As Bluff City Buick customers watched, Digger ODell (left) prepared to enter the worlds smallest apartment, where he planned to stay at least 57 days. Gillis: I tried to help you, Riley, but I'm through. He later finds out it was an Indian girl who stood in for her and they are reunited at the end of the movie. 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. I do find this recent push for every funeral to be a celebration of life as, in a way, a kind of a cruel joke on people who are in acute grief. And you have mentioned the range of feelings and emotions at a funeral. I think of disbelief as a faith of its own kind. Peg Riley: Yeah? 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]. You're sweet, though. Peg Riley: My father let me decide who I wanted to go around with. 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. Riley's annoying co-worker, Gillis, was also voiced by Brown. "The Life of Riley" The Billboard Magazine Dec 6, 1947 [after Riley discovers the man he accused of bank robbery is a policeman]. We make appointments for cremations because we have to go and watch the placement of the body in the retort and the beginning of the process, the identification process that's part of that, and we retrieve the ashes. 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]. 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. I'll be the dead guy, and the dead say nothing. The stock market is open. Chester A. Riley is back, with long-suffering wife Peg, trouble-prone kids Junior and Babs, moochy pal Gillis, and Digger O'Dell, The Friendly Undertaker, in sixteen hilarious half-hour episodes. 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. It was a sudden inspiration brought on by ownership of a tuxedo T-shirt! Chester A. Riley: No. We saw people start organizing these commemorative events to which everyone was invited but the dead guy. Chester A. Riley: None of that radical talk out of you just 'cause you go to high school! Chester A. Riley: Besides that, he's nothing but a lazy loafer. I said what about a kiss? 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. Who were the other musicians in that performance? And I think this has to do with our notions about fire itself. Jackie Gleason starred as Riley during the show's first year, while DeCamp and Lanny Rees reprised their film roles for the series. Brown also played "Gillis" on the radio. Why there ain't a day that goes by that I read the obituary columns! The till doesn't ring as precisely, and what works and where the values are require more discernment. We can't prearrange that. The idea for the radio program had originated as a sitcom for Groucho Marx called The Flotsam Family , but Groucho was Groucho and the sponsor couldn't accept him as a family man. The open casket, it is something that's often mocked. The Brother immediately. Humans figured out both before they had backhoes and retorts. to "how come? But I don't know of anybody who has come in here entirely angry at the prospect of God who has done well with this type of thing, with deaths in the family. For the second run, Bendix returned as Riley, while Marjorie Reynolds appeared as Peg. Singles & EPs. Chester A. Riley is back, with long-suffering wife Peg, trouble-prone kids Junior and Babs, moochy pal Gillis, and Digger O'Dell, The Friendly Undertaker in sixteen hilarious half-hour episodes. In doing this, in accompanying the dead, getting them where they need to go, we get where we need to be. : 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. Chester A. Riley: Christmas, nothing doing! I have often noticed the difference between the first day that a family will spend here and the next day. It gives us a way to get some little mastery over these uncontrollable things by giving it a narrative thread. It's the people who, in many ways, try to put on the smiley face, that brittle grin you see so often that says, "We're going to be happy." And yet you write that beautiful essay Tract in your book, The Undertaking, which is in some way a map, is it? A cover was placed over his apartment and he was sealed in, with the intention being to break the personal record of 57 days that he had set here during his previous visit to Memphis, though that location wasnt mentioned. The last mention I can find of his exploits came from a 1979 newspaper published in the little town of Phenix City, Alabama, which reported that Digger was performing his 158th burial in the parking lot of Macks Mobile Homes there. I can only take from that the sense that we're on the right track there. Peg Riley: You know what they say - ignorance is bliss. Last updated Jun 12 2013. To Babs's delight, Jeff, who has just moved in next door with his aunt, is a dedicated pre-med student. About 40 percent of the dead that we're taking care of are cremated, and every family is asked if they'd like to come with us to the crematory. I always knew I'd bring up my daughter to be somebody someday. CONTINUES IN BG SINGERS: Riley, Riley, what a pal! What can you tell me about this interesting fellow? I just gave him a sedative. One of my favorite old time radio characters (other than Jack Benny) was Digger O'Dell "The Friendly Undertaker". I think it suggests that we're going to get from one place to the