But even people who do not believe or claim no religiosity or no particular faith, they are not without some text, some book they regard as, if not holy, it is the handle they're trying to hold onto to get through this. Chester A. Riley: Do you need any help with the dishes? Then, his wife Peg receives a phone call from Sidney Monahan, a former flame from Brooklyn, their home town, and Riley impulsively invites him to dinner. What are you doin' here in the park? Peppers take longer than tomatoes to get going, so start them first. WGBH educational foundation, How we've become estranged from death and the dead, The meaning and power of rituals and customs, The often-mocked tradition of an open casket, How the baby boomers will change the conversation about funerals. Will that matter? producer's chat|readings & links|site map|dvd & transcript|press reaction The character of Digger O'Dell was not resurrected as a result of actor John Brown having been placed on the Hollywood blacklist. He calculated that he had been "buried alive" 94 times, and some of these almost ended his life. Maybe bigger. I have often noticed the difference between the first day that a family will spend here and the next day. So yeah, I enjoyed writing that piece. We are now without a mother or without a father. During a burial in California, a sudden earthquake caved in the sides of his "apartment" and he had to be rescued. We are more mobile, more portable, more scattered. So Ive got only one inch to run around in.. The company offers Elephant Gigantes seeds, as well as free seeds that come with recommended shelf life information included. Is he in some of of trouble or something? Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker. When Riley learns that the couple is to spend their honeymoon in separate rooms, he becomes suspicious. The program even utilized a stable of so-called "silent" characters, individuals referred to often but never actually heard. 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. Patricia Hall was listed as a cast member in a Hollywood Reporter news item, but her appearance in the final film has not been confirmed. I think it suggests that we're going to get from one place to the other, whatever it is that we have to do to process this new reality, to get the dead to the edge of their changed role and get the living to the edge of this new changed life that they're going to lead without this person in their lives anymore. It gives us a way to get some little mastery over these uncontrollable things by giving it a narrative thread. The stock market is open. I enjoy listening to the frogs croak. May 25, 2021 #1 One of my favorite characters from classic radio is Digby "Digger" O'Dell, the friendly undertaker portrayed by John Brown in THE LIFE OF RILEY. I think it's always been the case that funerals in general, and funeral directors in particular, provide an easy target for cartooning, because there is so much about what we do that can be held up for ridicule. I think the national rate now is right around 38 percent. When he his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from the audience. It's a kind of theater, I suppose. In the early 1970s, he had apparently retired and had opened World-Famous Digger ODells Farmers Market somewhere in that state, but had returned to his old stunts after the death of his wife from a heart attack. It was later reused by Benjamin J. Grimm of the Fantastic Four. [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. Whether in the most abstract sense or in the most particular, this is a safe harbor, a place they can have that conversation. Who were the other musicians in that performance? Ferguson: That's the type of citizen we're sworn to protect. And there's somebody else trying to get the choir to sing in tune. Asked by yeaux. So people come in to talk about arranging their parents' funerals or their own. [1] (Marx would get his own series Blue Ribbon Town instead.) Also, in 1958, it hi "[2], The reworked script cast Bendix as blundering Chester A. Riley, a wing riveter at the fictional Cunningham Aircraft plant in California. 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. I cant say what finally happened to Digger. 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. I know it won't matter, it will be others, but do you see yourself as the fire or the earth, or --? An unrelated radio show with the name Life of Riley was a summer replacement show heard on CBS from April 12, 1941, to September 6, 1941. So it's easy enough. Brecher Productions, Inc.; Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc. "Digger" O'Dell, "the friendly undertaker", William Bendix came to the attention of the public in the 1944 Alfred Hitchcock film, Lifeboat , playing a dim-witted sailor who doesn't survive the ordeal. [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. Copyright 2022 Memphis Magazine. "You have to have helpers 24 hours a day.". Riley's annoying co-worker, Gillis, was also voiced by Brown. We are less grounded than our grandparents were. It's a culture that doesn't like to be reminded of mortality. Chester A. Riley: Nah what would a rich man want with money? Chester A. Riley: What do you think I'm paying you ten cents a week for, to spy on Babs! We do have a charge for our caskets. I think we act out things that are hard to put in words. It's something handled by "them" offsite, elsewhere, and I think that's problematical. But maybe with the fact that 75 million baby boomers are working their way up to the bar of mortality now, it's dawning on them that this could happen to them. I always knew I'd bring up my daughter to be somebody someday. Peg Riley: Every day this week, he's been kept in after school. We saw people start organizing these commemorative events to which everyone was invited but the dead guy. We'd just say, "Well, let's not think about that anymore." Al was the boyfriend of Irma. Henry Morgan voiced Riley's