Hugh Reilly

Hugh Reilly (October 30, 1915 – July 17, 1998) was an American actor born in Newark, New Jersey, whose career spanned Broadway, film, and television. He is best remembered for his role as Paul Martin, the father figure in the CBS television series Lassie, a part he held from 1958 to 1964.

Reilly's Broadway career ran from 1947 to 1957 and included several notable productions. Among his stage credits were The Curious Savage and Second Threshold, both in 1950, followed by Never Say Never in 1951, Dear Charles in 1954, and Fair Game in 1957.

His screen career began in 1949 with a film appearance in Johnny Stool Pigeon, and that same year he made his television debut in the Kraft Television Theatre episode "The Flying Gerardos." He went on to appear in the film Bright Victory in 1951. Throughout the early 1950s, Reilly was a frequent presence in television anthology programming, with appearances on Robert Montgomery Presents between 1950 and 1955, The Ford Television Theatre in 1951, Broadway Television Theatre and Armstrong Circle Theatre in 1953, and Appointment with Adventure twice in 1955. He also appeared on The Alcoa Hour in 1956, served as host of the Crossroads episode "Through the Window" that same year, and was cast in The United States Steel Hour in 1958. In 1952, he portrayed David Naughton, the husband of the title character, in the television series Claudia.

Following his years on Lassie, Reilly continued to work in television sporadically through the 1970s. He took on a departure from his familiar screen persona when he was cast as Dr. Simon Jessup, a fraudulent spiritualist and attempted murderer, on the CBS soap opera The Edge of Night, a role he played from December 1971 to May 1973. He also appeared in single episodes of ABC's The F.B.I. in 1967 and NBC's Father Murphy in 1982.

Reilly died on July 17, 1998, in Burbank, California, of emphysema. He was survived by three sons: Joshua, Ethan, and David.