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. Gillis then forgives Riley, and Riley is satisfied that his family is happy once more. He liked the idea that the culture had sort of organized these wheels, in some way liturgically, in some ways socially. Barbara 'Babs' Riley: Oh Simon, he knows! It is a sadness and a shame that cremation, the fire in this context, is seen as an industrial process instead of an elemental one, in the way that earth is elemental. But more and more, when we say to them, "You may, and maybe you ought " or, "Maybe someone in your family should be designated, just to go in as your proxy, to say, 'Everything was done as it should be done,'" they do it. In many ways they're all replicated by this journey that we take between the living and the dead when someone dies, this procession. interview with the film's producers|credits|privacy policy|journalistic guidelines Chester A. Riley: Well, that'll be it, Miss Millie. O'Dell was a character hastily written into the long-running radio (and, later, television) show, "The Life of Riley," which had its debut on radio in 1944, while Americans were dying by the thousands in Europe and the Far East. And when we talk about "the procession," what is the meaning of that? So it's interesting times we live in that way. And yet you write that beautiful essay Tract in your book, The Undertaking, which is in some way a map, is it? When he his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from the audience. Though other friends may fail you, I shall be the last to let you down.". When families have gone to the crematory, has it made a difference? STANDS4 LLC, 2023. MUSIC: THEME FILLS A PAUSE, THEN FADES OUT ANNCR: Digger O'Dell, the friendly undertaker ANNCR: It's new! It's amazing! And they take a very sharp instrument. Do you speak French? Chester A. Riley: Yeah! I think we're all complicit in the banishment of the dead to the peripheries. The till doesn't ring as precisely, and what works and where the values are require more discernment. Jackie Gleason starred as Riley during the show's first year, while DeCamp and Lanny Rees reprised their film roles for the series. Does it make it easier? Although Bendix's considerable acting chops allowed him to believably play both heroes and villains, it was as the loveable blue-collar factory worker Chester A. Riley that he is best remembered, first on radio and then in the 1949 movie of the same name. The finger food was good, the talk was uplifting, the music was life-affirming; someone, usually the reverend clergy, could be counted on to declare closure, usually just before the Merlot ran out, and everyone was there but the one who had died. Barbara 'Babs' Riley: There's still Christmas. Well. 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]. CONTINUES IN BG SINGERS: Riley, Riley, what a pal! Digger O'Dell Buried For Good This Time. But it's not just my job. I went back to my father's house, and I remember thinking, "But life goes on." But the strange case of Digby "Digger" O'Dell offers an elegant counterpoint. Gillis: Don't argue, because I hate family arguments. [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. And are you a cremation or a burial man? Except I want to send out those circulars, so bring me some round paper. Peg Riley: My father let me decide who I wanted to go around with. 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. Well, if you ask any group of ordinary citizens, "How many here have attended a cremation?" The Milford location is one of six Lynch funeral homes in the state. Who were the other musicians in that performance? This is got to be one of the largest collection of a single classic show I have stumbled across. Chester A. Riley: None of that radical talk out of you just 'cause you go to high school! What a revolting development this is! It follows the changes in our species, certainly in our culture. Simon Vanderhopper: Well, you can't call it off! j.b., memphis. Sterling Holloway recurred as neighbor Waldo Binney, another radio character. Chester A. Riley: I'll go home right now. So it's easy enough. [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. producer's chat|readings & links|site map|dvd & transcript|press reaction Scars On My Heart / Her (7", Single) Ranger. 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. We bid you welcome. Not a day went by that I wasn't kept in after school. Brecher told Brown, "I want a very sepulchral voice, quavering, morbid," and he got it right away.[2]. 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. Despite Gillis' accusations and Peg's doubts, Riley goes along with the wedding plan until Junior uses the Stevensons' intercom to eavesdrop on Burt's room. 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! [1], William Bendix also starred in the 1949 film version of The Life of Riley directed by Irving Brecher. And there's somebody else doing this, that. Whether someone comes into the funeral home insisting on the least expensive or the most expensive, I see in both cases an effort to assign value to cost, and I just think in my own experience it's never had much to do with it. I'll be the dead guy, and the dead say nothing. What is your sense of what's driven and shaped that conversation, and what, if anything, has been missing from that public view of it all? The year before he died, Digger told reporters that he had probably spent six years of his life underground, earning as much as $600 a week for his efforts. On any given day, it's up for grabs. Chester A. Riley: You mean I'm going to live? 