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| Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 02:34 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: re: They should have used a movie star as Hedy in "How to Succeed..." (re: Maureen Arthur) - BroadwayTonyJ 06:46 pm EDT 06/26/19 | |
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| Anthony "Scooter" Teague was fine, but Reilly did win a supporting Tony for his performance. | |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 09:58 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - PlayWiz 02:34 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| One possible reason: When rehearsals, pre-recording and then filming started in California (late April-early May 1966), Reilly was in Skyscraper. Another possible reason: They may have thought he would look too old onscreen for the character. Another: They may have thought his performance style would be too big. Even though it's a film with big performances, they may have feared that his style might just be too big to work and he might not be able to adapt. Morse had already made a number of films. |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:16 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - PlayWiz 02:34 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| I was still a teenager when I saw the film of How to Succeed at the movies, so I don't really know the answer to your question. However, Teague had more traditional, movie-actor good looks, and Reilly was a more eccentric looking guy. Over the years Reilly appeared on game shows like What's My Line?, Password, The Match Game and others. I'm not sure of the exact chronology, but he became well known for making double-entendre remarks that signaled his orientation. Back in the 60's, that sort of campy behavior may well have made him difficult to cast in high profile films. Years later, though, it was less of a handicap. Just a guess on my part. | |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 10:50 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - BroadwayTonyJ 08:16 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| Yes, but also within a year or so of the film of "How to Succeed", Reilly was cast as a supporting cast member on the tv series "Ghost and Mrs. Muir" with Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare, so he was able to adapt his performance to the small screen, though he did play a rather wacky character. | |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 11:10 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - PlayWiz 10:50 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| I used to watch that series. It only ran for two seasons. Reilly was funny, but came across as fussy. He sometimes fancied himself as a romantic interest for Hope Lange, who generally was dismissive of him. Mulhare's character disliked him intensely and always refused to believe that Reilly's character might be his nephew or some sort of descendant. Reilly did a lot of TV, sit-coms as well as game shows. He was very funny, but never offensive or blatant like Paul Lynde (who also employed a gay schtick) frequently was. |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 12:08 pm EDT 06/27/19 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 12:00 pm EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - BroadwayTonyJ 11:10 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| Someone told me when they were choosing an actor to honor among Northwestern University alumni that they would never allow Paul Lynde to be invited again; he apparently was problematic to be around, especially if he was drinking. He was very funny on "Hollywood Squares" and his old short-lived tv series has resurfaced on channels like Antenna TV. Charles Nelson Reilly was held in a high regard as a director, frequently working with Julie Harris, and he always seemed like a good-natured, fun person on "Match Game", among other shows. |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: shaggyhair 11:33 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - BroadwayTonyJ 11:10 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| Was Reilly ever considered by Gene Kelly to play Cornelius in the film version of Dolly? Danny Lockin, who played Barnaby, came from having stage experience with the show and Michael Crawford, who got the part, was a relative unknown outside of England in the late 60s. | |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 12:16 pm EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - shaggyhair 11:33 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| Reilly would have been 38 in '69, too old to be the juvenile lead in the Dolly film. Crawford had already played the juvenile lead in the Funny Thing/Forum film in '66. That said, Gene Kelly was the wrong person to direct Dolly. In a perfect world, I wish someone like Stanley Donen had been allowed to do it. |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 12:06 pm EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - shaggyhair 11:33 am EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| I think that when Reilly and Eileen Brennan were cast as Cornelius and Irene Molloy in the original Broadway cast, they were cast as more over-than-top to match up more with Carol Channing's big, outlandish style in her starring role. Brennan at that point had recently done the title role in the musical spoof "Little Mary Sunshine" off-Broadway, so she wasn't quite a typical ingenue, nor was Reilly a typical juvenile. Then again, Gene Kelly either directed, encouraged or allowed Michael Crawford to be over the top in his own way, which really contrasted to the more grounded and delightful performance of Danny Lockin as Barnaby. Reilly sounds relatively subtle on the OCR compared to Crawford in the film. | |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 03:24 pm EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - PlayWiz 12:06 pm EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| The casting of eccentric, character types as Cornelius and Irene in HELLO, DOLLY! is a template that I really wish had been followed more in latter years. It seems that those roles are now usually cast (including in the recent revival) with traditionally handsome/pretty leading man/lady types. And that is fine. My admiration for Gavin Creel and Kate Baldwin is second to none. But they can play any number of musical theatre leading roles and are certainly much more castable, in general, than an actor in the Reilly or Brennan mode might be today, so why not cast a wider net when casting these roles? I'd love to see what different energy a younger Brooks Ashmankas might have brought to Cornelius, for example. I believe that I learned in a discussion thread here that the casting of even the original production of HELLO, DOLLY! went more in the traditional direction once Reilly and Brennan left the show. |
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| re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 12:19 pm EDT 06/27/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Why didn't they use Charles Nelson Reilly as Frump? - PlayWiz 12:06 pm EDT 06/27/19 | |
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| Danny Lockin's performance is the only one in the film that I can tolerate. He was actually believable (as opposed to everyone else in the movie). | |
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