Chester A. Riley: Christmas, nothing doing! Maybe bigger. Every time I have a birthday, I realize that Mom's getting a year older. 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. It gives me room to do either, all along this sort of emotional register. He was supported by Marjorie Reynolds, replacing both Paula Winslowe and Rosemary DeCamp, as wife Peg; Tom D'Andrea as schemer buddy Jim Gillis; Gloria Blondell (sister of Joan Blondell) as Gillis' wife, Honeybee, and Gregory Marshall as their son Egbert; Lugene Sanders was Babs and Wesley Morgan was Junior. Thomas Lynch reads to camera his essay Tract (part II). Another time, firefighters rescued him after he apparently suffered a heart attack underground. But when the entire conversation circles around and around about how much it's going to cost or how can you prevent this charge, I just find it silly after a while. [6][7], The NBC adaptation, also created by Irving Brecher, was a single-season 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. Could have been man/wife or brother/sister. Digger O-Dell And The Friendly Undertakers. Gillis: Don't argue, because I hate family arguments. I've always been touched by the fact that there seems to be as much laughter as weeping at the big life events. Chester A. Riley: Do I have a hole in my neck? The Milford location is one of six Lynch funeral homes in the state. 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. 16 in its first season, with four of its six seasons in the top 30, and ran for a total of 217 episodes. 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. 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. To Riley's amazement, Stevenson reveals that he had already planned to promote him to foreman, beginning in January. Also, in 1958, it hi For more than 30 years he also has been the director of the Lynch & Sons funeral home in the small town of Milford, Mich. He had a new book out about God not being great. Jim Gillis: Of course it's right. She just cant help being money hungry.. Peg Riley: Theatre, huh? "The Life of Riley" The Billboard Magazine Dec 6, 1947 It seems "Digger O'Dell" was a "friendly undertaker" character in The Life of Riley , a radio soap opera that aired back in the 1930s, but that still doesn't explain the curious popularity of the name, if you ask me. Do you speak French? Let me begin this strange tale by saying that minutes and minutes of research failed to turn up many verifiable facts about Smith oh, good grief, lets just call him Digger here. Do you hear that, Peg? 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. 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 is the edited transcript of interviews conducted with hin during the winter and spring of 2006-2007. And a narrative is nothing other than a journey. Well, read it closely, and what I've written is that as long as they deal with it, I don't care what they do. Actor Ted de Corsia's name appears as both "de Corsia" and "deCorsia" in the onscreen credits. 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! His real name, it seems, was Herbert O'Dell Smith. Alan Lipscott and Reuben Ship wrote many of the radio series' early episodes, and Don Bernard was the show's initial director. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker.Chester A. Riley: Hello, Digger. So it's easy enough. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell : It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker. We already ordered the baby announcements. 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. He liked the idea that the culture had sort of organized these wheels, in some way liturgically, in some ways socially. The Life of Riley was the initial release of Brecher Productions, Inc. William Bendix first played "Riley" in the popular NBC radio series on which this film was based, and John Brown played "'Digger' O'Dell" in the series. A comic book adaptation of the show was produced by Dell Comics in 1958 as part of their Four Color series of one-shots. I went back to my father's house, and I remember thinking, "But life goes on." The auto dealers did their part by displaying a huge banner that asked of anyone driving by, HOW LONG CAN HE STAY BURIED ALIVE?. Chester A. Riley: Yeah! 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. Web. Peg Riley: No thanks, dear. He would have thought much of it ridiculous and much of it sublime. Are social changes the reasons that we are more fearful and reluctant to deal with death in our everyday lives? The company offers Elephant Gigantes seeds, as well as free seeds that come with recommended shelf life information included. Whether youre growing hot or sweet varieties, there are some important tips for success. 2 Mar. I said what about a kiss? 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. What are you doin' here in the park? And the components of a funeral sometimes change. Quotes.net. It's an easy target; it always is -- you know, the Digger O'Dell [the "friendly undertaker" character in the 1950s television series Life of Riley]. He had a very good sense of that. I can only take from that the sense that we're on the right track there. Babs Riley: But Mother, this is the opportunity of my entire life! 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? I'd have to say yeah, they do. [9], William Bendix and Sterling Holloway, 1957. The till still rings. 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. interview with the film's producers|credits|privacy policy|journalistic guidelines Mail: Vance Lauderdale, Memphis magazine, She means other kinds of trouble. He would have figured that out, but I think for him the funeral, the procession, was part of the process. It was a sudden inspiration brought on by ownership of a tuxedo T-shirt! Yeah, it's a mystery. Peg Riley: Then I've been in love with you the whole time. And yet someone's weeping because of the changed life that we're seeing before us. For years, it was propped against a rugged concrete base, in a cluster of crepe myrtles on the southern edge of the park, close to the intersection of Poplar and Cooper. "[6] The April 13 episode starred Herb Vigran as Riley, and the April 20 episode had Buddy Gray in the title role. Dunning, John On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio The Internet Movie Database 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. Gene Krupa performed his famous drum solo ("Sing, Sing, Sing") on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1960. And particularly when you see the transaction . 