digger o'dell the friendly undertakerdigger o'dell the friendly undertaker

With William Bendix the protagonist, as Riley and among others John Brown, who portrayed the friendly undertaker "Digger" O'Dell. 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?". I just gave him a sedative. These included Molly's drunken Uncle Dennis and Myrt, the town's telephone operator with whom Fibber shared many a For 28 years, the CHFB has been the essential site for classic horror news, research and enthusiasm. Chester A. Riley: Yes. The dead matter to the living. We get to say when people are dead to us, or dead enough, so that we can let them go. If you havent visited this area of the park, you should. Cullen, Frank, Hackman, Florence and McNeilly, Donald Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America Vol. Mail: Vance Lauderdale, Memphis magazine, I think mine will know what to do, too, not because I've said, "Do this or that," but because they have seen life as I have seen it, and they sort of know me and I know them. So people come in to talk about arranging their parents' funerals or their own. And they won't forget, and that's the thing. I'm certain the same thing holds for people who put their dead in the sea or the fire or a tomb -- that we need time to disengage. When families come in and have their loved one cremated, do you talk to them about going with you to the crematorium? A great memorable quote from the The Life of Riley movie on Quotes.net - "It is I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker. What is missing is the corpse: the thing itself, not the idea of the thing. But there's no question that cremation has become normative in a way that it used to be exceptional. 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. I needed to read that piece because I'm disinclined -- when someone's sick, when someone's out of sorts, when someone's dead -- I'm disinclined to be around that. And there's somebody else arranging the flowers. Details Select delivery location Used: Like New | Details Sold by ral Add to Cart New & Used (2) from FREE Shipping Have one to sell? Slap, slap, slap Rip, Rip, Rip it's over! He would have probably had a difficult way of managing some of the changes that we see nowadays. But he said, "When a death occurs, people feel so helpless, it's good to have some of these things already invented." So yeah, I do find that people who have dealt with their dying -- whether it was taking them to their chemotherapy or sitting those weeks through hospice care, or checking in those weeks through hospice care, because we can't always be physically present -- those people who were thoroughly engaged with this are thoroughly engaged with the rest of it. With your own mother and father and their funerals, what were the moments that had meaning for you? As far as I can tell, he performed it in Memphis only twice, but one of those events made the news because the police were summoned to dig up Digger. 1949. Just as all appears lost, Riley learns from Burt that he has been promoted to a high-paying executive position. But you have to do that first, because people will sense if you're not willing to do that, if you're just sort of going through the motions. 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. : Commissioned in 1932 by Memphis Chapter 1 of the American War Mothers, this large bronze plaque carried the names of 27 Memphians who had lost their lives in World War I. Digger: Every good undertaker has his ear to the ground - we pick up a lot of dirt that way. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker." On any given day, it's up for grabs. That's why I came over here tonight. Do you hear that, Peg? Babs Riley: Guess what? I'm calling it off now! Chester A. Riley: Do you need any help with the dishes? [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. I think he was keenly aware of the fact that a good funeral is not about what we buy or what we spend; that a good funeral is very much about what we do when someone dies. Chester A. Riley: Hello, Digger. 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. 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. 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]. . I've never lost a father yet! Up until a couple generations ago, humans were the species that dealt with death, the idea of the thing, by dealing with their dead, the thing itself, so that the way we processed mortality was by processing mortals from one place to the other, one station to the next in this little pilgrimage between as they were to how they are to what we hope they'll be. When my father died, I was not prepared to put him in the ground then. He'd made a few films, like Lifeboat, but he was not a name. 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. I've seen at the end of the day people walking upright away from graves, people walking upright away from fires, as if they were going to survive it. 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. So we learn to live with it. By what name was The Life of Riley (1949) officially released in Canada in English? To Riley's amazement, Stevenson reveals that he had already planned to promote him to foreman, beginning in January. It just doesn't work out that way. Oh, yeah. I think they used to call that "social death"; that actual death happens like that. 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. 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 Babs Riley: All right, but Professor Van Plantan says I have a natural gift for acting. In some ways it is a culture that's based on convenience and cost efficiency. Chester A. Riley: Nah what would a rich man want with money? "became one of the most famous catchphrases of the 1940s. Are social changes the reasons that we are more fearful and reluctant to deal with death in our everyday lives? Rosemary DeCamp (as "Peg Riley"), Lanny Rees (as "Junior Riley") and John Brown (as "Digger O'Dell, the Friendly Undertaker") all reprised their movie roles in the original The Life of Riley (1948) TV series. Web. Paula Winslowe played "Peg" for most of the series' run. The oblivion is the oblivion wherever it is. One day, after paying out all but five of his fifty-dollar-a-week paycheck, Riley has to sneak into his house to avoid his landlady, Miss Martha Bogle, to whom he owes money. 