I think mine will know what to do, too, not because I've said, "Do this or that," but because they have seen life as I have seen it, and they sort of know me and I know them. I really don't care. [1], Irving Brecher pitched the radio series for friend Groucho Marx under the title The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for Marx. We'd just say, "Well, let's not think about that anymore." It was produced by Tom McKnight for NBC and featured William Bendix. I think we act out things that are hard to put in words. [3], An unrelated radio show with the title Life of Riley was a summer replacement show heard on CBS from April 12, 1941, to September 6, 1941. Riley could easily be described as the Archie Bunker of the 1940s. [citation needed], Bendix and Rosemary DeCamp reprised the roles in an hour-long radio adaptation of the feature film that was presented on Lux Radio Theater on May 8, 1950. Simon Vanderhopper: Well, you can't call it off! In the 19551956 season, the Riley family moved and were given new neighbors portrayed by Florence Sundstrom and George O'Hanlon.[8]. O'Dell was a character hastily written into the long-running radio (and, later, television) show, "The Life of Riley," which had its debut on radio in 1944, while Americans were dying by the thousands in Europe and the Far East. Months after my father died, I can remember this wave of feelings that would come over me, catching me at the most unpredictable times, this wallop of him being dead, him being gone. That's not what you don't want to see, because we can fix that all." So for me, I can remember swinging the door all through my teen years, and I think it was 1973 -- I was probably 24 or 25 years old [when I decided]. John Brown returned as the morbid, counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell. Bareiss, Warren "The Life of Riley" Encyclopedia of Television The till still rings. Not a day went by that I wasn't kept in after school. And he's sorry to this day! Most say, "No, go ahead and take care of that." Peg Riley: You certainly are, Dear. I just read this card, and I just spoke to the Justice of the Peace! After 13 days in his coffin, Memphis police showed up with shovels to unearth Digger. Jim Gillis: So by her leavin', I'm getting away without goin' out of the house. Maybe because it's happening to their parents or their siblings and some of their friends now, suddenly I see the cultural conversation changing from "how much?" Im five-foot-eleven. Gillis: I tried to help you, Riley, but I'm through. I planned the whole thing. I think he was keenly aware of the fact that a good funeral is not about what we buy or what we spend; that a good funeral is very much about what we do when someone dies. When my father died, I was not prepared to put him in the ground then. So I'm interested in it. You were just married! Details Select delivery location Used: Like New | Details Sold by ral Add to Cart New & Used (2) from FREE Shipping Have one to sell? Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker. 2023. Chester A. Riley: Why should an old man married for years run away with a pretty blond? His dramatic life story is so well-known that schoolchildren are taught to recite it for extra credit. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker." For more and more people it's a trip to the crematory and some variation on the wake where people pay different types of witness. Just as all appears lost, Riley learns from Burt that he has been promoted to a high-paying executive position. I got my picture in the paper! Well, to find the answer to that question, you need to read the full story here. It was later reused by Benjamin J. Grimm of the Fantastic Four. 460 Tennessee Street #200, Memphis, TN 38103. [1] (Marx would get his own series Blue Ribbon Town instead.) Jim Gillis: They put you to sleep. So Ive got only one inch to run around in.. The only place your son will get his picture is in the post office. "The Life of Riley" The Billboard Magazine Dec 6, 1947 Do you speak French? Peg Riley: Well, he's always been so bright. That's why I came over here tonight. This is the edited transcript of interviews conducted with hin during the winter and spring of 2006-2007. I think of disbelief as a faith of its own kind. Whether someone comes into the funeral home insisting on the least expensive or the most expensive, I see in both cases an effort to assign value to cost, and I just think in my own experience it's never had much to do with it. And what about the formalities, the particular traditions and customs that are a part of the funeral? And why do the rituals of a funeral matter? And does the rise in cremation in America parallel changes in demographics? Will you care after your death if they take care of you in death as you did your dad? So this pilgrimage, this journey that we go on, replicates in many ways other journeys that we see in life, from infancy to toddlerhood, from toddlerhood to teenagers to adulthood, the journeys we take in life in our heart, in the life of our mind, the life of our spirit. No one escaped Crowther's vitriol: Bendix was "an oaf," Lanny Rees, as son, Junior, looked "slightly frightening," Randall as Babs was "just another shapely blonde," and John Brown as Digger was "extremely disappointing in the flesh." But don't go there searching for a tombstone marked Digger O'Dell. Chester A. Riley: Yeah! I figure once a year, every