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Too Gay for Television? How Charles Nelson Reilly Proved NBC Wrong

Matt Baume | September 5, 2026



With 99 appearances on The Tonight Show, nearly two thousand game show episodes, and starring roles from Broadway to sitcoms to cartoons … for decades, Charles Nelson Reilly WAS television. But it almost never happened: At Charles’ first TV audition, an NBC executive took one look at him and said, “they don’t let queers on television.” So, how did Charles Nelson Reilly go from being too gay for broadcast to dominating the airwaves? This is the story of an iconic gay actor who went from selling his blood to make ends meet to being the most in-demand actor on television, thanks to a little help from Burt Reynolds, Broadway, and a haunted house.

Get bonus videos and more on Patreon: http://patreon.com/mattbaume

Watch The Life of Reilly: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL59B9706770CC4F27

Written by Matt Baume

Comments

This post currently has 33 comments.

  1. @144wychwood

    September 5, 2026 at 7:29 pm

    It's funny I never realize Reilly was gay but then again in the 1970s when I saw him mostly on Match Game, I didn't really know what gay was. LOL. To me he was just this goofy guy that showed up on a lot of tv shows of the day.

  2. @kathryns5705

    September 5, 2026 at 7:29 pm

    I was a kid in the 70s. I remember seeing CNR on "Lidsville", "Uncle Croc's Block," commercials for Bic Banana Ink Crayons, and wherever else he happened to show up. I liked his distinctive chuckle, and the way he talked. There was something about him that I liked a lot. Probably the same something that people didn't like in the 50s. I had no idea he was a homo (that's what people around me said when I was a kid)…I barely knew what that meant. But I enjoyed his voice and his mannerisms. I didn't turn out to be queer myself, but now I know what that means, and I have many LGBT friends. CNR and Paul Lynde were the beginning of me being an LGBT ally. I was moved to learn about his childhood and see the pain behind his comedic telling of his story. RIP Charles, and thank you.

  3. @ferociousgumby

    September 5, 2026 at 7:29 pm

    For some reason, a memory from the Dick Cavett show springs to mind. The guest was Louis Nye, and Cavett said, "You have one of the great comic faces." Nye replied, "I think you have a more attractive face." Not sure how Cavett responded to that.

  4. @Enen_Blader

    September 5, 2026 at 7:29 pm

    A lot of people forget that Charles Nelson Reilly wasnt just on Match Game. He appeared on a number of other game shows as well; I have seen a few episodes of the Hollywood Squares where he was a featured panelist.

  5. @urbroz

    September 5, 2026 at 7:29 pm

    THE BIG DIRTY BUBBLE WAS GAY!? YAY legit one of the first peices of media i ever saw as a child 🙂
    Tom Kenny later did the dirty bubble after he passed, and I remember the HUGE difference in the performance when I was little, glad I finally know his name <3

  6. @michaelchen8906

    September 5, 2026 at 7:29 pm

    Homosexuality is a sinful lifestyle, an abnormal lifestyle according to the Bible and they’re all going to HELL if they don’t repent of their evil sins and give their lives to Jesus Christ!🙏🏻

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