Charles Nelson Reilly was an amazing performer, and an amazing human being. He was one of the most unique individuals to to every grace the stage and screen. I would have loved to have seen him live before his passing in 2007; he is greatly missed.

The Life of Reilly was first shown in 2006 and is an adaptation Charles Nelson Reilly’s one-man play “Save It For the Stage: The Life of Reilly”. It is an edited version of Reilly’s longer stage show, filmed live before audiences at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, California in October of 2004. I recently purchased the DVD from the website of the late Charles Nelson Reilly.

Charles Nelson Reilly is the reason I remained a Krofft fan for my entire life. His portrayal of Hoo Doo in Lidsville made an impression on me at the young age of only 3. His signature laugh was the only thing I remembered for years, and spent years trying to remember those early childhood dreams.

My next exposure to Charles was The Match Game. My grandmother was a huge game show fan, so I had early exposure to The Match Game, The Price is Right and many others. The familiarity with Reilly drew me to him instantly. I’ve been a huge fan since. He is an entertainer for all ages, and deserves a larger place in entertainment history.

The movie Life of Reilly is a perfect film. It starts off asking “Do you remember who Charles Nelson Reilly is?” Tragically, not enough people do. Interspersed with clips that illustrate his story, Life of Reilly shows us CNR‘s life from his own point of view…tragic, exciting and funny. The film’s impact is amplified by the passing of Reily. It is wonderful that he was able to document this prior to his death.

Sadly, the film is still not widely available on DVD. But, the good news is that you can still get it. I received an email from the directors recently:

The DVD was slated to be released early this year by the legendary New Yorker Films. Unfortunately, as you may have heard or read, New Yorker Films recently filed for bankruptcy.
…
In the mean time, for a limited time only you can get a FREE DVD Screener of the film on our website when you buy a T-Shirt for as little as $14.95.

Of course, I now have mine. I would love to see all the raw footage of Reilly’s performance, but for now I’ll be content with this extraordinary DVD.

What are you waiting for? Go get yours!

(Come back in a few days for the first KROFFT.NET podcast containing video of the event)
This past weekend in Burbank, The Hollywood Collector’s Show was held at the Burbank Airport Marriott. My wife and I traveled to California from Michigan to get a chance to see The Kroffts, The Bradys, Witchiepoo and Pufnstuf all under the same roof. The two day event was filled with many stars spanning at least 60 years of television and film, but we were there to meet some Krofft Alumni. I went as a casual fan, to get a few autographs, and to meet the people who’s acting I’ve admired through the years. I didn’t get any interviews (but I hope to in the near future), I didn’t try…I just wanted to enjoy meeting them.

Led by Susan Olsen, several of the stars of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour were on hand to sign autographs and meet fans in support of the Precious Paws organization. At the event was Susan Olsen (Cindy Brady), Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady), Chris Knight (Peter Brady), and Barry Williams (Greg Brady). Also there to support Precious Paws was Christopher’s wife Adrianne Curry and Robbie Rist (Cousin Oliver from The Brady Bunch). All of them were very pleasant to talk to and all had some interesting stories to tell. I brought my Brady Hour DVD for them to sign. As I handed it to each of them they each had some clever remarks to make about the show. The best was Chris Knight who remarked immediately, “They actually sell these?” (also, thanks to Chris for reminding me to take the cover out of the plastic).

Marty Krofft was there for most of Saturday. Incredibly, he was stuffed in the corner behind he mob of Happy Days fans where you wouldn’t have found him if you weren’t looking for him. This was the first time I’ve met Mr. Krofft, and he was very nice to meet. Because of the noise and crowd, I didn’t get to spend much time with him, but I did enjoy the few moments I was able to talk to him. When I went back later in the day, he had already left. I had him sign my Pufnstuf DVD.

Van Snowden was also there. When I first saw him, he was standing in the line with us fans waiting to get in (the show was very unorganized), and I didn’t even recognize him. He was very pleasant, but not very talkative. The noise in the room didn’t make it easy to have a conversation with the soft spoken Mr. Snowden. I had him sign my Pufnstuf DVD.

The wonderful Billie Hayes was at the show in support of her long-time organization Pet Hope. I’ve ben an admirer of hers for many many years, and finally meeting her was a treat. She is the sweetest person I’ve ever met, and was genuinely excited to meet each and every one of her fans. I could have spent the entire day sitting there with her…she is amazing. She graciously signed my Pufnstuf DVD and posed with me in a picture. And yes, she still sounds like Witchiepoo.