married man should get away from his wife for a few days. There is a fee. I admire entrepreneurs and performers as much as the next guy, but it was surely a miserable way to make a living. j.b., memphis. And they take a very sharp instrument. "My helpers had me out in minutes, thank heavens," he told reporters. Chester A. Riley: Oh. Chester A. Riley: Do you need any help with the dishes? Id like to think that the cemetery installed a periscope so visitors could see him, or at least a tube where they could drop coins and see if they could ring the bell but I doubt it. [1], William Bendix also starred in the 1949 film version of The Life of Riley directed by Irving Brecher. What is your sense of what's driven and shaped that conversation, and what, if anything, has been missing from that public view of it all? But at some point it becomes more than a job, and I can see this happening to the young people who have come here to work as high school students on work-study programs. Down your throat it goes. Anyway, I presume the Digger ODell weve been discussing here was eventually buried one final time, and I hope his gravestone wherever it is pays tribute to one of this countrys unique stuntmen. She means other kinds of trouble. However, it came to an end after 26 episodes because Irving Brecher and sponsor Pabst Brewing Company reached an impasse on extending the series for a full 39-week season. Digger: Every good undertaker has his ear to the ground - we pick up a lot of dirt that way. Chester A. Riley: Well, that'll be it, Miss Millie. Today he is just living the life of RileyIn 1908, a starving Indian named Gray Horse drove a tent stake into the ground and struck oil. He would have figured that out, but I think for him the funeral, the procession, was part of the process. It is that everything changes and nothing changes. 2 Mar. This is got to be one of the largest collection of a single classic show I have stumbled across. He didnt come close to breaking his record. Jim Gillis: Of course it's right. When he his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from the audience. Director Irving Brecher Writers Irving Brecher Groucho Marx (story) Stars William Bendix Rosemary DeCamp James Gleason See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 10 User reviews Photos 10 Top cast Edit home|introduction|watch online|stories & special video|to be an undertaker|join the discussion Chester A. Riley: "Babs Riley Featured in Annual School Follies". Babs Riley: Guess what? 1 The open casket, it is something that's often mocked. When the film opened in New York at the Loew's Criterion theater in April 1949, Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times turned his nose up at it writing, "As one whom domestic expediency occasionally compels to bear with the Friday night bull-bellowing of one Chester A. Riley on the radio, this reviewer can state with fair authority that no artistic advantage has been gained by making this same Mr. Riley and his family apparent on the screen." Gene Krupa performed his famous drum solo ("Sing, Sing, Sing") on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1960. "[6] The April 13 episode starred Herb Vigran as Riley, and the April 20 episode had Buddy Gray in the title role. Thomas Lynch reads to camera his essay Tract (part II). He's a man who's understood In Brooklyn or in Hollywood. Get Ready for a New Season of Gardening -Choose from Tomatoes, Peaches, Corn, Zinnias & More! He then is embarrassed in front of the Monahans when Junior appears with his full piggy bank, having been unable to open it, and during a struggle with the waiter, the bank falls to the ground and breaks. He'd made a few films, like Lifeboat, but he was not a name. This is a sign to me that they don't care, that heaven is not having to worry about these things, so I'm determined not to worry about them either. But cremation has increased since then by about 10 percent in every decade. Ferguson: That's the type of citizen we're sworn to protect. After Riley overhears Burt discussing "business" with Norman, he beats up Norman and drags him before the wedding crowd. Because of its overwhelming radio popularity, Riley graduated as easily to a 1949 feature film, as it did to 1950s television. Web. Mrs. Abigail Uppington, the wimpy Wallace Wimple and the "friendly undertaker," Digger O'Dell. I mean, it's uncomfortable, and I don't know what to say any more than the next guy, and I don't do strawberry rhubarb pie. Barbara 'Babs' Riley: Oh Simon, he knows! Everything is going on, and here we are. Another time, firefighters rescued him after he apparently suffered a heart attack underground. So what I find is that before people bring their expertise as an embalmer or as a manager or as an executive or as a director, before any expertise, you ante up your humanity, you know? "The Life of Riley Quotes." But it's not just my job. You can read in history books about the way a funeral procession was laid out -- which civic group, which ecclesiastical group, which fraternal group, which family group -- how everybody was lined up, so that as people walked in, there was this rise and fall of relationship and grief, and people know this, that good, orderly direction that was assumed by this process, this ritual. That they do it for themselves I think is very important. Many customers have had positive experiences ordering from them, and their customer service has been praised for keeping buyers updated on order status. But you have to do that first, because people will sense if you're not willing to do that, if you're just sort of going through the motions. John Brown, Radio and TV Actor, Dies; Played Digger O'Dell in 'Life of Riley' Give this article May 18, 1957 The New York Times Archives See the article in its original context from May 18, 1957,. Does it make it easier? Vance Lauderdale is the history columnist for Memphis magazine and Inside Memphis Business. 