The Life of Riley
The Life of Riley is an American radio
Radio series
Genre | Situation comedy |
---|---|
Running time | 30 minutes |
Country of origin | United States |
Language(s) | English |
Syndicates | ABC NBC |
TV adaptations | The Life of Riley |
Starring | William Bendix John Brown Grace Coppin Paula Winslowe |
Announcer | Ken Niles Ken Carpenter Jimmy Wallington |
Created by | Irving Brecher |
Written by | Alan Lipscott Reuben Ship |
Produced by | Irving Brecher |
Original release | January 16, 1944 June 29, 1951 | –
Sponsored by | Prell Shampoo Teel Pabst Blue Ribbon Dreft American Meat Institute |
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.[1]
The reworked script cast Bendix in the title role of blundering Chester A. Riley, a wing
The supporting cast featured
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] 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]
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.[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. 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.[1]
The Life of Riley: 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,[4] preventing him from starring in the TV series that began in the same year.[citation needed]
Television
The Life of Riley | |
---|---|
Genre | Situation comedy[5] |
Starring | Jackie Gleason (1949–1950) William Bendix (1953–1958) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 6 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes[5] |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | October 4, 1949 August 22, 1958 | –
In 1948, NBC broadcast "two live television test programs based on the radio series."[6] The April 13 episode starred Herb Vigran as Riley, and the April 20 episode had Buddy Gray in the title role.[6][7]
Television series
The
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. In the 1955–1956 season, the Riley family moved and were given new neighbors portrayed by Florence Sundstrom and George O'Hanlon.[8]
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.
Award
Life of Riley won the first
Episodes
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Tonsils" | October 4, 1949 | |
2 | "Babs and Simon Step Out" | October 11, 1949 | |
3 | "Egbert's Chemistry Set" | October 18, 1949 | |
4 | "The French Professor" | October 25, 1949 | |
5 | "Nervous Breakdown" | November 1, 1949 | |
6 | "Assistant Manager" | November 8, 1949 | |
With Mary Treen. | |||
7 | "Riley's Birthday Gift" | November 15, 1949 | |
8 | "Riley, Gillis, and Vanderhopper, Inc." | November 22, 1949 | |
9 | "Junior Falls for Teacher" | November 29, 1949 | |
10 | "Night School" | December 6, 1949 | |
11 | "Prom Dress" | December 13, 1949 | |
12 | "Junior's Birthday Party" | December 20, 1949 | |
13 | "The Boarder" | December 27, 1949 | |
14 | "Peg's Birthday" | January 3, 1950 | |
15 | "Junior Drops Out" | January 10, 1950 | |
16 | "Riley's Firstborn" | January 17, 1950 | |
17 | "Insurance" | January 24, 1950 | |
18 | "The Gambler" | January 31, 1950 | |
19 | "Acting Lessons" | February 7, 1950 | |
20 | "Valentine's Day" | February 14, 1950 | |
21 | "Home Sweet Home" | February 21, 1950 | |
22 | "South American Job" | February 28, 1950 | |
23 | "Riley's Quarrel" | March 7, 1950 | |
24 | "Junior and the Bully" | March 14, 1950 | |
25 | "The Banned Book" | March 21, 1950 | |
26 | "Five Dollar Bill" | March 28, 1950 |
Television series reboot
This section possibly contains original research. (August 2013) |
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]
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]
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.[9]
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Chester and Peg Riley
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Riley and Gillis
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William Bendix and Sterling Holloway, 1957
Comic book
A comic book adaptation of the show was produced by Dell Comics in 1958 as part of their Four Color series of one-shots.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0-520-22303-9. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. p. 397.
- ^ "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. 4 January 1950. p. 59.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. p. 199.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. p. 602.
- ^ Michael Schlossheimer (2002). Gunmen and Gangsters: Profiles of Nine Actors Who Portrayed Memorable Screen Tough Guys. McFarland & Company. p. 16.
- ^ "Monday's High Spots". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1950-05-08. p. 31. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
External links
- Museum of Broadcast Communications: The Life of Riley
- The Life of Riley at IMDb(1949 TV series starring Jackie Gleason)
- The Life of Riley at IMDb(1953 TV series starring William Bendix)
- The Life of Riley at IMDb(1949 feature film starring William Bendix)
- Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of Life of Riley
- Several radio and television episodes of The Life of Riley are available for free download at the Internet Archive