Digger O-Dell And The Friendly Undertakers. P-R-E-L-L! Babs Riley: But Mother, this is the opportunity of my entire life! They can coexist. This is the way I like to remember William Bendix - playing a family man doing the best he can in a world that tends to be a bit too much for him, with children that tend to be a bit too much for him too. And I find that latter conversation much more compelling and much more difficult, because it's not as easy as dollars and cents. Another time, firefighters rescued him after he apparently suffered a heart attack underground. In the 19551956 season, the Riley family moved and were given new neighbors portrayed by Florence Sundstrom and George O'Hanlon.[8]. But cremation has increased since then by about 10 percent in every decade. Who is the producer of syndicated radio's 'The Sean Hannity Show' that is consistently referred to on-air as "Sweet Baby James"? I planned the whole thing. Why there ain't a day that goes by that I read the obituary columns! Digby 'Digger' O'Dell : It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker. Punchy: Hey, why don't you get up, pal? there are very few hands raised in the room, because cremation is often shorthand for disappearance. I've seen it happen to Sean [his son], where you're swinging the door at night, helping people with their coats, directing them one place or another, carrying flowers, doing all the innocuous little things that add up to taking care of a family during visitation. 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. So I'm interested in it. [1], William Bendix also starred in the 1949 film version of The Life of Riley directed by Irving Brecher. [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. I think cremation very much is like us. A great memorable quote from the The Life of Riley movie on Quotes.net - "It is I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker. According to the obituary, Digger was born in Georgia in 1915. Acti-Sol Hen Manure is one popular product that has been used with success by experienced, This website uses cookies for functionality, analytics and advertising purposes as described in our. Thanks to Chester's interference, Junior now has two dates for the school dance. I do not care but that they do it honorably. "The Life of Riley" The Billboard Magazine Dec 6, 1947 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. A factory worker's family is thrown into an uproar when his teenage daughter starts to date his boss' son. As a result, when Digger delivered his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from surprised audience members. If you don't pay attention Peg Riley: Well, I'm trying to tell ya, he just moons around the house! So we had those advantages. In many ways we represent the place where whatever conversation people want to have about death and dying and grief and bereavement. 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." 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. I mean, if it was just a matter of forgetting, we would do that. And yet someone's weeping because of the changed life that we're seeing before us. What are you doin' here in the park? While the ratio may not be ideal for tomatoes, it can still produce great results with some preparation and understanding of the plant's genetic potential. Sterling Holloway recurred as neighbor Waldo Binney, another radio character. You were just married! The supporting cast featured Paula Winslowe as Riley's wife, Peg, and as Riley's mother-in law; Brown as O'Dell and as Riley's co-worker Jim Gillis; Francis "Dink" Trout as Waldo Binney; Tommy Cook, Bobby Ellis and Scotty Beckett as Junior at various times during the show's run; Barbara Eiler as Riley's daughter, Babs; Shirley Mitchell as Honeybee Gillis; Hans Conried as Uncle Baxter; and Alan Reed as multiple characters, including Riley's boss (Mr. Stevenson) and Peg's father. 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. [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. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker. 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. 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. I said what about a kiss? His dramatic life story is so well-known that schoolchildren are taught to recite it for extra credit. He never came back here, as promised, but he continued to perform these stunts until he died in 1999, at the age of 83. producer's chat|readings & links|site map|dvd & transcript|press reaction He liked the idea that the culture had sort of organized these wheels, in some way liturgically, in some ways socially. I admire entrepreneurs and performers as much as the next guy, but it was surely a miserable way to make a living. I mean, that is the terrible, terrible part. Cullen, Frank, Hackman, Florence and McNeilly, Donald Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America Vol. Jim Gillis: They put you to sleep. I'm not the type of friends who buts in. Everything seems to fall into place. And I think this has to do with our notions about fire itself. Although Hollywood Reporter announced in January and February 1949 that the film would have its premiere in March 1949 in Cincinnati, no definite information about the premiere was found. 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. Once he had to be pulled from his apartment after the dirt sides turned to mud and caved in after a thunderstorm. They come in to talk about what to do with a child who's grieving because a schoolmate died, to talk about what will happen in the event of their own death, how to handle a dying parent, nursing home arrangements, elder care. One example of this type of comedy is the line "Business is a little dead tonight" . 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. As Bluff City Buick customers watched, Digger ODell (left) prepared to enter the worlds smallest apartment, where he planned to stay at least 57 days. Peg Riley: All this plotting and scheming you remind me of a girl I once knew. Chester A. Riley: Do I have a hole in my neck? It's not always the same thing, and for everyone it's different. