Charles Nelson Reilly Talks With Johnny About Recently Bombing on Broadway, on Carson Tonight Show

Charles Nelson Reilly Talks With Johnny About Recently Bombing on Broadway, on Carson Tonight Show - 05/03/1979 #johnnycarson #charlesnelsonreilly #thetonightshow

Video Script:: 

Charles Nelson Reilly is with us tonight and I'm not sure in what state of mind he is in because he has just completed one of the shortest runs on Broadway that's true he was directing a new play at the Palace Theatre and the play had the distinction of opening and closing on the same night it's true somehow he is served we talked about that before he was going back there that's one of those things that happens in this business he survived this disaster and he said he would join us tonight would you welcome Charles Nelson Reilly [Applause] [Laughter] well Charles they told me you're not gonna leave now no no never no no I love you no thank you are there other people in the room yes there are I think I see Freddie you know it's strange that you would come out because I was just talking about a horrendous disaster that happened to me we've all had them in our careers have you ever annoy in 64 Des Moines 64 I'm Broadway 79 Broadway 79 don't ever go there ill I lost my e-string beach everything I lost everything but I'm alright now I remember difficult with a toupee yes I'll do anything for business a new piece of business oh look I know this is not probably very pleasant to talk about you because they adore Thank You Leon yes your honor people put a lot of their life and a lot of their mental effort and their heart into something like this and it's not very my nurse isn't it various you do what may sense the final curtain she's so wonderful yes III interrupted you'll know that's all I master what you do thank you we all let the hospital feel that you know when you're in a hospital at 11:30 there's not much you can do or places to go that's right and there's always someone are you there it's right here there's always someone that has you want right now you were gonna ask me a serious quite now I remember when you were here before talking about were the days yes are you are you distraught are you crushed what does this look like I mean that's no no it's just if part of life yes you know what I'm saying you have that kind of attitude you don't laugh so much going for you the Boston Pops alone remember that yeah I told how wonderful you were stick with that be Boston don't go what I'm fine okay no yes sir it will help Charles can you play at the hospital on Thursday it's when you go to the places like that don't have such big going-away parties that way it's easier to come back I know and don't expect too much nope alright you opened the show when what day was it it was last Sunday last Sunday you open it when did you know that you were in trouble last Sunglass son did you know early in the day no you mean before the curtain went up oh sure why do you know you know you were on the road didn't you take this on the road sure we took it on the road would you go where'd you play I can't say the name cuz I got to tell about different into the about the town well then I'll be ok the doctor said I lost part of my speech but I'll still keep going let's say a Connecticut would that be a fair well yeah we did go to Stratford when you read the variety yes we went to Connecticut what did they say now in your previews or your out-of-town l-bomb Obama no you get worried when the audience leaves you know what I mean that's an indication well they got up they took their coats and they left I love the East it's no.2 Christmas it's noted Easter you know I just think I'm so happy to be home it say the warmth here did they post a closing notice right out if you don't close opposed to closing notice if it opens in one night and closes there's no time to get it up on the wall I mean before you know it but I wanted to know you were cancelled that's the wrong word for Broadway did you know you were closed when the audience got up and left no no it you see I won't tell the name of the play because I want to protect all the innocent people but if you get them the magazine if you get the magazines next week you can read about it the palace dear last Sunday can you see the nurse I just know if I see the nurse of yours doing this over there look you're among friends now you're out of New York and you're back in California no but you see they always say because I have a silly image on television you know I'm silly right and nice answer nine would be more than wrong but anyway they say to me every few years you must go to Broadway you must direct on Broadway you must go you can't do this the game shows the talk shows you must go where art is art right you must be on the boards to the theater theater don't ever go don't go to the theater unless you're going to see a play if you have two strings left in other words I did not recharge your creative juices that's what they usually say oh yeah I must go back to the theater to recharge right my creative juices the other night I was directing the play in the afternoon and we made some improvement and I thought I would go backstage as the curtain fell and say to the cast 60% of it is working it's fabulous the curtain fell I went 60 boom they were booing us no I was an usher for 22 years Bob Bob knows that sure for 22 years no that's in and saw alright but the thing is I never heard a bow no in my whole life did youdid was her curtain call was it wet there was they sort of stood there for a while you know what I mean and then the boos hit us and I thought what's wrong with B but Beverly Hills what's wrong with Burdine right what's wrong with you with my old friend well that's really kind of sad I'm sorry but don't worry about it but we can discuss later you know the serious side of it all right all right if my nurse well I wish you Merry standing by thank you we'll be right back and here the welcome back to as the world turns as you remember Charles have you ever know that you directed this play have you ever been in a play as an actor in which it closed the same night no I was in a play in four plays that when I was an actor from 1960 to 67 right that went on and the four of them were 14 years which is amazing the honor I have a friend Barbara who was in for place that lasted seven performances for different place yeah that's kind of crushing it yeah defeating yeah and then when after we opened on Sunday on Monday Herschel Bernardi opened and the goodbye people which was a big hit here right and that closed in one night to be nice good question Elliot maybe a little but what kind of an investment goes into something like this actors time and the money and the backers and all that was well over a half a million dollars and they make the clothes they're so beautiful and they do all those things and half a million dollars and boom yes and we all committed to it because you believe in it and you thought it was good obviously oh yes famous actors and but the funny thing they come to me I'm a director right right and they come to me when Mike Nichols says no you know gene Sachs says know her but Ross says no they go right down the list you know and then you meet them all on the street and gonna be turned that down and you have to go to the