When you were young and growing up gay in suburbia in the 70's, there were two men on television who let you know you were not alone. They weren't openly gay but their wink, wink, nudge, nudge sensibilities made it perfectly clear to anyone who wanted to notice that they were different in their own way. One of these men was Paul Lynde. And the other was Charles Nelson Reilly. Lynde had the edge. Reilly was far more subtle and not quite as dark. Both men were hilarious and let you know that it was not okay to be different but, in fact, being unique could work to your advantage. This was not lost on me.

Reilly was best known for his work on TV's game show "Match Game," which ran for several years in the 70's, but he also guest starred on nearly every sitcom that ran that decade. And in addition to these, there was "Ghost and Mrs. Muir" reruns, Sid and Marty Kroft kids shows like "Lidsville," and a whole slew of commercials for Bic Banana pens. It was Reilly who taught me how to spell banana. With his trademark laugh as the exclamation point, he pointed out the advantages of the disposable ink pen while shouting out "B-A-N-A-N-A" in a voice so distinguishable from the other clatter on TV, you just had to look up and take notice.

Reilly is a hero of mine, a unique voice in a time when being "different" could get the shit beat out of you, a individual in a world that seemed to insist on conformity. It wasn't until years later that I realized just how important the man was, not only to me, but to the cultural history of the late 20th century.

"The Life of Reilly" is a filmed version of Reilly's long running one-man stage show called "Save It for the Stage," a phrase his mother used on him when he acted up in his youth. The play, and this film of it, is not what I expected. Reilly spends a long time talking about his childhood and his unusual family, many of whom had severe mental conditions. Reilly also talks about going to New York and beginning his long and distinguished stage career. And, finally, there is mention of his work as a theater acting teacher. These are areas of Reilly's life that seem almost unknown to the general public and his illumination of them is not only interesting and compelling, it funny as hell.

Reilly isn't just a pop culture icon, he is a founding member of the pop generation. The way he references pop culture, actors, directors, writers and artists to tell his tales here seems revolutionary. He describes his father for us in a few words and then opens us up to understanding the man even more by saying, "If this were a movie, he would be played by Hume Cronyn." The filmmakers show us a clips of Cronyn in an old black and white movie and immediately we understand what he is describing to us. He does this again and again in the performance to not only create an effect but to help his audience relate to his take. It's a wonderful and fun device that never ceases to draw us in.

When it comes to his TV career, Reilly says very little. And when it comes to his sexuality, he says even less. These aspects of his life are touched upon briefly, but not in the anecdotal ways in which we might hope. There are no hilarious stories about getting drunk with Richard Dawson and Brett Sommers while filming "Match Game." There's no mention of his work on "The X Files." And not once does he mention coming out, his first sexual experiences, his lovers or his partner. There is a minor mention of homophobia in his early TV career and he discusses how adults would talk about how he was "odd" as a child but little more is mentioned about this. It's slightly frustrating.

But CNR is a man from a different age than me. He comes from a time when gay men were closeted and quiet. Even with his hilarious use of innuendo and his seemingly "open" persona, the man just may not be comfortable talking about these things. He developed this show when asked to speak at schools about his career in show business, so maybe he didn't feel it was appropriate to discuss his sexuality in performance. Perhaps he feels it is the only normal part of his life and it isn't as compelling as the stories of his youth. Perhaps parts of it are too painful for him to relive. Whatever the reason, Reilly doesn't discuss his homosexuality here. It's easy to forgive this when you are familiar with his body of work. Early in his career, he tells us, a TV executive says "We don't queers on television." He doesn't have to tell us how wrong this man was. His whole career negates not only this one man's hate and homophobia, but a whole generation's. If it weren't for CNR and Paul Lynde and men like them, who knows where we would be now. Could there have been a "Real World?" A "Will and Grace?" A Logo network? Charles Nelson Reilly isn't just a gay man from the 70's. He was our mascot.

It doesn't matter what is missing here really, because what is here is simply jaw-dropping in its interesting qualities. Reilly's father's work as a artist for Paramount pictures, his father's meeting with Walt Disney, his mother's racism and craziness, his aunt's lobotomy, his survival of a circus tent fire as a child, his impressions of a young Hal Holbrook in a Mark Twain wig and on and on and on. Reilly is a hoot. He makes us guffaw nearly every time he opens his mouth. And when the topic on which he is speaking turns serious, he makes us laugh through the tears. His public speaking abilities tinged with the high art of showmanship and his thespian prowess make him one of the most interesting people to ever grace the stage alone. Fuck Holbrook as Twain. Fuck Robert Morse as Capote. Charles Nelson Reilly as himself is about the most interesting one man show to ever been seen. What a talent. What a life. What a hoot!

Charles Nelson Reilly - you're still a God amongst men to me and undoubtedly to a whole generation.

Note:

The one man show seen here was filmed over three nights in 2004. Reilly actually hadn't done the show for a while and was a bit ill but still puts on a performance that is astounding.

Several film clips are used including a few created by the filmmakers to illustrate certain important moments in Reilly's dialogue.

Reilly and I share the birthday of January 13th. He was born in 1931 and celebrated his 32nd birthday on the day that I was born.

Viewed at the Austin Convention Center at the World Premiere screening during SXSW in March of 2006. For a more detailed description of that screening as well as pictures of and comments by the filmmakers, see SXSW 2006 coverage for Day Three.

Report Card

Script: A+

Performance: A+

Non-Performance Segments: C

Cinematography\Lighting: C-

Special Effects\Make Up: C

Music: C

Final Grade: A+