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell : Why, I was just taking a stroll around the pond. he must have stuck eith me, because I will go as Digger to a neighborhood "post Halloween" block party this afternoon. An unrelated radio show with the name Life of Riley was a summer replacement sh, Many,many, many years ago when I was in grade five I had as a teacher an American Christian Brother named Bro. 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 . I have often noticed the difference between the first day that a family will spend here and the next day. Chester A. Riley: Hello, Digger. I went back to my father's house, and I remember thinking, "But life goes on." There is a comfort when you don't have to reinvent that wheel, when we know we have to be at church at a certain time and that these prayers will be said and not those, and that this is accustomed behavior and this is outside the pale, and this is where we go. After all, the people whose names are on these markers dont have that luxury. Maybe bigger. Chester A. Riley: I'll go home right now. The Milford location is one of six Lynch funeral homes in the state. 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? Slap, slap, slap Rip, Rip, Rip it's over! Question #48486. But then I can read the work of Barbara Brown Taylor or St. Paul or C.S. I have children at home; my wife had taken them home from the luncheon. 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." Old newspaper photos show a crew digging a coffin-sized hole in the parking lot of the dealership, and then Digger, dressed rather casually in black slacks and a white shirt, clambered down into the hole. [citation needed], The series was co-developed by the nonperforming Marx Brother turned agent Gummo. 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. [6][7], The NBC adaptation, also created by Irving Brecher, was a single-season This is the edited transcript of interviews conducted with hin during the winter and spring of 2006-2007. I thought, this guy could play it. 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. 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. It was during this period that Gleason played Riley on one episode of the radio series. 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. 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. William Bendix is heard as Riley, along with co-stars Paula Winslowe, John Brown, Tommy Cook, and Barbara Eiler - plus series creator Irving Brecher . But it's not just my job. But I find that if you just show up, if you just walk in the door, people think you're a hero. Though he's built like Boulder Dam He's tender as a lamb. So yes, I think all of these things help to sort of "fix" us in the firmament of where we are at any given time with our youth and our age, our well-being or our infirmity, our dying, our death and our remembrance. Not all of the radio cast made the transition to film; Paula Winslowe and Barbara Eiler were replaced with DeCamp and Meg Randall as Riley's wife, Peg, and daughter, Babs respectively. 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. She means other kinds of trouble. He's a man who's understood In Brooklyn or in Hollywood. SOURCES: 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. And does the rise in cremation in America parallel changes in demographics? 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. Will that matter? To Riley's amazement, Stevenson reveals that he had already planned to promote him to foreman, beginning in January. 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,. And then one year it disappeared, and I fretted that someone had stolen it for scrap metal. Dunning, John On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio The Internet Movie Database When Riley learns that the couple is to spend their honeymoon in separate rooms, he becomes suspicious. Jackson.Amongst the student body, there was boy with the surname of O'Dell. 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. Simon Vanderhopper: Mr. Riley, you're not angry? It's Prell! When families have gone to the crematory, has it made a difference? Peg Riley: No thanks, dear. There are days I can get behind that theory and have. And what about the formalities, the particular traditions and customs that are a part of the funeral? Digger O'Dell, the friendly undertaker ANNCR: It's new! 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?". We're celebrating love, huh? Jim Gillis: Sure! He's resting. 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. Here in Milford we're around 40 percent, and there are places where it's 60 percent and places where it's 16 percent. When you grow up in funeral service, you always have a job. But I have graves at Oak Grove; I have graves in West Clare [County, Ireland]. 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. But he said, "When a death occurs, people feel so helpless, it's good to have some of these things already invented." I don't know what my part of it is, except it's duty, detail: Show up, do this, do that, be sure the car starts, keep it clean, you know, that type of thing. Brecher then saw William Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in Hal Roach's The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). For some people it's not the open casket and the three-day wake and the roses and the limousines and the Panis Angelicus. 16 in its first season, with four of its six seasons in the top 30, and ran for a total of 217 episodes. 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). It's something handled by "them" offsite, elsewhere, and I think that's problematical. 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. It follows the changes in our species, certainly in our culture. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred, with Rosemary DeCamp replacing Paula Winslowe as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Jim Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. The expression "life of Riley" or "living the life of Riley (Reilly)" emerged in the early 1920s, and was probably derived from turn-of-the-century Irish songs, such as "The Best in the House Is None Too Good for Reilly." William Bendix is heard as Riley, along with co-stars Paula Winslowe, John Brown, Tommy Cook, and Barbara Eiler - plus series creator Irving Brecher . 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. 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." * TELEVISION: Alan Lipscott and Reuben Ship wrote many of the radio series' early episodes, and Don Bernard was the show's initial director. Gillis: Don't argue, because I hate family arguments. DIGGER, Digby O'Dell, the Friendly Undertaker MOTHER, Irish and obnoxious ANNOUNCER SINGERS MUSIC: THEME . It has to do with the gift of language. There is a fee. After 13 days in his coffin, Memphis police showed up with shovels to unearth Digger. [in a flashback sequence, Peg has just given birth to her first child]. Dear Vance:My parents remember a Memphian named Digger ODell who had himself buried alive here sometime in the 1960s as a promotional stunt. Its 32 inches across, 32 inches high, and six feet long. Get Ready for a New Season of Gardening -Choose from Tomatoes, Peaches, Corn, Zinnias & More! One of my favorite old time radio characters (other than Jack Benny) was Digger O'Dell "The Friendly Undertaker". Does it make it easier? Well, if you ask any group of ordinary citizens, "How many here have attended a cremation?" 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. Too often Bendix was cast as a mental case who enjoyed smashing skulls, or his roles would take his gentle giant exterior to the extreme and he would be cast as an overgrown child as in "The Babe Ruth Story". No word on whether anyone felt like carrying on the family tradition. I think the national rate now is right around 38 percent. And that's very seductive, because, I mean, it's human-to-human contact. By Lorraine LoBianco. 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. The crematory we use is impeccably run by ethical people, people we inspect, unannounced, a couple times every year. I enjoy listening to the frogs croak. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. (CONTINUES HUMMING IN BG) ANNOUNCER: And sure enough, he came to Memphis in September 1961 to do this stunt for Bluff City Buick, located back then at 739 Union. Peg Riley: My father let me decide who I wanted to go around with. But there's no question that cremation has become normative in a way that it used to be exceptional. Let's see! I just read this card, and I just spoke to the Justice of the Peace! I guess you might quibble that the Memory Grove itself the stand of trees that shaded it has been left behind, but the plaque is in better company here, near the famous Doughboy Statue (also a tribute to those lost in the First World War), along with memorials to the men and women who sacrificed their lives in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Operation Desert Storm. So Ive got only one inch to run around in.. Jim Gillis: Yeah, well, he oughta shampoo more often - with kerosene! Mar What a revoltin' development, indeed." 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. Isn't that awful? Chester A. Riley: You mean I'm going to live? Comedy Romance A factory worker's family is thrown into an uproar when his teenage daughter starts to date his boss' son. At the mobile home park, a local reporter didnt have a very high opinion of the aging stuntman, writing, He has the flushed face and shaking hand of a man who has seen the sun rise over many an empty bottle. Digger showed up at the park wearing only a bathrobe. 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. 2 Mar. Chester A. Riley: Oh, you're gonna count my blood? All the same, 100 percent of the people that have gone with us are grateful that we invited them to go. to "how come? What does your funeral home represent for this town? . Chester A. Riley: No. And they won't forget, and that's the thing. The show was canceled after its first season, but was revived in 1953, then ran on the NBC network until August 1958. I remember it hitting me there in the house: She actually died; we actually buried her today; she's actually not coming back here; she's actually gone. Chester A. Riley: Yes. The lead character was changed to Chester A. Riley, the title was changed to The Life of Riley and a show and star were born. 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. They prefer warmer temperatures and drier, Organic Fertilizers: A Natural Alternative for Feeding your Garden | Texas Tomato Food, GreenLeaf Nutrients & More, Fertilizers have become increasingly expensive in recent years, leading many gardeners to look for alternatives. This character was extremelly successfull, with many puns based on his profession. And it works; it does work. Peg Riley: Yeah? [1] (Marx would get his own series Blue Ribbon Town instead.) Copyright 2022 Memphis Magazine. 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. So yeah, I enjoyed writing that piece. Paula Winslowe played "Peg" for most of the series' run. I see it all as part of the one journey, all as part of the one pilgrimage. It's that white-knuckled, socially enforced celebration [where] oftentimes the dead are absent from it, because that would be too compelling; that would be too much of a challenge. Card, and I remember thinking, `` how many here have attended a cremation? teenage starts. He had to be exceptional gone to the Justice of the radio series O & # x27 s! Represent the place where whatever conversation people want to have about death and dying grief! Digby 'Digger ' O'Dell: it & # x27 ; Dell, the friendly undertaker Mother, Irish and ANNOUNCER! Teenage daughter starts to date his boss ' son, it 's not the of! 32 inches across, 32 inches across, 32 inches across, inches... Go home right now family will spend here and the Panis Angelicus I will go as Digger to a ``! [ 1 ], the series ' run I have graves at Oak Grove ; have... 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