theater like Frank Asaro everybody turned this down you know what I mean and they come to you and that you wanted the producers are wonderful because they make believe you are the first and you're really the 19th and they come like hi god we've got through to you yeah and did that hurt your feelings when you found out that oh I just met them everywhere I turned I went to a restaurant I said half a cannelloni please in a salad with Russian and two people said we would turn it down the waiter said yeah I accept that you know that's okay but it is a mystery because sometimes a play that's really very bad and in trouble can be become a very big success can be saved they don't sure yeah our author notice I would mention no names no no yes your magazines this week that's not fair yeah our author has a reputation the director before him said he writes in cement in other words nothing has changed oh I write in cement so today I would like to send him a big bag of cement and say write another biggie baby you think this is chiseled in tableau strive again no they say no they get nervous you see they don't trust I find that they don't trust did you say you know put the cigarette box here in the mic here and put this lovely man in a gray suit it might go on to 18 years but they will say no don't do that put the cigarette box here cut the mic and get rid of the gray you try and they don't accept him what do you mean now I understand they have offered you an opera doctor direct one directing an opera in San Diego no that's most you see that's a well known commodity though I'm sure and that's already a pre-sold type of thing yes okay you see when you direct a new play you spend all the time in the rehearsal period finding and focusing the play hmm if I go to like Burt Reynolds theatre and I direct born yesterday it's finished it's finalized so you have nothing to do but direct you know where all the moves are in the action perfect right but a new play you have to experiment it figure it out and it takes that takes the whole time Traviata was booed opening night too but luckily you didn't do that 102 that probably that's why I'm doing here you know but that's in San Diego at the end of the month do you believe a lot of people believe that the misfortune comes you know they say so in summary this is terrific this is the goodie cuz I know Fred gets nervous if you know if you're not landing and scoring no no no this is a goodie this will go for like two 22.6 good good cleaning the trumpet sweetheart you guys go right ahead you know what I mean this time but I'm sitting I always because I came from poverty thirty years old I finally woke up remember you taught me about the radiator when I have the radiators ready my first radiator pretty thing right here but anyway I'm sitting in the biggest suite in New York I have a floor through and it's I have two terraces and it's snowing this is why you're in New York just now a few months ago where are we now may April June this is me doctor said these things would go yes but anyway a few months ago I was in New York I had two big big terraces it's snowing but I had to terrorism at a huge floor through suite and I'm sitting in the suite one morning directing this play it's ahead of its time I know that now but directing his play and I pick up the Daily News and it says gently quietly most people would read it it wouldn't affect them but I read it and it said say goodbye to match game 79 no I'm sitting in this suite and I'm on Match Game 79 and I thought you mean the game show the game show it's quiet it's daytime no one knows about it but the money is very good you know and I've been on it six years and I pick up the paper while I'm directing this play and it says quietly say goodbye to match game said you know forget your E string you can buy that you can go to the corner you get anything you want but say goodbye to match game 17:09 I had to call the gardener I had to call the marina and say take the boat out my mother's in a home I've got to move into a state institution all of this goes on you're cutting at that close I'm cutting at that close I have nothing left this way I'm on Broadway Greece lasted nine years South Pacific ten my play lasted two hours and five minutes you can't build a lot of roiled you can't do very much on there the party is over gave me this for the night haven't you look haven't you put a little something aside as they used to no not gonna spend money you spend it all sure limos day a night well you real sure but I'm daytime very small salaries you know that's steady and steady and bills yeah but I spend that's a lot of fun oh sure I'm putting people through college and everything I to call them I said is there a state's College a state institution I hear you you know take everything out of the dorm now have you won have you have you unloaded the boat yes no yes it itself it just goes right down to the bottom I'm just kidding you know I do these stories I'm just kidding but it's interesting you work very hard on a dramatic play on Broadway and if the play is a flop or a hit it's the same amount of work that's because the director when it opens is free to leave so it can open and last six years eight years or two hours and five minutes and that's what that's what's interesting the costume design of the set designer everyone connected with a Broadway play now works as if it's a big hit because you have to do that's the only way to do it what else did you do in New York you do anything fun Studio 54 oh yeah that it's it's in all the news all the time yes that is a strange place isn't it well I I see I'm older I'm I'm 48 you know and the thing is I never went out all my life and I start now it's a little late by the blood and the legs don't work but I go discs going for the first time in my life and that they were wonderful to me there it was a very nice play and saw the range it makes group of people in it oh yeah but it's exciting the music is wonderful and I and I enjoy it and they were very nice so they know you in New York yeah here I love I was born there in the brown hall two hours and five minutes you should write a book that would be the title two hours and five minutes your whole life you see we did the play and the danger of rehearsing for weeks you rehearsed before weeks and then we screamed among us they laugh you laugh at rehearsal and the stars are going be careful of rehearsal laughs you know they're very misleading before we I thought it was funny they thought it was funny the man that wrote it in cement thought it was funny we all thought it was funny then we went to Connecticut to try out yes we said the first line nothing nothing you say no where you think there's a real joke we thought this is where there were smart people famous actors and you even wait for those things oh yeah so you say now there's gonna be a laugh here so take a beat right before you do your next line that those are sometimes but they always say you must go to Broadway you know it Broadway's won if I'm gonna go back I have to do it the musical oh don't go I like it here I couldn't wait to get back on the freeway today the first time there's a queue coming for the music watch how smart I am in TV one you know - oh I'm sure this baby 1 2 3 ha ha we'll be right back after this Thanks you you