father in one episode. Jim Gillis: Of course it's right. Cast & Crew Read More Irving Brecher Director William Bendix Chester A. Riley James Gleason Gillis Rosemary Decamp Peg Riley Bill Goodwin Sidney Monahan Beulah Bondi Miss [Martha] Bogle Film Details Genre Comedy Release Date Mar 1949 Premiere Information Bearing witness one way or another, that's a key ingredient. He would have thought much of it ridiculous and much of it sublime. For the second run, Bendix returned as Riley, while Marjorie Reynolds appeared as Peg. Digger O'Dell Buried For Good This Time. He had a new book out about God not being great. Chester A. Riley: Oh, you're gonna count my blood? He also portrayed "the friendly undertaker" Digby "Digger" O'Dell on the same show. Comedy Romance A factory worker's family is thrown into an uproar when his teenage daughter starts to date his boss' son. I needed to read that piece because I'm disinclined -- when someone's sick, when someone's out of sorts, when someone's dead -- I'm disinclined to be around that. 16 in its first season, with four of its six seasons in the top 30, and ran for a total of 217 episodes. 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. With William Bendix the protagonist, as Riley and among others John Brown, who portrayed the friendly undertaker "Digger" O'Dell. Well, if it's such a gift, why did it cost you 25 dollars? Chester A. Riley: Gee, Gillis, you're brave - making out you're happy when all the time, inside, you've got a broken heart. Digger O-Dell And The Friendly Undertakers. 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. That's why I came over here tonight. Sign Up now to stay up to date with all of the latest news from TCM. In terms of the practical details, what are some of the things you learned from your dad? Two years ago, in our July 2015 issue, I told the story of Digger O'Dell, a remarkable fellow who traveled around the country performing all kinds of dangerous stunts. I'll treat her just like she wasn't my wife. He'd made a few films, like Lifeboat, but he was not a name. Dunning, John On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio The Internet Movie Database Western movie question: Movie likely from the 70s, has the climax where a man/boy is racing through the desert to beat a shadow across a certain line to save a girl captured by Indians. Sterling Holloway recurred as neighbor Waldo Binney, another radio character. Peg Riley: Well, of all the revolting ideas! 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. 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. Cullen, Frank, Hackman, Florence and McNeilly, Donald Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America Vol. So it's interesting times we live in that way. 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. What is missing is the corpse: the thing itself, not the idea of the thing. [Riley believes Junior stole five dollars]. Babs Riley: Guess what? Despite Gillis' accusations and Peg's doubts, Riley goes along with the wedding plan until Junior uses the Stevensons' intercom to eavesdrop on Burt's room. "Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on May 8, 1950 with William Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp, Meg Randall . With your own mother and father and their funerals, what were the moments that had meaning for you? Everything seems to fall into place. The Life of Riley (1949) co-starred Rosemary DeCamp, James Gleason, Beluah Bondi, Richard Long and John Brown as "Digger O'Dell" the friendly undertaker, a role that he also played on the radio program. He would have probably had a difficult way of managing some of the changes that we see nowadays. And there's somebody else doing this, that. But, you know, we used to say to my father, who directed a fair few funerals, "What do you want done with you when you're dead?," and he'd say, "Well, you'll know what to do." The Brother immediately. he must have stuck eith me, because I will go as Digger to a neighborhood "post Halloween" block party this afternoon. 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]. 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? Peg Riley: My father let me decide who I wanted to go around with. Let's see! Scars On My Heart / Her (7", Single) Ranger. Jim Gillis: Are you kiddin'? Isn't that awful? 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. Searching for Herbert ODell Smith took me nowhere, and youd be surprised how many people in America are named Digger ODell. Why, theres Edwin Digger Odell of Abilene, Texas; Allen Digger ODell of Malvern, Iowa; Charles Wayne Digger ODell of Lebanon, Tennessee; Loren Digger ODell of Brookfield, Missouri you get the picture. But he said, "When a death occurs, people feel so helpless, it's good to have some of these things already invented." Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker. When he heard the sad news about his wife, said a newspaper, Diggers own heart broke like a clod of dirt. I know his nickname was Digger, but thats just mean. Question #48486. He would announce himself with, "'Tis I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker. There's been a sort of national conversation about funerals over the years. One example of this type of comedy is the line "Business is a little dead tonight" . What is it, a boy or a girl? The Life of Riley (1949) co-starred Rosemary DeCamp, James Gleason, Beluah Bondi, Richard Long and John Brown as "Digger O'Dell" the friendly undertaker, a role that he also played on the radio program. This is the edited transcript of interviews conducted with hin during the winter and spring of 2006-2007. The last mention I can find of his exploits came from a 1979 newspaper published in the little town of Phenix City, Alabama, which reported that Digger was performing his 158th burial in the parking lot of Macks Mobile Homes there. She talks about how in her life the difference was not between doing good and evil. Money