That's why I came over here tonight. A reader named Ronnie Bierbrodt, who obviously did more research than I did, even turned up his obituary and a copy of the memorial booklet given out at his funeral. Brecher told Brown, "I want a very sepulchral voice, quavering, morbid," and he got it right away.[2]. And something is. 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? Peg Riley: What's the matter? When the publicity manager urged him to change into a dark suit (so it would be more funeral-like) Digger refused: Ive got to have my robe. When the promoter begged him to change clothes once he was below ground, Digger explained the situation: No room. I think cremation very much is like us. The American Meat Institute (194445), Procter & Gamble (Teel dentifrice and Prell shampoo) (194549), and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (194951) took turns as the radio program's sponsor. I think they used to call that "social death"; that actual death happens like that. web site copyright 1995-2014 In 1949, Universal Studios released a Life of Riley motion picture, and later that same year NBC produced a TV version with Jackie Gleason playing Riley (Bendix was unable to play the role . It was a sudden inspiration brought on by ownership of a tuxedo T-shirt! And the things we have to do in that period of two days or three days, that's also largely what you do for us, is that right? Chester A. Riley: No. I was thrilled to find IA, where I can find some of those classics. [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. A cover was placed over his apartment and he was sealed in, with the intention being to break the personal record of 57 days that he had set here during his previous visit to Memphis, though that location wasnt mentioned. Another gardener is pla, Growing Peppers in Your Garden: Tips, Hardening Off and Soil Mix, Growing peppers is a great way to spice up your garden. 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. 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. The dirt on Herbert ODell Smith. Well, if it's such a gift, why did it cost you 25 dollars? When Burt finally tells Babs about his financial predicament and suggests that they marry quickly so that Riley can keep his job and he can save his life, Babs reluctantly agrees. I cant find any record that Digger ever returned to Bluff City Buick, or to the Bluff City for that matter, to finish the job. Back in Atlanta, a judge allowed him to conduct his stunt for an Atlanta shopping center, but he had to turn the money he would be paid only $2,250 over to his family. When Monahan and his new wife Lucy arrive for dinner, Riley is envious of his former rival's obvious wealth and tries to hide his own financial shortcomings. The stock market is open. 1 For the second run, Bendix returned as Riley, while Marjorie Reynolds appeared as Peg. I just gave him a sedative. For some people it's not the open casket and the three-day wake and the roses and the limousines and the Panis Angelicus. 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? Copyright 2022 Memphis Magazine. This is standard practice when ordering from Ukraine, according to customers wh. William Bendix is heard as Riley, along with co-stars Paula Winslowe, John Brown, Tommy Cook, and Barbara Eiler - plus series creator Irving Brecher . In October 1949, the NBC network began broadcasting a television series inspired by the radio program, also titled The Life of Riley. And I have found that, whether I'm walking in the door with a stretcher and one of my own to help carry their dead out, or if I'm going to the hospital to visit a sick relative or friend, or if I show up for a funeral at another place, you know, at a distance, they thank you for that. As usual, he doesn't know what to do, until Digby O'Dell, the Friendly Unde. [after Riley discovers the man he accused of bank robbery is a policeman]. I think we're among the first couple generations for whom the presence of the dead at their funerals has become optional, and I see that as probably not good news for the culture at large. DIGGER, Digby O'Dell, the Friendly Undertaker MOTHER, Irish and obnoxious ANNOUNCER SINGERS MUSIC: THEME . But people will go home, and they will look at pictures of the dead; they'll look at movies of the dead; they'll quote the dead to one another; and they will weep and laugh and carry on. The program was broadcast live with a studio audience, most of whom were not aware Brown played both characters. Chester A. Riley: Hello, Digger. 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. The Milford location is one of six Lynch funeral homes in the state. During a burial in California, a sudden earthquake caved in the sides of his "apartment" and he had to be rescued. But I don't know of anybody who has come in here entirely angry at the prospect of God who has done well with this type of thing, with deaths in the family. His frequent exclamation of indignation became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s: "What a revoltin' development this is!" The radio series greatly benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker." If I'm an Italian Catholic or an Orthodox Jew or a Baptist African American, I don't have to wonder what's going to happen, because I know that my community of co-religionists, of ethnic fellows, my neighborhood, whatever, they've organized a plan so that I don't have to spend the first several hours or days or weeks trying to figure out what to do next because it's already been told by tradition, by custom, by culture, by form. 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. 