In all it was a great show. It was billed as an autograph and collectors show, but to me it was a meet and greet with show business legends. The show itself was poorly organized. Why wasn’t Marty Krofft, Billie Hayes and Van Snowden even close to one another? They told the celebrities that it started at 10am, and let us in at 9am. (and there were other, non-Krofft related anomalies) The show was great, and I hope to get another chance to spend some time with these Krofft-alumni.

Please post your experiences in the comments if you attended, or ask any questions you may have.

Also, for non-Krofft related coverage of the show, go to META-TAINMENT.COM.

The online video series Krofft Kwikies presents another exciting classic episode of Lidsville. In this video clip a boy finds out why you don’t mess with a magician’s tricks when he falls into a strange world of hats.

Features the classic original theme music! You can watch more classic Krofft Kwikies on Myspace . com/Krofft and revisit Saturday Mornings any day of the week!

The KROFFT.NET redesign is still underway, but I had to post about this tragic news. The world lost a great entertainer this week, Charles Nelson Reilly.

It was the laugh of HooDoo that pulled me back into Sid and Marty’s world back in the early 90s, and his voice that constantly reminds me of my childhood. If you’ve never seen him on Match Game I urge you to turn on the Game Show Network and check it out.

Please join me in remembering this great man, and legend of comedy.

More information

From Rhino:

Beginning with the premiere of H.R. Pufnstuf on Saturday mornings in the psychedelic ’60s throughout he dawn of the Reagan era in the ’80s, Sid and Marty Krofft mesmerized an entire generation with their extraordinary “living cartoons.”

Today, these shows are once again capturing the imagination of that generation for which surreal stories, hypnotic colors and a maddening mix of real life and master puppetry are the essence of pure entertainment.

So sit back, tune in and relive the Saturday mornings of your youth with Rhino Home Video’s release of Krofft’s most memorable shows.
Packaged in vinyl, these epidsodes have never before been released!

The Munsters: Butch Patrick

Butch Patrick still makes a living from CBS’s The Munsters (1964-66), even if his real dream has nothing to do with the famous monster family. Born Patrick Lilley, he quickly squandered his Munster cash and grappled with teenage drug abuse. Over the years, Patrick, 46, has pitched or developed other projects (a rock band called Eddie and the Monsters, limited-edition ‘Wolfie’ dolls, plans for a TV series about a grown-up Eddie). Now he’s developing 1313 Theatre, a series that would combine monster movies with comedy sketches. A self-described ‘dabbler,’ Patrick, who lives with his girlfriend, Pamm Curtis, in Odessa, Florida, owns a promotions company and appears at nostalgia conventions and Halloween events. But his most beloved project has nothing to do with ghouls: He wants to develop a movie about Jack Chrisman, a pioneer in the world of drag racing and, more important, a father figure to the young actor. Patrick now wants to repay the debt by immortalizing his late friend. “It would be all mine,” he says. “Something I’d make from scratch.”

H.R. Pufnstuf: Jack Wild

Pufnstuf. And he’s continued acting long since NBC’s Pufnstuf (1969-71) was shipped off to the 1970s kitsch heap (some episodes were recently released on DVD). The British Wild got his big break at age 15 ” and received an Oscar nomination ” as the Artful Dodger in 1968′s Oliver! “How the hell could I keep that standard up?” asks Wild, now 47, living 50 miles north of London, divorced and in a four-year relationship with British actress Claire Harding. But follow up he did, playing best friend to a large dragon creature in Sid and Marty Krofft’s Saturday-morning series. The role made him a staple of teen magazines, but Wild says he was too busy to notice. “It’s only 25 years later that I’m seeing these lunch boxes,” he says. While he continued acting in England until about 1980, his career collapsed under heavy drinking (although he’s been sober since 1988, alcoholism left him a diabetic). Despite some movie roles (he was a merry man in the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), he mostly acts on stage. In a series being developed for British TV, he would play a gay fascistic chef. “I definitely don’t worry about typecasting anymore,” he says.

Just a reminder that Yesterdayland.Com has great interviews with Sid Krofft, Rip Taylor, Ruth Buzzi, Billie Hayes, and Johnny Whitaker. Click on the links below to see them. (more…)

Elite Distributions is now selling Krofft Beanies. Check out their site for more information.

Shipping on June 1, 1999, a box set containing 13 episodes of Krofft shows is now available at the KROFFT.NET Online Store.