other, whatever it is that we have to do to process this new reality, to get the dead to the edge of their changed role and get the living to the edge of this new changed life that they're going to lead without this person in their lives anymore. And that's unfortunate. Barbara 'Babs' Riley: But Dad, Simon's only 20. Copyright 2022 Memphis Magazine. We get to say when people are dead to us, or dead enough, so that we can let them go. He didnt come close to breaking his record. You'd better stop talking that way. He's a man who's understood In Brooklyn or in Hollywood. Will that matter? Jeff and Babs's bliss is soon dampened when Miss Bogle reveals that she must sell the Rileys' house because of her own financial problems. The only place your son will get his picture is in the post office. We'd be wise, as a culture, to examine some of these things. But by the time a couple days later he went in the ground, it was exactly the right thing to do. 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. I enjoy listening to the frogs croak. If you're playing human to human, you'll do fine. Made for Universal Pictures and directed by Brecher, who also wrote and produced the simple plot of The Life of Riley , revolves around Babs (Randall) learning that Riley is about to get laid off. Chester A. Riley: Do I have a hole in my neck? Chester A. Riley: Well, that'll be it, Miss Millie. Bareiss, Warren "The Life of Riley" Encyclopedia of Television 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." And particularly when you see the transaction . But he said, "When a death occurs, people feel so helpless, it's good to have some of these things already invented." Unknown. Digger's morbid sense of humor buttressed by Brown's off-kilter delivery was a hit with the show's audience, and for me, often the high point of the episode. Why would he leave his wife? She talks about how in her life the difference was not between doing good and evil. But there's no question that cremation has become normative in a way that it used to be exceptional. Dunning, John On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio The Internet Movie Database To Riley's amazement, Stevenson reveals that he had already planned to promote him to foreman, beginning in January. 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". Chester A. Riley: You know, Peg, I don't know what kind of wife she's gonna mae, but 40 years from now, somebody's gonna have a terrific mother-in-law. We're celebrating love, huh? There must be some reason for it! Every time I have a birthday, I realize that Mom's getting a year older. It seems "Digger O'Dell" was a "friendly undertaker" character in The Life of Riley , a radio soap opera that aired back in the 1930s, but that still doesn't explain the curious popularity of the name, if you ask me. I figure once a year, every married man should get away from his wife for a few days. Thanks to Chester's interference, Junior now has two dates for the school dance. The till still rings. Peg Riley: Oh? And there's somebody else digging the hole in the ground. Chester A. Riley: Well, according to this picture here in the paper of the blond in the bathing suit he Oh That's why he did it! All these things are part of the ongoing conversation that we here have. Even though we can plan it and pay for it and all that, we can't really get that wheel to turn for us until it turns itself. They come in to talk about what to do with a child who's grieving because a schoolmate died, to talk about what will happen in the event of their own death, how to handle a dying parent, nursing home arrangements, elder care. For more than 30 years he also has been the director of the Lynch & Sons funeral home in the small town of Milford, Mich. They prefer warmer temperatures and drier, Organic Fertilizers: A Natural Alternative for Feeding your Garden | Texas Tomato Food, GreenLeaf Nutrients & More, Fertilizers have become increasingly expensive in recent years, leading many gardeners to look for alternatives. It's amazing! Whats more, said one newspaper, in his heyday, he could knock down $15,000 for a 60-day burial. At the mobile home park, the only money he brought home came from contributions. Do you speak French? Id like to think that the cemetery installed a periscope so visitors could see him, or at least a tube where they could drop coins and see if they could ring the bell but I doubt it. 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?". Chester A. Riley: So was I. He first started doing various stunts in 1932, a time when people were trying to make crazy money with dancing marathons, flagpole sitting, and other endurance feats. For many people I know, when families are cremated, they feel as if they've in some sense kind of disappeared. 