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. He made the news by being buried alive. P-R-E-L-L! And when we talk about "the procession," what is the meaning of that? They can coexist. Well, it's showing up and just being there is worth an awful lot. 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. It is the ridiculous and the sublime. Not sure where the voice actor was inspired from, but Mancubus sounds exactly like Digger O'Dell, the friendly undertaker from the old Life of Rile Press J to jump to the feed. One of my favorite characters from classic radio is Digby Digger ODell, the friendly undertaker portrayed by John Brown in THE LIFE OF RILEY. After Riley overhears Burt discussing "business" with Norman, he beats up Norman and drags him before the wedding crowd. I prefer the dead languages. 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." He played "Al" on the radio series "My Friend Irma". Dear Vance:My parents remember a Memphian named Digger ODell who had himself buried alive here sometime in the 1960s as a promotional stunt. And most good customs allow for some wiggle room, you know. Jim Gillis: Are you kiddin'? Chester A. Riley: Yeah! Maybe the referee will give you a draw. So everything is weakened; weakened and tightened at the same time. 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). But cremation has increased since then by about 10 percent in every decade. Chester A. Riley: Well, if you do, just holler. Peppers take longer than tomatoes to get going, so start them first. Riley could easily be described as the Archie Bunker of the 1940s. Copyright 2022 Memphis Magazine. 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." He's resting. The character of Digger O'Dell was not resurrected as a result of actor John Brown having been placed on . 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. And somebody else is pressing somebody's clothes. I see no difference in the machinery it takes to dig a hole [and] the machinery it takes to build a fire. Don't forget the gallon I gave to the Red Cross. In the 19551956 season, the Riley family moved and were given new neighbors portrayed by Florence Sundstrom and George O'Hanlon.[8]. Jiffy peat pellets are a popular choice for starting tomatoes, but they can also be used for peppers. There's been a sort of national conversation about funerals over the years. What are you doin' here in the park? I can only take from that the sense that we're on the right track there. 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. US. Digger O'Dell, the friendly undertaker ANNCR: It's new! He was Herbert ODell Smith, and he conducted this buried alive stunt, along with countless other feats of endurance, across the South. Most say, "No, go ahead and take care of that." home|introduction|watch online|stories & special video|to be an undertaker|join the discussion Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: Why, I was just taking a stroll around the pond. Im five-foot-eleven. But I find that if you just show up, if you just walk in the door, people think you're a hero. And it was over, oftentimes, the most mundane of circumstances. I mean, that is the terrible, terrible part. Opening credits conclude with the following written statement: "America! It was just doing the next right thing. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker.Chester A. Riley: Hello, Digger. But by the time a couple days later he went in the ground, it was exactly the right thing to do. There is a fee. I've always been touched by the fact that there seems to be as much laughter as weeping at the big life events. [Riley is talking on the phone with the hospital's maternity ward]. The Life of Riley, 1944 to 1951. Her testimony is like all testimony -- it is a combination of gratitude and grief, and that the gratitude does not trump the grief, nor does the grief undo the gratitude. You'd better stop talking that way. It was later reused by Benjamin J. Grimm of the Fantastic Four. So we had those advantages. I cant say what finally happened to Digger. (CONTINUES HUMMING IN BG) ANNOUNCER: He is best-known in Memphis for agreeing to be "buried alive" as a promotion that took place in September 1959 for Bluff City Buick. During cocktails, a bill collector from the electric company shows up, and after Riley sends him on his way, he disconnects the Rileys' electricity. 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. Singles & EPs. It seems Digger ODell was a friendly undertaker character in The Life of Riley , a radio soap opera that aired back in the 1930s, but that still doesnt explain the curious popularity of the name, if you ask me. What you're looking at [in the case of someone being there during that time] is everything's in order. Chester A. Riley: [on the phone] What is it, a boy or a girl? And I suppose this is the message at every graveside: They stay, we go, until we come to that point in which we are brought there, and we stay and they go. It's not always the same thing, and for everyone it's different. Scars On My Heart / Her (7", Single) Ranger. 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. Many customers have had positive experiences ordering from them, and their customer service has been praised for keeping buyers updated on order status. I cant find any record that Digger ever returned to Bluff City Buick, or to the Bluff City for that matter, to finish the job. Back in Atlanta, a judge allowed him to conduct his stunt for an Atlanta shopping center, but he had to turn the money he would be paid only $2,250 over to his family. If you do, just holler the moments that had meaning for you Variety Performers America... Benjamin J. Grimm of the most mundane of circumstances My Friend Irma quot... National conversation about funerals over the years you talk to them about going you! Order status have had positive experiences ordering from them, and their customer service has been promoted to a executive! 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