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. He made the news by being buried alive. It seems Digger ODell was a friendly undertaker character in The Life of Riley , a radio soap opera that aired back in the 1930s, but that still doesnt explain the curious popularity of the name, if you ask me. Rejected everywhere, Riley reluctantly asks Monahan for the money, but Monahan also refuses him. 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 . Comedy Romance A factory worker's family is thrown into an uproar when his teenage daughter starts to date his boss' son. Let's see! During cocktails, a bill collector from the electric company shows up, and after Riley sends him on his way, he disconnects the Rileys' electricity. In terms of the practical details, what are some of the things you learned from your dad? When he his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from the audience. Barbara 'Babs' Riley: But Dad, Simon's only 20. Crowther concluded, "[W]e suppose there are millions who will like this sort of truck. I see my sons now working through this, and their generation. 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. None of us knew what reference was being made here.In grade five very few people here NL (Canada) were familiar with American radio.When the "Life Of Reilly" came to TV my appreciation of "Digger" was finally launched. While we would all agree that death is never funny, this show had an usual character in it by the name of Digby "Digger". If you don't pay attention Peg Riley: Well, I'm trying to tell ya, he just moons around the house! I think they used to call that "social death"; that actual death happens like that. I enjoy listening to the frogs croak. It's amazing! According to the obituary, Digger was born in Georgia in 1915. Chester A. Riley: I'll go home right now. The stores are open. Jiffy peat pellets are a popular choice for starting tomatoes, but they can also be used for peppers. And this movement, emotionally, is mirrored by a physical movement. Junior will be glad to pitch in. Is he in some of of trouble or something? 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. [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. In addition to Bendix' Riley, the show featured immensely popular supporting characters, including Digby "Digger" O'Dell, the ghoulish "friendly undertaker" voiced by John Brown (who also played Thorny on Ozzie and Harriet, Al on My Friend Irma, and Broadway on The Damon Runyan Theatre). I always knew I'd bring up my daughter to be somebody someday. 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'll treat her just like she wasn't my wife. 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. 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. But I have graves at Oak Grove; I have graves in West Clare [County, Ireland]. So everything is weakened; weakened and tightened at the same time. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker." Gillis then forgives Riley, and Riley is satisfied that his family is happy once more. Quotes.net. Opening credits conclude with the following written statement: "America! William Bendix and Digger O'Dell the friendly undertaker - The Life of Riley Complete Broadcast CBS Lux Radio Theatre 1950 (Lp) - Amazon.com Music Buy used: $198.00 $3.99 delivery January 26 - February 2. Buick customers could view him through a periscope, or they could drop coins down a tube that urged them, Can you ring the bell? Nobody seemed to ask and the newspapers werent telling how on earth the man would use the bathroom during his 58 days (and maybe longer) underground. In 1907, a penniless farmer named Ruben Shipp discovered gold while plowing his field. 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. Everything is going on, and here we are. But then I can read the work of Barbara Brown Taylor or St. Paul or C.S. Stevenson's ne'er-do-well son Burt, meanwhile, is cornered at the picnic by a thug named Norman, who demands that he repay a $25,000 gambling debt. That they do it for themselves I think is very important. Riley, Riley, what a guy! And we laugh sometimes at all those good memories and all those silly things the person said and all those wise things that that person said and all their foibles. Peg Riley: You know what they say - ignorance is bliss. Chester A. Riley: "Babs Riley Featured in Annual School Follies". I do not care but that they do it honorably. Whether in the most abstract sense or in the most particular, this is a safe harbor, a place they can have that conversation. And Mrs. Verrino's eulogy, her narrative of what she and her husband and their child were going through, was a way of sort of mastering this journey. Well, we wear black for funerals -- people have to know who the directors are, who to ask -- and white shirts and gray ties. The boss' son (Long), who is in love with Babs, suggests that they get married in order to save Riley's job. 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? But when some widowed person comes out and takes you by the shoulders and said, "Thank you, I couldn't have done this without you," and all you did was be there, or answer the call, or show up, there's this deep sense of having been of use to people at a time of need. Burial was the norm in the Western world probably until the mid-60s. And is that the purposefulness in the ebb and flow of a wake and a funeral? Digger: Every good undertaker has his ear to the ground - we pick up a lot of dirt that way. DIGGER, Digby O'Dell, the Friendly Undertaker MOTHER, Irish and obnoxious ANNOUNCER SINGERS MUSIC: THEME . They'll survive it. It gives us a way to get some little mastery over these uncontrollable things by giving it a narrative thread. 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. The ebb and flow of a tuxedo T-shirt weakened ; weakened and tightened at the same.... 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My daughter to be somebody someday by giving it a narrative thread is nothing other than journey. Pick up a lot of dirt that way there are some of the things you from.
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