The Life of Riley

{{Infobox radio show

| show_name = The Life of Riley

| image = William Bendix Chester Riley on Radio Life of Riley.JPG

| imagesize =

| caption = William Bendix as Chester A. Riley

| other_names =

| format = Situation comedy

| runtime = 30 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| home_station =

| syndicates = ABC
NBC

| television = The Life of Riley

| presenter =

| starring = William Bendix
John Brown
Grace Coppin
Paula Winslowe

| announcer = Ken Niles
Ken Carpenter
Jimmy Wallington

| creator = Irving Brecher

| writer = Alan Lipscott
Reuben Ship

| director =

| senior_editor =

| editor =

| producer = Irving Brecher

| exec_producer =

| narrated =

| rec_location =

| rem_location =

| oth_location =

| first_aired = {{Start date|1944|01|16}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1951|06|29}}

| num_series =

| num_episodes =

| audio_format =

| opentheme =

| othertheme =

| endtheme =

| sponsor = Prell Shampoo
Teel
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Dreft
American Meat Institute

| website =

| podcast =

}}

File:Jackie Gleason Rosemary DeCamp The Life of Riley 1949.JPG and Rosemary DeCamp in the original 1949 television series]]

The radio program initially aired on the Blue Network (later known as ABC) from January 16, 1944, to July 8, 1945, it then moved to NBC, where it was broadcast from September 8, 1945, to June 29, 1951.

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. (Marx would get his own series Blue Ribbon Town instead.) Brecher then saw William Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in Hal Roach's The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). Radio historian Gerald Nachman quotes Brecher as stating, "He was a Brooklyn guy and there was something about him. I thought, this guy could play it. He'd made a few films, like Lifeboat, but he was not a name. 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. Bendix's delivery and the spin he put on his lines made it work."{{cite book |last=Nachman |first=Gerald |year=1998 |title=Raised on Radio |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hpywoSI2au4C&dq=%22The+Life+of+Riley+has+a+unique+niche%22&pg=PA246 |pages=246–248 |publisher=University of California Press, by arrangement with Pantheon Books |isbn=0-520-22303-9 |access-date=26 June 2018}}

The reworked script cast Bendix in the title role of blundering Chester A. Riley, a wing riveter at the fictional Cunningham Aircraft plant in California. His frequent exclamation of indignation—"What a revoltin' development this is!"—became one of the most famous catchphrases of the 1940s. It was later reused by Benjamin J. Grimm of the Fantastic Four. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker." Brecher told Brown, "I want a very sepulchral voice, quavering, morbid," and he got it right away.

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. Henry Morgan voiced Riley's father in one episode.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} 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.

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.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} 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. The program was broadcast live with a studio audience, most of whom were not aware Brown played both characters. As a result, when Digger delivered his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from surprised audience members.{{Citation needed|date=January 2016}}

The series was co-developed by the nonperforming Marx Brother turned agent Gummo. The American Meat Institute (1944–45), Procter & Gamble (Teel dentifrice and Prell shampoo) (1945–49), and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (1949–51) took turns as the radio program's sponsor.Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-5149-4}}. p. 397.

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. The CBS program starred Lionel Stander as J. Riley Farnsworth and had no real connection with the more famous series that followed a few years later.{{cite book |last=Dunning |first=John |year=1998 |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi5wPDBiGfMC&dq=%22The+Life+of+Riley,+situation+comedy%22&pg=PA396 |pages=396–397 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |accessdate=24 June 2018}}

{{Main|The Life of Riley (1949 film)}}

William Bendix also starred in the 1949 film version of The Life of Riley directed by Irving Brecher. It earned $1.6 million in the U.S. and Canada,{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety177-1950-01#page/n58/mode/1up|title=Top Grossers of 1949|magazine=Variety|date=4 January 1950|page=59}} preventing him from starring in the TV series that began in the same year.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

{{Infobox television

| image_upright =

| image_size =

| image_alt =

| caption =

| alt_name =

| genre = Situation comedy{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Life+of+Riley,+The+(Situation+Comedy)%22&pg=PA790 |first1=Tim |last1=Brooks |first2=Earle |last2=Marsh |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows – 1946–Present |year=2007 |page=790 |publisher=Random House Publishing |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 |edition=Ninth }}

| creator =

| based_on =

| developer =

| writer =

| screenplay =

| story =

| director =

| creative_director =

| presenter =

| starring = Jackie Gleason (1949–1950)
William Bendix (1953–1958)

| judges =

| voices =

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer =

| open_theme =

| end_theme =

| composer =

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 6

| num_episodes =

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer =

| producer =

| editor =

| location =

| cinematography =

| camera =

| runtime = 30 minutes

| company =

| budget =

| network = NBC

| released =

| first_aired = {{Start date|1949|10|04}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1958|08|22}}

| related =

}}

In 1948, NBC broadcast "two live television test programs based on the radio series."Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-4513-4}}. p. 199. The April 13 episode starred Herb Vigran as Riley, and the April 20 episode had Buddy Gray in the title role.Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-6477-7}}. p. 602.

A third episode was also produced the same year with Lon Chaney Jr. as Riley and DeCamp as Peg, but not aired. It is available on various public domain DVD releases.

The NBC television adaptation, also created by Irving Brecher, was a single-season

series from October 4, 1949, to March 28, 1950. 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.

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. John Brown returned as the morbid, counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell.

It was during this period that Gleason played Riley on one episode of the radio series. 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.