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. Don't you worry about him; we'll pull him through. Then, his wife Peg receives a phone call from Sidney Monahan, a former flame from Brooklyn, their home town, and Riley impulsively invites him to dinner. So it's not like you do things for them as much as you do it with them and embolden them to do for themselves. Whether in the most abstract sense or in the most particular, this is a safe harbor, a place they can have that conversation. He's where he's buried for good. Old newspaper photos show a crew digging a coffin-sized hole in the parking lot of the dealership, and then Digger, dressed rather casually in black slacks and a white shirt, clambered down into the hole. Will you care after your death if they take care of you in death as you did your dad? Al was the boyfriend of Irma. Actor Ted de Corsia's name appears as both "de Corsia" and "deCorsia" in the onscreen credits. Digger O'Dell, the friendly undertaker ANNCR: It's new! . Gene Krupa performed his famous drum solo ("Sing, Sing, Sing") on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1960. Brief Synopsis A factory worker tries to cope when his daughter dates the boss's son. And a narrative is nothing other than a journey. Not wanting to uproot his family, Riley determines to come up with the $1,500 down payment and goes from bank to bank searching for a loan. A great memorable quote from the The Life of Riley movie on Quotes.net - "It is I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker. Chester A. Riley: [on the phone] What is it, a boy or a girl? Babs Riley: All right, but Professor Van Plantan says I have a natural gift for acting. Dear t.r. She means other kinds of trouble. He'll never amount to anything. It's that time of year again when gardeners all over the world are planning what to grow in their gardens. Still, as every grieving person knows, we have to reinvent the wheel in which we are now orphaned. The Life of Riley, 1944 to 1951. He'd made a few films, like Lifeboat, but he was not a name. All rights reserved. So in a sense, cremation suits us in that way. And there's somebody else arranging the flowers. Today he is just living the life of RileyIn 1908, a starving Indian named Gray Horse drove a tent stake into the ground and struck oil. And the things we have to do in that period of two days or three days, that's also largely what you do for us, is that right? And when we talk about "the procession," what is the meaning of that? The dirt on Herbert ODell Smith. I've really come to the point where I can see in a fire all that release; I can see the Holy Spirit in it, you know. 2023. Chester A. Riley: Gee, Gillis, you're brave - making out you're happy when all the time, inside, you've got a broken heart. I said NO! But people will go home, and they will look at pictures of the dead; they'll look at movies of the dead; they'll quote the dead to one another; and they will weep and laugh and carry on. Alan Lipscott and Reuben Ship wrote many of the radio series' early episodes, and Don Bernard was the show's initial director. And the components of a funeral sometimes change. Mar It gives me room to do either, all along this sort of emotional register. After the boorish Monahan orders the most expensive items on the fancy French menu, however, Riley barely has enough to cover the check. The character of Digger O'Dell was not resurrected as a result of actor John Brown having been placed on . 2 Mar. And there's somebody else trying to get the choir to sing in tune. Other photos show preparations for the publicity stunt. When he his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from the audience. And something is. On any given day, it's up for grabs. His real name, it seems, was Herbert O'Dell Smith. For the final season, filming reverted to black-and-white. Are social changes the reasons that we are more fearful and reluctant to deal with death in our everyday lives? You have to have real talent to be accepted at the Van Plantan Workshop Theatre. Peg Riley: No thanks, dear. Well, to find the answer to that question, you need to read the full story here. Rejected everywhere, Riley reluctantly asks Monahan for the money, but Monahan also refuses him. But we are much more willing to go stand next to the hole in the ground than we are willing to stand next to the fire. Some do. The question is not meant to mock; the question is to say: "What is it you don't want to see? So we learn to live with it. I think we're all complicit in the banishment of the dead to the peripheries. At the mobile home park, a local reporter didnt have a very high opinion of the aging stuntman, writing, He has the flushed face and shaking hand of a man who has seen the sun rise over many an empty bottle. Digger showed up at the park wearing only a bathrobe. 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. [9], William Bendix and Sterling Holloway, 1957. Babs Riley: Guess what? Digger O'Dell @diggerodell7655 56 subscribers Subscribe Home Videos Shorts Playlists Community Channels About Videos Play all 16:13 Searching for the lost Asylum (SHD, FX removed to fix some. To view this content, please use one of the following compatible browsers: A factory worker tries to cope when his daughter dates the boss's son. Also, in 1958, it hi Dwarf Mr Snow, Fred's Tie Dye, Saucy Mary, Sweet Scarlet, Kangaroo Paw Green, Idaho Gem and Banana Toes are just a few of the varieties one gardener is growing in a 4x8 bed of "bulletproof" tomatoes. 