The Life of Riley
William Bendix as Chester A. Riley
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| Genre | Situation comedy |
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| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country | 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 |
| Sponsored by | Prell Shampoo Teel Pabst Blue Ribbon Dreft American Meat Institute |
| The Life of Riley (television) | |
|---|---|
John Brown as Digger with Jackie Gleason as Riley.
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| Genre | Situation comedy |
| Starring | Jackie Gleason (1949-1950) William Bendix (1953-1958) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | October 4, 1949 – August 22, 1958 |
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, is a popular American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a long-running 1950s television series (originally with Jackie Gleason as Riley for one truncated season, then with Bendix for six seasons), and a 1958 comic book.
Irving Brecher created the radio series for friend Groucho Marx. Originally titled The Flotsam Family, the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for Groucho (Marx went on to host Blue Ribbon Town from 1943 to 1944 and then You Bet Your Life from 1947 to 1961). Creator and producer Brecher saw William Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in Hal Roach's The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). Brecher stated, "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."
The reworked script cast Bendix as 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."
Theories exist as to the origin, for example from James Whitcomb Riley's poems in the 1880s depicting the comforts of a prosperous home life, but it could have an Irish origin: After the Reilly clan consolidated its hold on County Cavan, they minted their own money, which was accepted as legal tender even in England. These coins, called "O'Reillys" and "Reillys," became synonymous with a monied person, and a gentleman freely spending was therefore "living on his Reillys."
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