Life of Riley won the first Emmy Award (for "Best Film Made For and Shown on Television") with Groucho Marx receiving a credit for the story. 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.

{{Episode table |total_width= |background=#515151 |overall= |title= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 1

| Title = Tonsils

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|10|04}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| Title = Babs and Simon Step Out

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|10|11}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| Title = Egbert's Chemistry Set

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|10|18}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| Title = The French Professor

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|10|25}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 5

| Title = Nervous Breakdown

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|11|01}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 6

| Title = Assistant Manager

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|11|08}}

| ShortSummary = With Mary Treen.

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 7

| Title = Riley's Birthday Gift

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|11|15}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 8

| Title = Riley, Gillis, and Vanderhopper, Inc.

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|11|22}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 9

| Title = Junior Falls for Teacher

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|11|29}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 10

| Title = Night School

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|12|06}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 11

| Title = Prom Dress

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|12|13}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 12

| Title = Junior's Birthday Party

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|12|20}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 13

| Title = The Boarder

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|12|27}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 14

| Title = Peg's Birthday

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|01|03}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 15

| Title = Junior Drops Out

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|01|10}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 16

| Title = Riley's Firstborn

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|01|17}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 17

| Title = Insurance

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|01|24}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 18

| Title = The Gambler

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|01|31}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 19

| Title = Acting Lessons

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|02|07}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 20

| Title = Valentine's Day

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|02|14}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 21

| Title = Home Sweet Home

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|02|21}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 22

| Title = South American Job

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|02|28}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 23

| Title = Riley's Quarrel

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|03|07}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 24

| Title = Junior and the Bully

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|03|14}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 25

| Title = The Banned Book

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|03|21}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 26

| Title = Five Dollar Bill

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1950|03|28}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 515151

}}

}}

{{original research|section|date=August 2013}}

File:Life of Riley main television cast.JPG (Babs), William Bendix (Chester A. Riley), Marjorie Reynolds (Peg), and Wesley Morgan (Junior).]]

The second TV series ran for six seasons, from January 2, 1953, to May 23, 1958. It was produced by Tom McKnight for NBC and featured William Bendix. 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. The character of Digger O'Dell was not resurrected as a result of actor John Brown having been placed on the Hollywood blacklist. Sterling Holloway recurred as neighbor Waldo Binney, another radio character.

Nevertheless, this Life of Riley series with Bendix was a ratings hit, ranking at No. 16 in its first season, with four of its six seasons in the top 30, and ran for a total of 217 episodes. It then went into syndicated reruns. 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. For the final season, filming reverted to black-and-white. Sponsors of the TV show included Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer (1949–50), Gulf Oil (1953–58) and Lever Brothers (1957–58).{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} In the 1955–1956 season, the Riley family moved and were given new neighbors portrayed by Florence Sundstrom and George O'Hanlon.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d17G9Dsthv8C&dq=%22given+a+new+set+of+neighbors%22&pg=PA16|title=Gunmen and Gangsters: Profiles of Nine Actors Who Portrayed Memorable Screen Tough Guys|page=16|author=Michael Schlossheimer|year=2002|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-7864-0989-1 }}

In all of the show's incarnations, the comedic plotlines centered around Riley himself, a gullible and occasionally clumsy (but big-hearted) man, and the doings and undoings of his family. 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.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

Bendix and Rosemary DeCamp reprised the roles in an hour-long radio adaptation of the feature film that was presented on Lux Radio Theatre on May 8, 1950.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JggNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6459%2C4451026&q=William+Bendix+Rosemary+DeCamp+Life+Riley |author= |title=Monday's High Spots |page=31 |newspaper=The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=1950-05-08 |access-date=2023-04-13 }}

File:William Bendix Marjorie Reynolds The Life of Riley 1956.JPG|Chester and Peg Riley

File:Tom D'Andrea William Bendix The Life of Riley 1957.JPG|Riley and Gillis

File:Life of riley 1957.JPG|William Bendix and Sterling Holloway, 1957

A comic book adaptation of the show was produced by Dell Comics in 1958 as part of their Four Color series of one-shots.

{{reflist}}

{{wiktionary|life of Riley}}

{{commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20020209185657/https://museum.tv/archives/etv/L/htmlL/lifeofriley/lifeofriley.htm Museum of Broadcast Communications: The Life of Riley]
• {{IMDb title|0041036}} (1949 TV series starring Jackie Gleason)
• {{IMDb title|0045406}} (1953 TV series starring William Bendix)
• {{IMDb title|0041590}} (1949 feature film starring William Bendix)
• [http://zootradio.com/Life_Of_Riley.php Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of Life of Riley]
• [https://archive.org/search.php?query=life+of+riley Several radio and television episodes of The Life of Riley] are available for free download at the Internet Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Life of Riley, The}}

Category:1940s American radio programs

Category:1944 radio programme debuts

Category:1951 radio programme endings

Category:1949 American television series debuts

Category:1950 American television series endings

Category:1953 American television series debuts

Category:1958 American television series endings

Category:1950s American radio programs

Category:1940s American sitcoms

Category:1950s American sitcoms

Category:American comedy radio programs

Category:Black-and-white American television shows

Category:NBC radio programs

Category:Radio programs adapted into television shows

Category:Radio programs adapted into comics

Category:Television series based on radio series

Category:NBC Blue Network radio programs

Category:ABC radio programs

Category:NBC sitcoms