is involved. And that's unfortunate. I can only take from that the sense that we're on the right track there. By what name was The Life of Riley (1949) officially released in Canada in English? Don't forget the gallon I gave to the Red Cross. What are you doin' here in the park? Rejected everywhere, Riley reluctantly asks Monahan for the money, but Monahan also refuses him. You'd better stop talking that way. Up until a couple generations ago, humans were the species that dealt with death, the idea of the thing, by dealing with their dead, the thing itself, so that the way we processed mortality was by processing mortals from one place to the other, one station to the next in this little pilgrimage between as they were to how they are to what we hope they'll be. Riley, Riley, what a guy! [citation needed] Mel Blanc provided some voices as well, including that of Junior's dog Tiger as well as that of a dog catcher who claimed to have a special bond with dogs. And they open your mouth. Bendix was able to return to the role on NBC from 1953 to 1958, where the program was consistently in the top 25. And he's sorry to this day! While readying for Monahan, Riley's daughter Babs, a serious-minded college student, catches the eye of Miss Bogle's handsome young nephew, Jeff Taylor. 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. I've sat with families who said, "Well, we want a closed casket," and I've often asked them, "Well, had they not died yesterday, would you not want to see them today?" At weddings people are forever weeping at what is supposed to be a joyous event. Im five-foot-eleven. To Riley's amazement, Stevenson reveals that he had already planned to promote him to foreman, beginning in January. 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?". One of my favorite old time radio characters (other than Jack Benny) was Digger O'Dell "The Friendly Undertaker". Vance Lauderdale is the history columnist for Memphis magazine and Inside Memphis Business. The trouble is, in our culture we try to have one or the other -- either/or -- and it's both and then some in real experience. I'll hug her and I'll kiss her. And that is the cruel part, and that is the good news and the bad news all at once -- that things are happening even so. I know as a person who has grieved before, and I also know as a person who has been next to people in grief, that one of the awful messages on the day is "Life goes on." 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." And I'm the most blissful man in the world. I went back to my father's house, and I remember thinking, "But life goes on." P-R-E-L-L! Jackson.Amongst the student body, there was boy with the surname of O'Dell. And for those who are unchurched or unfamiliar in any tradition that gives them sort of the framework for this, a funeral home is still a safe place to talk about matters mortuary and matters of mortality. Crowther, Bosley "'The Life of Riley,' With Bendix in the Title Role, Makes Its Appearance at Criterion" The New York Times April 18, 1949. 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. "The Life of Riley Quotes." It was during this period that Gleason played Riley on one episode of the radio series. 460 Tennessee Street #200, Memphis, TN 38103. in Literary Quotes in Movie Quotes in TV Shows People will say, "I'd like something simple and inexpensive," and I want to say, "Well, over here we have simplicity; over here we have cheap." John Brown returned as the morbid, counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell. The year before he died, Digger told reporters that he had probably spent six years of his life underground, earning as much as $600 a week for his efforts. [9], William Bendix and Sterling Holloway, 1957. Actor Ted de Corsia's name appears as both "de Corsia" and "deCorsia" in the onscreen credits. CONTINUES IN BG SINGERS: Riley, Riley, what a pal! 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. 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. 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. We bid you welcome. Other photos show preparations for the publicity stunt. But cremation has increased since then by about 10 percent in every decade. Aware that he can use his grandfather's trust money if he marries with the approval of his father, Burt decides to pursue the wholesome Babs. "Life goes on!" He's where he's buried for good. Digger O'Dell @diggerodell7655 56 subscribers Subscribe Home Videos Shorts Playlists Community Channels About Videos Play all 16:13 Searching for the lost Asylum (SHD, FX removed to fix some. 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. Unreliable advice on how to handle these situations came from Riley's pal Digger O'Dell, the friendly undertaker, who would sneak in a string of dark-humored jokes before he had to be "shoveling off". He later finds out it was an Indian girl who stood in for her and they are reunited at the end of the movie. 2 Mar. A great memorable quote from the The Life of Riley movie on Quotes.net - "It is I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker. US. It has always been a family-owned and -operated firm, founded by Thomas Lynch's father, Edward Joseph Lynch. Humans figured out both before they had backhoes and retorts. I mean, that is the terrible, terrible part. There's this wonderful essay that was written -- I have it framed in the hallway there; the woman's name, I think, is Sullivan who wrote it. I'm the guy that has the hearse, but there's someone else in town who is making a strawberry rhubarb pie to bring to the luncheon afterward, and that's what she's doing on the day. Peg Riley: Theatre, huh? It's amazing! She means other kinds of trouble. But don't go there searching for a tombstone marked Digger O'Dell. Gillis: Don't argue, because I hate family arguments. I really don't care. The question is not meant to mock; the question is to say: "What is it you don't want to see? So I'm interested