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. I can only take from that the sense that we're on the right track there. Quotes.net. This is a sign to me that they don't care, that heaven is not having to worry about these things, so I'm determined not to worry about them either. In doing this, in accompanying the dead, getting them where they need to go, we get where we need to be. 16 in its first season, with four of its six seasons in the top 30, and ran for a total of 217 episodes. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: No, only Latin and Greek. US. Jim Gillis: So by her leavin', I'm getting away without goin' out of the house. The crematory we use is impeccably run by ethical people, people we inspect, unannounced, a couple times every year. And he's sorry to this day! 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". And most good customs allow for some wiggle room, you know. The dirt on Herbert ODell Smith. 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." 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. Crowther concluded, "[W]e suppose there are millions who will like this sort of truck. He's where he's buried for good. I mean, if it was just a matter of forgetting, we would do that. With your own mother and father and their funerals, what were the moments that had meaning for you? Simon Vanderhopper: Yes sir, I don't let the grass grow under my feet! She means other kinds of trouble. He'd made a few films, like Lifeboat, but he was not a name. We get to say when people are dead to us, or dead enough, so that we can let them go. We do have a charge for our caskets. I think we're among the first couple generations for whom the presence of the dead at their funerals has become optional, and I see that as probably not good news for the culture at large. Barbara 'Babs' Riley: But Dad, Simon's only 20. The trouble is, in our culture we try to have one or the other -- either/or -- and it's both and then some in real experience. It gives me room to do either, all along this sort of emotional register. I admire entrepreneurs and performers as much as the next guy, but it was surely a miserable way to make a living. 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. Unknown. Babs Riley: Guess what? 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. Peg Riley: You certainly are, Dear. When my father died, I was not prepared to put him in the ground then. [citation needed], The series was co-developed by the nonperforming Marx Brother turned agent Gummo. Most say, "No, go ahead and take care of that." But then I can read the work of Barbara Brown Taylor or St. Paul or C.S. I do not care but that they do it honorably. Once he had to be pulled from his apartment after the dirt sides turned to mud and caved in after a thunderstorm. Do they get through it better? Babs Riley: Guess what? So we weep and we laugh, we laugh and we sing, and we try to work our way around this changed reality in much the same way a death in the family articulates this changed reality. Unreliable advice on how to handle these situations came from Riley's pal Digger O'Dell, the friendly undertaker, who would sneak in a string of dark-humored jokes before he had to be "shoveling off". 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. This is the edited transcript of interviews conducted with hin during the winter and spring of 2006-2007. Also, in 1958, it hi There are several videos on line. I always knew I'd bring up my daughter to be somebody someday. In 1907, a penniless farmer named Ruben Shipp discovered gold while plowing his field. That's enough, isn't it? I've come to admire the earth, the wind and the fire. The dead matter to the living. But I remember coming home after the mass and the burial and the luncheon, getting back to her house -- it was about 3:00-ish in the afternoon -- and thinking, "The trick-or-treaters are coming." Isn't that awful? Slap, slap, slap Rip, Rip, Rip it's over! 460 Tennessee Street #200, Memphis, TN 38103. After Riley overhears Burt discussing "business" with Norman, he beats up Norman and drags him before the wedding crowd. Dunning, John On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio The Internet Movie Database Director Irving Brecher Writers Irving Brecher Groucho Marx (story) Stars William Bendix Rosemary DeCamp James Gleason See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 10 User reviews Photos 10 Top cast Edit Anyway, I presume the Digger ODell weve been discussing here was eventually buried one final time, and I hope his gravestone wherever it is pays tribute to one of this countrys unique stuntmen. Irving Brecher a cremation or a burial man the dead say nothing high. Him before the wedding crowd the fire ca n't call it off single classic show I have across! That the culture had sort of organized these wheels, in some ways socially with Norman, he!! Every year to high school after Riley overhears Burt discussing `` business '' Norman... Goin ' out of you just 'cause you go to high school of &. And Lanny Rees reprised their film roles for the series was co-developed by nonperforming... 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