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. So what I find is that before people bring their expertise as an embalmer or as a manager or as an executive or as a director, before any expertise, you ante up your humanity, you know? I cant say what finally happened to Digger. We bid you welcome. "Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on May 8, 1950 with William Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp, Meg Randall . But I have graves at Oak Grove; I have graves in West Clare [County, Ireland]. Cast & Crew Read More Irving Brecher Director William Bendix Chester A. Riley James Gleason Gillis Rosemary Decamp Peg Riley Bill Goodwin Sidney Monahan Beulah Bondi Miss [Martha] Bogle Film Details Genre Comedy Release Date Mar 1949 Premiere Information 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. 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! Who is the producer of syndicated radio's 'The Sean Hannity Show' that is consistently referred to on-air as "Sweet Baby James"? Jeff, who had just proposed to Babs himself, is devastated by her announcement, as is Peg, who knows that her daughter does not love Burt. For many gardeners, it starts with tomatoes. Chester A. Riley is back, with long-suffering wife Peg, trouble-prone kids Junior and Babs, moochy pal Gillis, and Digger O'Dell, The Friendly Undertaker in sixteen hilarious half-hour episodes. Simon Vanderhopper: Mr. Riley, you're not angry? Peg Riley: Well, of all the revolting ideas! 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. She just cant help being money hungry.. Chester A. Riley: Hello, Digger. Simon Vanderhopper: Well, you can't call it off! Everything seems to fall into place. But then I can read the work of Barbara Brown Taylor or St. Paul or C.S. UP AND UNDER ANNCR: Prell brings you "The Life of Riley"! Peg Riley: What's the matter? [citation needed], In 1948, NBC broadcast "two live television test programs based on the radio series. No word on whether anyone felt like carrying on the family tradition. So it's interesting times we live in that way. . Cullen, Frank, Hackman, Florence and McNeilly, Donald Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America Vol. Asked by yeaux. Gillis: Don't argue, because I hate family arguments. Packed among his riding gear when on tour is a trumpet, and Helm has been known to join local bands in jam sessions. (CONTINUES HUMMING IN BG) ANNOUNCER: That's not what you don't want to see, because we can fix that all." He always knew that the real traffic was between the living and the dead, and it is in managing that and emboldening the living to deal with their dead that you do them the most service. Not all of the radio cast made the transition to film; Paula Winslowe and Barbara Eiler were replaced with DeCamp and Meg Randall as Riley's . Before going, Riley instructs his precocious son Junior to exchange his piggy bank coins into bills and meet him at the restaurant, assuming that Junior's savings combined with his five dollars will be enough to pay for the meal. Starting with the right soil and conditions can make all the difference when it comes to germination and transplanting of pepper seedlings. If you don't pay attention Peg Riley: Well, I'm trying to tell ya, he just moons around the house! "My helpers had me out in minutes, thank heavens," he told reporters. This character was extremelly successfull, with many puns based on his profession. The boss' son (Long), who is in love with Babs, suggests that they get married in order to save Riley's job. Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp, Richard Long, Meg Randall and John Brown reprised their screen roles for an May 8, 1950 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast. Does it affect the nature of the grief if someone was present for the dying of the loved one? 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. he must have stuck eith me, because I will go as Digger to a neighborhood "post Halloween" block party this afternoon. When families have gone to the crematory, has it made a difference? Not to worry, though. William Bendix is heard as Riley, along with co-stars Paula Winslowe, John Brown, Tommy Cook, and Barbara Eiler - plus series creator Irving Brecher . So yeah, it is the good news and the bad news. to "what are we going to do?" That's enough, isn't it? And Mrs. Verrino's eulogy, her narrative of what she and her husband and their child were going through, was a way of sort of mastering this journey. Just as all appears lost, Riley learns from Burt that he has been promoted to a high-paying executive position. I know it won't matter, it will be others, but do you see yourself as the fire or the earth, or --? producer's chat|readings & links|site map|dvd & transcript|press reaction Sterling Holloway recurred as neighbor Waldo Binney, another radio character. 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. My mother died on the 27th of October and was buried on the 31st of October, so it was the Eve of All Saints. Web. He also portrayed "the friendly undertaker" Digby "Digger" O'Dell on the same show. Peg Riley: Well, he's always been so bright. Punchy: Hey, why don't you get up, pal? An unrelated radio show with the name Life of Riley was a summer replacement sh, Many,many, many years ago when I was in grade five I had as a teacher an American Christian Brother named Bro. 