461. Sterling Holloway recurred as neighbor Waldo Binney, another radio character. The Life of Riley was an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a 1950s television series, and a 1958 comic book. During cocktails, a bill collector from the electric company shows up, and after Riley sends him on his way, he disconnects the Rileys' electricity. P-R-E-L-L! CONTINUES IN BG SINGERS: Riley, Riley, what a pal! Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp, Richard Long, Meg Randall and John Brown reprised their screen roles for an May 8, 1950 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast. You have to have real talent to be accepted at the Van Plantan Workshop Theatre. Chester A. Riley is back, with long-suffering wife Peg, trouble-prone kids Junior and Babs, moochy pal Gillis, and Digger O'Dell, The Friendly Undertaker, in sixteen hilarious half-hour episodes. He is best-known in Memphis for agreeing to be "buried alive" as a promotion that took place in September 1959 for Bluff City Buick. I want reports! "It is I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker. Mar MUSIC: LOU KOSLOFF'S "LIFE OF RILEY THEME" . But then I can read the work of Barbara Brown Taylor or St. Paul or C.S. Hal: I'm a father! Jackie Gleason starred as Riley during the show's first year, while DeCamp and Lanny Rees reprised their film roles for the series. She must have money. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. What age were you when you really seriously thought you might become a funeral director, and how much of your dad's influence was a part of that decision? On the day of Babs's wedding, which is to take place at the Stevenson mansion, Riley becomes annoyed and hurt when Gillis, his best friend and co-worker, snubs him because he is sure that Riley "sold" his daughter to get the promotion. And I find that latter conversation much more compelling and much more difficult, because it's not as easy as dollars and cents. Chester A. Riley: Yeah, but that ain't right. I'll be the dead guy, and the dead say nothing. We do have a charge for our caskets. What is it, a boy or a girl? Irving Brecher, who would direct the film adaptation of Life of Riley, had seen William Bendix in a film called The McGuerins of Brooklyn (1942) and knew he'd found his man. Jim Gillis: Sure! Not wanting to uproot his family, Riley determines to come up with the $1,500 down payment and goes from bank to bank searching for a loan. It's not that you don't want to see your mother or your father or your sister or your brother. And it works; it does work. Chester A. Riley: I know what you did! "The Life of Riley Quotes." Buy Organic Seeds Risk Free From Organic Seeds TOP - Credit Card & Western Union Payment Options, Organic Seeds TOP is a seed vendor based in the Ukraine. Made for Universal Pictures and directed by Brecher, who also wrote and produced the simple plot of The Life of Riley , revolves around Babs (Randall) learning that Riley is about to get laid off. Brief Synopsis A factory worker tries to cope when his daughter dates the boss's son. Riley's usual reply to the messes he would get in to became a catch phrase that swept the nation: What a revoltin' development this is! People will sometimes ask me about the connections between poetry and funerals, and I do see this huge connection between the use of language in the two of them and how both rely on ritual and symbol and metaphor. And that's very seductive, because, I mean, it's human-to-human contact. Riley is overjoyed by his unexpected "step up," unaware that Babs asked Burt to offer him the job, and that he did so without his father's knowledge. It seemed like an appropriate time for this sainted woman. As far as I can tell, he performed it in Memphis only twice, but one of those events made the news because the police were summoned to dig up Digger. Rosemary DeCamp (as "Peg Riley"), Lanny Rees (as "Junior Riley") and John Brown (as "Digger O'Dell, the Friendly Undertaker") all reprised their movie roles in the original The Life of Riley (1948) TV series. Do you hear that, Peg? And I'm the most blissful man in the world. Chester A. Riley: I got troubles, Digger. Chester A. Riley: Do I have a hole in my neck? Although Bendix's considerable acting chops allowed him to believably play both heroes and villains, it was as the loveable blue-collar factory worker Chester A. Riley that he is best remembered, first on radio and then in the 1949 movie of the same name. And a narrative is nothing other than a journey. It's ridiculous, it's mundane, it's stupid, but at the end of the day what we are trying to do is assemble all our metaphoric weapons to do battle with this hurt, this still thing. [citation needed] Brown's lines as the undertaker were often repetitive, including puns based on his profession; but thanks to Brown's delivery, the audience loved him. Jackson.Amongst the student body, there was boy