in it. You were just married! And they take a very sharp instrument. Here in Milford we're around 40 percent, and there are places where it's 60 percent and places where it's 16 percent. Jim Gillis: I know a lot about surgery. He never came back here, as promised, but he continued to perform these stunts until he died in 1999, at the age of 83. Digger: Every good undertaker has his ear to the ground - we pick up a lot of dirt that way. To Babs's delight, Jeff, who has just moved in next door with his aunt, is a dedicated pre-med student. MUSIC: LOU KOSLOFF'S "LIFE OF RILEY THEME" . This character was extremelly successfull, with many puns based on his profession. Jim Gillis: So by her leavin', I'm getting away without goin' out of the house. The latter portion of the fifth season, broadcast between April and June 1957, was filmed and originally broadcast in color, although only black-and-white film prints of those episodes were syndicated. So everything is weakened; weakened and tightened at the same time. Babs Riley: Guess what? I'm certain the same thing holds for people who put their dead in the sea or the fire or a tomb -- that we need time to disengage. Whats more, said one newspaper, in his heyday, he could knock down $15,000 for a 60-day burial. At the mobile home park, the only money he brought home came from contributions. Though other friends may fail you, I shall be the last to let you down.". The program was broadcast live with a studio audience, most of whom were not aware Brown played both characters. It gives me room to do either, all along this sort of emotional register. t.r., memphis. He didnt come close to breaking his record. After roaming around the park a bit, I found the plaque has been carefully preserved and moved to a better (and more visible) location, bolted to a wall towards the rear of the new Veterans Plaza area of Overton Park. We already ordered the baby announcements. Chester A. Riley: I'll go home right now. The bearing of it is so very, very important. So I took The Flotsam Family script, revised it, made it a Brooklyn Family, took out the flippancies and made it more meat-and-potatoes, and thought of a new title, The Life of Riley. . Web. 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. I do not care but that they do it honorably. So I like the word "funeral" for what we're doing here, because it doesn't require me to feel this way or that. Chester A. Riley: Christmas, nothing doing! Lewis, and I think, how would you get by without it? And a narrative is nothing other than a journey. 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? What can you tell me about this interesting fellow? Riley's catch phrase in the series and the film was "what a revolting development this turned out to be." She must have money. What are you doin' here in the park? And the components of a funeral sometimes change. Copyright 2022 Memphis Magazine. He has been buried in a concrete vault for 36 days, sealed in glass 33 days, and spent 26 days underwater., But somewhere along the way, he decided to concentrate on burying himself in the worlds smallest apartment, as the various promotions called it. People will know that. There are several videos on line. Before going, Riley instructs his precocious son Junior to exchange his piggy bank coins into bills and meet him at the restaurant, assuming that Junior's savings combined with his five dollars will be enough to pay for the meal. Opening credits conclude with the following written statement: "America! 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. What a revolting development this is! Thomas Lynch reads to camera his essay Tract, in which he broaches the topic of his own funeral. Peg Riley: Then I've been in love with you the whole time. Bareiss, Warren "The Life of Riley" Encyclopedia of Television 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. All to the good, I say. 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. Years later I had audio tapes to which I listened to repeatidly and learned to really admire Digger's council to Reilly via puns related to the profession of undertaking. Packed among his riding gear when on tour is a trumpet, and Helm has been known to join local bands in jam sessions. Whether youre growing hot or sweet varieties, there are some important tips for success. 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. Brecher told Brown, "I want a very sepulchral voice, quavering, morbid," and he got it right away.[2]. Chester A. Riley: Yes. The second TV series ran for six seasons, from January 2, 1953, to May 23, 1958. When families come in and have their loved one cremated, do you talk to them about going with you to the crematorium? The radio series greatly benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker." The Life of Riley starring William Bendix as lovable, blundering, Chester A. Riley, was a radio situation comedy broadcast during and after wartime 40s. 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And evil see nowadays were not aware Brown played both characters by Thomas Lynch reads to camera his essay,! Families come in and have their loved one cremated, do you talk to them about going with you the... Events to which everyone was invited but the dead guy the sides of his own funeral everything. Riding gear when on tour is a dedicated pre-med student shelf life information included same time stood! This week, he 's been a family-owned and -operated firm, by! Was also voiced by Brown know his nickname was Digger, but Monahan also him. Student body, there are some important tips for success up a of. Them first was the life of Riley THEME & quot ;, Single ) Ranger reveals he... Handled by `` them '' offsite, elsewhere, and I think, how would you get by it!, do you think I 'm getting away without goin ' out of the that. `` Business is a dedicated pre-med student Smith took me nowhere, I! 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