Eastwood and Frank Sinatra.

Ms. Garland’s film debut was in a supporting role in the 1950 classic film noir, “D.O.A,” starring Edmond O’Brien. Her television career began in the same year with appearances in a variety of dramas which led to starring roles in the most celebrated live dramas of fifties, “Playhouse 90” and “Lux Video Theater.”

She was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1954 for her role, co-starring with Lee Marvin, as a leukemia-stricken mother in “Medic.”

In 1957, she made television history, becoming both the first actress to star in the title role of a dramatic series and becoming television’s first policewoman when she played NYPD officer Casey Jones in “Decoy.”

She has been a regular in eight TV series, including co-starring as Bing Crosby’s wife in his series, Fred MacMurray’s wife in the long-running “My Three Sons,” and Kate Jackson’s Mother in “Scarecrow and Mrs. King.”

Her feature films range from dramatic hits such as “The Joker is Wild,” with Frank Sinatra and “Desperate Hours,: with Humphrey Bogart, to sci-fi favorites “It Conquered the World,” with Peter Graves, and “The Alligator People” with Lon Chaney Jr. to classic westerns “Gunslinger” with John Ireland and “Where the Red Fern Grow,” with James Witmore.

In 1983, Beverly was awarded her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2001 she was inducted into the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters Hall of Fame. To mark her 50 years in show business, the City of Los Angeles proclaimed January 19, 2001 “Beverly Garland Day in Los Angeles.”

In 1999 her husband of 39 years died, and since then she has combined her acting career with an increased devotion to the hotel he built and named after her, the 255-room resort style Beverly Garland Holiday Inn and Conference Center in North Hollywood, California.

One of the things I love about her mother roles is how much bite she puts into them. There's always a little edge to her visits with Laura Holt, Lois Lane or Mrs. King, usually along the lines of "get married/settle down" variety. Which (not to get too doctoral-thesis-y here, but what the heck) is ironic given how much of a survivor in Hollywood she herself was. And maybe that's what the edge is these particular parts.

One of her best parts was as Tuesday Weld's mom in the amazing "Pretty Poison". Garland brings so much to the part that...

spoiler alert

...you hate to see her go.

end spoiler alert

Beverly Garland is one of the great ladies of character acting, if only for bringing some much-needed attitude to the typical wife/mother parts.

But she should've changed her hotel's coffee.

*referred to in our family as "The Incident".

And The Name Is L.Q. Jones!

You saw Jones recently in "A Prairie Home Companion", "The Mask Of Zorro", and "Casino"...
... but didja know he was part of Sam Peckinpah's film rep company, appearing in "The Wild Bunch"...
... and "Ride The High Country", among others?

Let's see what factually-suspect Wikipedia has to say...

L.Q. Jones (born August 19, 1927 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American character actor and film director, best-known for his work in the films of Sam Peckinpah.

Born Justus Ellis McQueen Jr., he made his film debut in 1955's Battle Cry, with Van Heflin, under his birth name. His character was named L.Q. Jones, and when it was suggested to him by film producers that he change his screen name for future pictures, he decided that the name of his debut character would be a memorable one.

Jones appeared in numerous memorable films in the 1960s and 1970s. He became a member of Sam Peckinpah's stock company of actors, appearing in his Ride the High Country (1962), Major Dundee (1965), The Wild Bunch (1969), The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), and Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (1973). Frequently cast alongside Strother Martin, most memorably in The Wild Bunch. Jones also appeared in television, as recurring characters on such shows as Cheyenne (1955), Gunsmoke (1955), and The Virginian (1962). Also directed, executive produced and adapted the screenplay for A Boy and His Dog (1975), with Don Johnson, Jason Robards, and the voice of Tim McIntire. Other films include Flaming Star (1960), Hell is for Heroes (1962), Hang 'Em High (1968), Stay Away, Joe (1968), The Brotherhood of Satan (1971) (which he co-produced and wrote, and cast Strother Martin again in the lead role), Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), Casino (1995), The Edge (1997), The Mask of Zorro (1998), and A Prairie Home Companion (2006).