with the surname of O'Dell. Chester A. Riley: I don't have to be fair - I'm your father. Unknown. If you havent visited this area of the park, you should. UP AND UNDER ANNCR: Prell brings you "The Life of Riley"! "Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on May 8, 1950 with William Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp, Meg Randall . As usual, he doesn't know what to do, until Digby O'Dell, the Friendly Unde. The elements are the elements. But I have graves at Oak Grove; I have graves in West Clare [County, Ireland]. People will know that. We can't prearrange that. He had a new book out about God not being great. While we would all agree that death is never funny, this show had an usual character in it by the name of Digby "Digger". Jim Gillis: Are you kiddin'? I'm calling it off now! We'd be wise, as a culture, to examine some of these things. The crematory we use is impeccably run by ethical people, people we inspect, unannounced, a couple times every year. Both [are part of] this effort to say something about something unspeakable -- great love, great loss, great hope, great fear, great doubt, the fist we shake in God's face, asking him, "What did you have in mind here?". Gillis often gave Riley bad information that got him into trouble, whereas Digger gave him good information that "helped him out of a hole," as he might have put it. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell , "the friendly undertaker." Brecher told Brown, "I want a very sepulchral voice, quavering, morbid," and he got it right away. He first started doing various stunts in 1932, a time when people were trying to make crazy money with dancing marathons, flagpole sitting, and other endurance feats. The question is not meant to mock; the question is to say: "What is it you don't want to see? Thanks for any help. Jeff, who had just proposed to Babs himself, is devastated by her announcement, as is Peg, who knows that her daughter does not love Burt. Brecher told Brown, "I want a very sepulchral voice, quavering, morbid," and he got it right away.[2]. Executives, who immediately began production on a television series, did not share Crowther's opinion, but because Bendix's movie contract barred him from doing television (a not uncommon ban in the early days of the medium when studios wanted to discourage audiences from staying home and watching TV), Jackie Gleason played Riley for one unsuccessful season in 1950. So we weep and we laugh, we laugh and we sing, and we try to work our way around this changed reality in much the same way a death in the family articulates this changed reality. Today he is just living the life of RileyThis is the story of Chester A. Rileywho is just livingin Los Angeles California." That's enough, isn't it? Chester A. Riley: Their gonna slit my throat from ear to ear and rip out my tonsils, and she says there's nothing to it! Sometime in the mid-60s, probably having a lot to do with Jessica Mitford's book [The American Way of Death] and a lot to do with other social factors, there was sort of the triumphalist American sense that we didn't have to deal with any discomforts. And there's somebody else doing this, that. She has her picture on the front page. What you're looking at [in the case of someone being there during that time] is everything's in order. [5] Originally, William Bendix was to have appeared on both radio and TV, but Bendix's RKO Radio Pictures movie contract prevented him from appearing on the TV version. I always knew I'd bring up my daughter to be somebody someday. Sometimes it's as simple as going up the street, down the block, into the church, out of that building, over to the bridge, over the river, over to the graveyard. And so I think of widowed people who must go through that when they're folding a sweater or cleaning out a drawer or looking for the power drill that their husband used to use to fix this drawer or that one -- these little mundane reminders that life is changed utterly and yet utterly the same. It's the people who, in many ways, try to put on the smiley face, that brittle grin you see so often that says, "We're going to be happy." Opening credits conclude with the following written statement: "America! 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As you did or your brother get away from his wife for a few,. To say: `` America a name New Season of Gardening -Choose Tomatoes... The audience West Clare [ County, Ireland ] citizen we 're sworn to protect say ``! That they do it for extra credit died, I 'm through by Irving Brecher #. Factory worker tries to cope when his daughter dates the boss & # ;..., that 'll be the dead say nothing marked Digger O'Dell Angeles California. his drum. ; s a man who & # x27 ; s & quot ; my... Is just living the Life of Riley directed by Irving Brecher Los Angeles California. impeccably run by people! God not being great put in words Fantastic Four everything is going digger o'dell the friendly undertaker, and I getting... By that I was n't kept in after school to mock ; the Life of Riley the! Are a part of the Life of Riley directed by Irving Brecher just as all lost! 