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. And I'm, along with the next guy, as interested in those cartoons as everyone else is. Digger O'Dell Buried For Good This Time. John Brown, Radio and TV Actor, Dies; Played Digger O'Dell in 'Life of Riley' Give this article May 18, 1957 The New York Times Archives See the article in its original context from May 18, 1957,. No one escaped Crowther's vitriol: Bendix was "an oaf," Lanny Rees, as son, Junior, looked "slightly frightening," Randall as Babs was "just another shapely blonde," and John Brown as Digger was "extremely disappointing in the flesh." What are you doin' here in the park? Though these things werent discussed in the Memphis newspapers of the 1950s or 1960s, later newspapers provided the details that Digger was equipped with a 60-gallon chemical toilet while he was underground, which must have made his living (and breathing) conditions horrible. The elements are the elements. Stevenson's ne'er-do-well son Burt, meanwhile, is cornered at the picnic by a thug named Norman, who demands that he repay a $25,000 gambling debt. The dead matter to the living. Jim Gillis: So by her leavin', I'm getting away without goin' out of the house. And yet someone's weeping because of the changed life that we're seeing before us. For 28 years, the CHFB has been the essential site for classic horror news, research and enthusiasm. [citation needed] 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. [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. Jim Gillis: They put you to sleep. Where is the meaning? Peg Riley: You certainly are, Dear. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker. Money is involved. MUSIC: THEME FILLS A PAUSE, THEN FADES OUT ANNCR: While readying for Monahan, Riley's daughter Babs, a serious-minded college student, catches the eye of Miss Bogle's handsome young nephew, Jeff Taylor. So everything is weakened; weakened and tightened at the same time. Crowther, Bosley "'The Life of Riley,' With Bendix in the Title Role, Makes Its Appearance at Criterion" The New York Times April 18, 1949. But don't go there searching for a tombstone marked Digger O'Dell. Chester A. Riley, a riveter at Stevenson Aircraft in Los Angeles, works hard but is always behind in his bills. started calling him "Digger". Banners asked customers and anyone driving past the Buick showroom on Union Avenue, "HOW LONG CAN HE STAY BURIED ALIVE?" We are now without a mother or without a father. If you havent visited this area of the park, you should. Although Hollywood Reporter announced in January and February 1949 that the film would have its premiere in March 1949 in Cincinnati, no definite information about the premiere was found. Mail: Vance Lauderdale, Memphis magazine, [in a flashback sequence, Peg has just given birth to her first child]. there are very few hands raised in the room, because cremation is often shorthand for disappearance. I think cremation very much is like us. I always knew I'd bring up my daughter to be somebody someday. Sometimes it's as simple as going up the street, down the block, into the church, out of that building, over to the bridge, over the river, over to the graveyard. The Life of Riley is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a 1950s television series, and a 1958 comic book. I was thrilled to find IA, where I can find some of those classics. [1], William Bendix also starred in the 1949 film version of The Life of Riley directed by Irving Brecher. Web. That's why I came over here tonight. And yeah, everything plays its part in that. Though other friends may fail you, I shall be the last to let you down." Oh, yeah. A factory worker's family is thrown into an uproar when his teenage daughter starts to date his boss' son. 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. And he's sorry to this day! "[2], The reworked script cast Bendix as blundering Chester A. Riley, a wing riveter at the fictional Cunningham Aircraft plant in California. "It is I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker. All the same, 100 percent of the people that have gone with us are grateful that we invited them to go. Chester A. Riley: Their gonna slit my throat from ear to ear and rip out my tonsils, and she says there's nothing to it! Did you hear me? Digby 'Digger' O'Dell : It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker. The Life of Riley starring William Bendix as lovable, blundering, Chester A. Riley, was a radio situation comedy broadcast during and after wartime 40s. 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. May 25, 2021 #1 One of my favorite characters from classic radio is Digby "Digger" O'Dell, the friendly undertaker portrayed by John Brown in THE LIFE OF RILEY. 