L.Q. Jones (besides having an awesomely fictitious last name), is one my favorite actors to see in any program or film. He has a great cruel glint in his eye (rivaling the mighty Vincent Price!) that makes his scene in Casino with DeNiro (the one where he's trying to talk DeNiro into re-hiring Joe Bob Briggs) really crackle. You know that he is more than a match for the mobbed-up Casino manager, just from the way Jones smiles at him.

But he can be touching too, as seen in "A Prairie Home Companion" when he sings "You've Been A Friend To Me". This Carter Family classic is sung simply by Jones as the performance of a venerated old star from the Porter Wagner-era of Grand Ole Opry-dom. But when he gets to the last line "...If ever I have had a friend, you've been that friend to me", his voice cracks, he bows his head humbly to acknowledge the applause, and walks off the stage.

To see his range, please pick up one of the Peckinpah's and then "Prairie Home...". You'll be glad y'did pardner.

And The Name Is William Schallert!

Schallert is definitely one of those actors that people recognize by both face and voice ...
... older television viewers may remember him as Patty Duke's father on "The Patty Duke Show"...
... but Trekkies ("Like yourself?" you ask. "Hey, I'm not the only one!" I respond defensively) will remember him as "Nilz Baris" in the "...Trouble With Tribbles" episode of Star Trek (The Classic Series- natch) .

By now you're probably saying, "Oh yeah, that guy." And it's Schallert that was one of the main inspirations for this blog. An actor of decency and intelligence this is one of those guys who frickin' works, man, and you can see that by looking at the bazillion* entries in his IMDB listing here.

Let see what those storytellers at Wikipedia have to say...

William Schallert (born July 6, 1922 in Los Angeles, California), is an actor who has appeared in many movies and television series such as The Smurfs, The Rat Patrol, Gunsmoke, and Get Smart.

He is best known as patriarch Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show and as teacher Leander Pomfritt on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Coincidentally, on both shows, he worked opposite the late actress Jean Byron.

He is also very well known for playing the role of Nilz Baris on the Star Trek episode entitled "The Trouble with Tribbles". He also appeared in the archive footage of that episode which was used in the popular Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations". Schallert appeared in DS9 himself, in the second season episode "Sanctuary", in which he played Varani, a Bajoran musician.

Schallert starred in an innovative 1964 TV pilot for ABC called Philbert, which combined live action camera work and animation. Created by Friz Freleng and directed by Richard Donner, ABC backed out of the series shortly before full production was to begin, though the completed pilot was released in theatres as a short subject.

He was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1979 to 1981 (his former co-star and TV daughter, Patty Duke would succeed him between from 1985 to 1988).

He continues to work steadily, appearing most recently in a 2007 episode of How I Met Your Mother, and his distinctive voice continues to bring him work for commercial and animation voiceovers.

Speaking of voiceovers, Schallert was also the voice of "Milton The Toaster" the cartoon spokes-appliance for Poptarts.

I met him at the Stars Of The Twilight Zone convention in 2002 in Los Angeles. You can see pictures of that event here, and maybe see me and the missus in one of the photos. Probably not, but I can dream, can't I?

We were there to drum up support for and shoot some footage for a documentary pilot idea I had with the same name as this blog. While there, I talked to quite a number of my character actor heroes, and one of them was Schallert. As you will find in reading through some of the links I have provided, he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and we talked a for a long, long time.

At his autograph-signing table. While others were waiting. To get his autograph. And finally, after about twenty minutes, he very politely said "Would you mind? I don't want these other folks to go away empty handed."

I'm a big jerk. And Mr. Schallert, if you're reading this, (as I said at the time) I'm very sorry.

William Schallert. Actor. Former SAG president. Genuinely nice guy.

*"Bazillion", yet another Stephen Hawkins numerical designation. Or an order of ordained priests who follow in the footsteps of St. Basil.