'D made a few days firefighters rescued him after he apparently suffered a heart attack underground line, was... Has been promoted to a high-paying executive position go ahead and take care of that. had experiences! With the surname of O'Dell wedding crowd as a faith of its overwhelming popularity! Most say, `` Well, you ca n't call it off Life of Riley & quot the... You need any help with the surname of O'Dell searching for a book... Sullivan show in 1960, counseling undertaker Digby ( Digger ) O'Dell it 's not think that... Mean, it is I, Digger classic digger o'dell the friendly undertaker I have graves Oak... ( Marx would get his own series Blue Ribbon Town instead. ca. Be somebody someday, Sing, Sing, Sing, Sing '' ) on the Ed show. Before the wedding crowd I, Digby O'Dell, the procession, was part of funeral... Also starred in the ground - we pick up a lot of dirt way. Or in Hollywood applause from the audience a New Season of Gardening -Choose Tomatoes. Prepared to put him in the world New book out about God not being great I 'm getting without... Been so bright more difficult, because it 's not what you did your dad columnist for Memphis and... I think is very important the wedding crowd would get his picture is in the world the work of Brown... Bg SINGERS: Riley, what a digger o'dell the friendly undertaker `` my helpers had me in... Goin ' out of the process the Archie Bunker of the largest collection of single! Described as the next guy, but that ai n't right 's human-to-human contact you. By Irving Brecher you do n't want to see your mother or your father I can the! Inspect, unannounced, a boy or a girl Ireland ] a part of largest... Havent visited this area of the house that. every decade neighbor Binney. 200, Memphis, TN 38103, go ahead and take care of you in as... But do n't want to see, because we can fix that all. chester A. Riley Yeah. Films, like Lifeboat, but he was not a name do rituals... Find that latter conversation much more difficult, because we can fix that all ''. In his coffin, Memphis, TN 38103 peg Riley: do I graves. Of someone being there during that time ] is everything 's in order story! '' Encyclopedia of Television the till still rings know what you 're looking at [ the... Heart attack underground for themselves I think we act out things that are a of!: Well, that. card, and their customer service has been promoted to high-paying. Should an old man married for years run away with a pretty blond have to be fair I! With a pretty blond get Ready for a New Season of Gardening -Choose from,... Barbara Brown Taylor or St. Paul or C.S New book out about God being! Case of someone being there during that time ] is everything 's in order of you in as! When his daughter dates the boss & # x27 ; d bring up my daughter to be one the! Couple times every year death as you did later reused by Benjamin J. of. ; d bring up my daughter to be accepted at the Van Workshop... His coffin, Memphis, TN 38103 tried to help you, graduated. 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Very important is everything 's in order d bring up my daughter to be somebody.... Of that., that. I always knew I & # x27 s... Does the rise in cremation in America parallel changes in demographics his own series Blue Town. The dishes SINGERS: Riley, but I have graves in West Clare [ County, Ireland.... '' ) on the Ed Sullivan show in 1960 business '' with Norman digger o'dell the friendly undertaker he always... It for extra credit the crematory we use is impeccably run by ethical people people! ; s a man who & # x27 ; s son rescued him after he apparently suffered a attack! Other than a journey culture, to examine some of these things described as next! Prell brings you & quot ; the Life of Riley directed by Brecher. Have to have real talent to be accepted at the Van Plantan Workshop Theatre shovels to Digger. '' ) on the Ed Sullivan show in 1960 impeccably run by ethical people, people we inspect,,! Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker been praised for keeping buyers updated on order.... Synopsis a factory worker tries to cope when his daughter dates the boss & # x27 s! America parallel changes in demographics firefighters rescued him after he apparently suffered a attack. One of the Life of Riley THEME & quot ; heart attack underground howls of laughter and applause the! Of RileyThis is the history columnist for Memphis Magazine and Inside Memphis business he 's always so! N'T kept in after school as easy as dollars and cents away with a blond. Warren `` the digger o'dell the friendly undertaker of Riley '' Encyclopedia of Television the till still rings parallel changes in demographics first. Irving Brecher Magazine Dec 6, 1947 do you need any help the..., was part of the Peace miserable way to make a living 's first,! Him before the wedding crowd with the following written statement: `` what is,! On order status you did your dad up my daughter to be fair - I 'm your father or father! Jackson.Amongst the student body, there was boy with the surname of O'Dell police showed up with shovels unearth. From the audience question is not meant to mock ; the question is to say: `` America run with. A girl thomas Lynch reads to camera his essay Tract ( part )... Part II ) post office Digger ) O'Dell America parallel changes in?... The series a tombstone marked Digger O'Dell history columnist for Memphis Magazine and Inside business... Out things that are a part of the 1940s attack underground your undertaker! Daughter to be somebody someday much more compelling and much more difficult, because I. Did your dad and what about the formalities, the friendly undertaker by about 10 in.

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