For the moment, at least, I'm pretty excited about the news that a new edition of The Match Game is in the works. Like many a game show with a panel of celebrities, The Match Game is at its best when it has a gay sensibility at work: the definitive 70's edition had Charles Nelson Reilly as a frequent panelist, along with gay faves like Betty White, Marcia Wallace and Reilly's verbal sparring partner, Brett Somers.

Reilly often stole the show I'm particularly fond of this clip where host Gene Rayburn gets tired of Reilly's one-liners and hands him the emcee mike:

When the GSN revived I've Got a Secret in 2006, they played up the show's gay sensibility by using an all-gay panel made up of Billy Bean, Suzanne Westenhoefer, Jermaine Taylor and Frank DeCaro. The results were pretty great. I'll keep my fingers crossed that this new Match Game tries something similar.

Back in the 70s all that innuendo flying around was still a little bit naughty and shocking. Still, part of the fun was that the panel knew how to play off of each other:

Again, since we are through the WGA/AMPTP-forged looking glass this season, our beloved awards shows have traded bodies like one of those movies where Judge Reinhold switches bodied with his precocious 10-year-old son. While the Golden Globes and People's Choice - generally the bellweather events for drunken celebrity pratfalls and bad fashion - were hobbled at the knees by the strike, dark-horse events like the Critics' Choice, the DGA Awards (from which even Sean Young can still get kicked out), and last night's SAG Awards have become the hotness of the season. Go figure!

Last night's SAG Awards ceremony was a perfectly charming affair, with a few points of queer interest. First and foremost, Best Actor in a Moustache winner Daniel Day-Lewis (for There Will Be Blood) unexpectedly dedicated his award to Heath Ledger, noting that his performance in Brokeback Mountain was "perfect". Day-Lewis later noted that while he had never actually met Ledger, his death was all that he could think about for the past few days.

The show actually kicked off with some gay-fave goofiness, with (who played gay on Melrose and still looks adorable), Rebecca Romijn (who made a crack about playing a transgender character on Ugly Betty being no more odd than walking runways in underwear or being painted blue) and Jane Krakowski (introducing herself as Johnny Depp) among the stars who introduced the evening.

Another interesting moment came when Javier Bardem, who won Best Supporting Prince Valiant Bob (for No Country for Old Men), noted that not too long ago actors were not allowed to be buried on sacred ground because they were all "homosexuals and prostitutes". This would have been the perfect opportunity to single out some hustlers in the crowd, but apparently that was too squirmy for even the producers. I get what Bardem was saying, but it did come across a little differently than he'd intended, I think. Oh, and the first two people in the These are the People Who Died This Year montage were Merv Griffin and Charles Nelson Reilly.

Though Grey's Anatomy was up for Best Ensemble, neither T.R. Knight nor BFF Katie Heigl were present. And although a classic Marc St. James (Michael Urie) was used in the clip for Ugly Betty's ensemble nom, it and Brothers & Sisters took home no awards, with The Sopranos and 30 Rock sweeping pretty much everything. The clip for Extras' nomination also had mention of the "queer bench" where Ricky Gervais would meet George Michael cruising the park, and the clip for The Office had a rare appearance of Gay Oscar, who I thought had been lost in the supply closet this season.

Here's some (potential) good news for you fans of British TV: in a recent story about London's Pride festivities, the blog over at PinkNewsUK noted that out actor John Barrowman is being lined up to play recently deceased actor John Inman, best known as the camp-as-a-row-of-tents clerk Mr. Humphries on the Britcom Are You Being Served?, in a biopic.

Inman, who was himself gay and wed his partner a mere year before his recent death, played his flamboyant character with a great deal of wit and charm, and was reportedly discouraged by public response that Humphries was a "negative gay stereotype". Barrowman, on the other hand, is from a newer generation and has found success in roles that are far less camp -- it will be interesting to see him take on Inman's life and works, if he indeed is getting the role (we've been unable to confirm the rumor, as Mr. Barrowman has somehow slipped out of the restraints in Michael's basement -- so don't get too excited!).

This kind of begs the question: who would best play recently deceased American TV star Charles Nelson Reilly? That is, if the American film industry actually cared about its late gay stars? (ouch...)

EDITOR'S UPDATE: The webmaster for John's official site says the news isn't true.

In today's video round-up we've got a Match Game reunion (in memory of the late, great Charles Nelson Reilly), Kevin and Jason's pantry makeout session from Brothers & Sisters, a saucy and cute French music video with a twist ending (t/y Francois), and a home movie of a dinner at Charles Nelson Reilly's house in 2000. Enjoy!

Charles Nelson Reilly was one of those celebrities whose name was widely recognized, but many folks--especially younger ones--had little idea what he was actually famous for. In fact, mention of his name over the past ten years often provoked the response "He's still alive?"

Sadly, that statement is now accurate as Reilly died this past Friday from pneumonia after a year long illness. His only survivor is his partner Patrick Hughes III, whom Reilly met in the early 80's on a gameshow called Battlestars.

I think what's most important to remember about Reilly is that he provided a stepping stone between the era of completely closeted actors and today when T.R. Knight and Neil Patrick Harris can be openly gay. Yes, Reilly was a somewhat campy figure, but for many gay men of the 70's he was daring and was a role model when there were precious few. Homophobia likely robbed him of the career he should have had, but he persevered nonetheless and improved life for those gay men who came after him.

Like many somewhat famous people, by the end of his life Reilly was well-known for mostly one thing, but actually had a multi-faceted career, much of which is long forgotten. In Reilly's case, he was tagged as the game show guy (along with Paul Lynde) having appeared on Match Game from 1972-1982. Reilly later lamented that being associated with the game show killed his serious acting career which included a Tony Award. In a 2001 interview with The Advocate Reilly said. "You can't do anything else once you do game shows. You have no career."

Like Hollywood Squares' Lynde, Reilly often adopted an exaggerated, campy persona on air. But Reilly also appeared dozens of times on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and had roles on shows as diverse as McMillan and Wife (with Rock Hudson), The X-Files, and Spongebob Squarepants.

Reilly didn't officially come out until his one man stage show Save It For the Stage: The Life of Reilly in 1999, but Reilly also said he never hid his sexuality and was even told being so openly gay hurt his career. The name for his play was inspired by his mother who used to interrupt him while speaking by telling him to "Save it for the stage".

Some other Reilly facts:

• At age thirteen survived the Hartford Circus Fire which killed nearly 200 audience members. Reilly refused to ever sit in an audience again
• Got his stage break in a minor role in Bye Bye Birdie in 1960
  
• Won a Tony for his role in 1962's How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• As an acting teacher taught Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler
• Received a Best Director Tony nomination in 1997