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. This character was extremelly successfull, with many puns based on his profession. If you havent visited this area of the park, you should. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: No, only Latin and Greek. The Life of Riley is 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. Barbara 'Babs' Riley: Oh Simon, he knows! And I'm, along with the next guy, as interested in those cartoons as everyone else is. He had a new book out about God not being great. They can coexist. Jim Gillis: Of course it's right. He would have figured that out, but I think for him the funeral, the procession, was part of the process. Procter and Gamble's new Radiant Creme Shampoo in the handy tube! I was watching [author and cultural commentator] Christopher Hitchens the other day. Dear j.b.: Well, for starters I can tell you that this interesting fellow (and Im certainly not disputing that) was not a Memphian, and his name wasnt really Digger ODell. And we suspect there'll be more Riley movies. She just cant help being money hungry.. Not a day went by that I wasn't kept in after school. Dwarf Mr Snow, Fred's Tie Dye, Saucy Mary, Sweet Scarlet, Kangaroo Paw Green, Idaho Gem and Banana Toes are just a few of the varieties one gardener is growing in a 4x8 bed of "bulletproof" tomatoes. 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. At the end of that column, in my lackadaisical way weary from all that writing and typing I said I didn't know what happened to Digger after his misadventures in Memphis. He'll never amount to anything. Riley's penchant for turning mere trouble into near-disaster through his well-intentioned bumbling was often aided or instigated by his arch best friend/next-door neighbor, Gillis. I see my sons now working through this, and their generation. Slap, slap, slap Rip, Rip, Rip it's over! What does your funeral home represent for this town? To Riley's amazement, Stevenson reveals that he had already planned to promote him to foreman, beginning in January. Well, to find the answer to that question, you need to read the full story here. Do you hear that, Peg? I cant say what finally happened to Digger. Brecher then saw William Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in Hal Roach's The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). Sterling Holloway recurred as neighbor Waldo Binney, another radio character. And a narrative is nothing other than a journey. I enjoy listening to the frogs croak. To view this content, please use one of the following compatible browsers: A factory worker tries to cope when his daughter dates the boss's son. In some ways it is a culture that's based on convenience and cost efficiency. But it's not just my job. [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. Her testimony is like all testimony -- it is a combination of gratitude and grief, and that the gratitude does not trump the grief, nor does the grief undo the gratitude. Jackson.Amongst the student body, there was boy with the surname of O'Dell. Whether a person is consigned to the earth or the fire is, at the end of the day, no difference. People will know that. At the beginning of the November 11, 1949 radio episode the announcer explained that William Bendix had strained his voice while performing the role of an umpire for an upcoming film (Kill the Umpire) and Gleason substituted for him that one night. It just doesn't work out that way. And I think this has to do with our notions about fire itself. He always knew that the real traffic was between the living and the dead, and it is in managing that and emboldening the living to deal with their dead that you do them the most service. I got my picture in the paper! You'd better stop talking that way. Henry Morgan voiced Riley's father in one episode. When you grow up in funeral service, you always have a job. From NE Ohio to North Central Mississippi, everyone has their own ideas and preferences for what they will plant this year. So it's not like you do things for them as much as you do it with them and embolden them to do for themselves. Maybe the referee will give you a draw. For more than 30 years he also has been the director of the Lynch & Sons funeral home in the small town of Milford, Mich. We saw people start organizing these commemorative events to which everyone was invited but the dead guy. 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." Yeah, it's a mystery. US. Peg Riley: You certainly are, Dear. Scars On My Heart / Her (7", Single) Ranger. In terms of the practical details, what are some of the things you learned from your dad? Digger O-Dell And The Friendly Undertakers. By Lorraine LoBianco. Jim Gillis: Sure! there are very few hands raised in the room, because cremation is often shorthand for disappearance. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The Blade's Log of Radio and Television Programs (9:00 p.m.)", Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Life_of_Riley&oldid=1135022718, This page was last edited on 22 January 2023, at 03:47. 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 Mrs. Abigail Uppington, the wimpy Wallace Wimple and the "friendly undertaker," Digger O'Dell. I'm not the type of friends who buts in. Digger O'Dell Buried For Good This Time. God not being great Brooklyn ( 1942 ) not a day went by that i was n't in. To customers wh not being great went by that i was watching [ author cultural. Beginning in January part of the things you learned from your dad preferences for what will! 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