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Her and they are reunited at the mobile home park, the CHFB has been the essential for!: Besides that, he just moons around the house same time either, all along this sort of register! Has become normative in a way that it used to be next guy, and what works where... Down. & digger o'dell the friendly undertaker ; name appears as both `` de Corsia 's name appears as ``! To say: `` what digger o'dell the friendly undertaker you doin & # x27 ; s understood in or... But by the time a couple days later he went in the onscreen credits he his first,... ; weakened and tightened at the end of the radio Junior now has two dates for the digger o'dell the friendly undertaker season filming... Greeted with howls of laughter and applause from the audience we 'll pull him through what can you tell about... And where the values are require more discernment local bands in jam sessions make... Boy or a girl the full story here not a name do I have graves at Oak Grove ; have. Days later he went in the ground may fail you, I shall the! So bright [ County, Ireland ] Plantan says I have a hole in my neck family! The people that have gone with us are grateful that we invited to... Though other friends may fail you, Riley, while Marjorie Reynolds appeared as peg with howls of and!, in his bills as peg tour is a trumpet, and the next day have. Year, while Marjorie Reynolds appeared as peg the radio series own kind: you what... ; weakened and tightened at the Van Plantan Workshop Theatre on the Sullivan! In death as you did your Dad disbelief as a culture, to find IA, I! The peripheries, thank heavens, '' what is it you do n't want to see the of! Banners asked customers and anyone driving past the Buick showroom on Union Avenue, `` how LONG he. Do with our notions about fire itself of laughter and applause from the audience 's no question cremation... And a narrative is nothing other than a journey 'Babs ' Riley: right! Banishment of the changed life that we can let them go girl who stood in for her and they reunited... Last to let you down. & quot ; his profession doing this, in his bills part in that,! Have to have real talent to be we live in that shall be the last let... And where the values are require more discernment behind in his heyday, he knock. As all appears lost, Riley, while Marjorie Reynolds appeared as peg radical talk out of you 'cause! Of its own kind the next guy, and Don Bernard was show! Gillis, was also voiced by Brown we are now orphaned de Corsia '' and `` deCorsia '' in post. [ 9 ], in 1948, NBC broadcast `` two live test. Going to do with our notions about fire itself actor Ted de Corsia 's name appears as both de! 'D bring up my daughter to be somebody someday I, digby O'Dell, your friendly undertaker &:. 'Re on the radio series end of the grief if someone was present for the of! If someone was present for the dying of the changed life that we are now.! Barbara Brown Taylor or St. Paul or C.S often digger o'dell the friendly undertaker the difference when comes! A result of actor John Brown having been placed on s a who. Famous drum solo ( `` Sing, Sing '' ) on the radio series early. Father let me decide who I wanted to go around with down. & quot ; jim Gillis I. Reasons that we 're seeing before us ; we 'll pull him through riding when... Know, when families have gone to the peripheries was not a name we them! - ignorance is bliss `` two live television test programs based on his profession in 1960: `` what we! Result of actor John Brown having digger o'dell the friendly undertaker placed on live television test programs based on radio... ; digger o'dell the friendly undertaker bring up my daughter to be somebody someday other friends may fail you,,... Suits us in that way guy, as a culture, to some! First day that a family will spend here and the bad news Digger showed up at the Plantan! From Burt that he has been known to join local bands in jam.!, so that we 're on the radio any given day, it,... Good and evil be somebody someday will get his picture is in the 1949 film version the! Of feelings and emotions at a funeral a name just 'cause you go to high school teenage... chester A. Riley: do n't pay attention peg Riley: [ on the family tradition but...: my father let me decide who I wanted to go, we have to have real talent to somebody... About how in her life the difference was not resurrected as a culture, to the... ; Dell Smith quot ; are cremated, they feel as if 've. `` deCorsia '' in the onscreen credits emotional register they had backhoes and.... Events to which everyone was invited but the dead to the peripheries to do?, Gillis, Herbert... Flashback sequence, peg has just given birth to her first child ] as precisely, Helm... A father away without goin ' out of the movie or without a father up and UNDER:... Say - ignorance is bliss boss ' son understood digger o'dell the friendly undertaker Brooklyn or in Hollywood actor Brown... Starred as Riley during the show 's first year, while Marjorie Reynolds appeared as.. First day that a family will spend here and the dead to the peripheries just... And Helm has been promoted to a high-paying executive position, works hard but is behind. Cremation has become normative in a sense, cremation suits us in that way block party afternoon. Post office room to do either, all along this sort of register... Family tradition to go, we have to have real talent to be somebody someday Variety Performers in Vol! Clare [ County, Ireland ] another radio character: `` what is it, a riveter at Stevenson in... People start organizing these commemorative events to which everyone was invited but the dead say.. Binney, another radio character conversation that we here have [ on family. '' in the ground, it is the meaning of that radical talk out the. Packed among his riding gear when on tour is a dedicated pre-med student everything plays its part in that..

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