digger o'dell the friendly undertaker

And yet you write that beautiful essay Tract in your book, The Undertaking, which is in some way a map, is it? He would have probably had a difficult way of managing some of the changes that we see nowadays. At weddings people are forever weeping at what is supposed to be a joyous event. Though other friends may fail you, I shall be the last to let you down.". Whether we consign our dead to scavenger birds, as they do in Tibet, or to the sea, as they do when the sea is around them, or the tree, as our Native Americans did, it doesn't make any difference. Barbara 'Babs' Riley: But Dad, Simon's only 20. Peg Riley: Oh? Thanks to Chester's interference, Junior now has two dates for the school dance. "[6] The April 13 episode starred Herb Vigran as Riley, and the April 20 episode had Buddy Gray in the title role. 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. You can read in history books about the way a funeral procession was laid out -- which civic group, which ecclesiastical group, which fraternal group, which family group -- how everybody was lined up, so that as people walked in, there was this rise and fall of relationship and grief, and people know this, that good, orderly direction that was assumed by this process, this ritual. According to the obituary, Digger was born in Georgia in 1915. Will that matter? Its 32 inches across, 32 inches high, and six feet long. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell : It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker. 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. [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. It follows the changes in our species, certainly in our culture. I really think my people will know what to do when the time comes, and these are details I won't have to worry about. He would announce himself with, "'Tis I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker. Maybe the referee will give you a draw. 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. Quotes.net. I always knew I'd bring up my daughter to be somebody someday. Alan Lipscott and Reuben Ship wrote many of the radio series' early episodes, and Don Bernard was the show's initial director. Chester A. Riley: Besides that, he's nothing but a lazy loafer. I was thrilled to find IA, where I can find some of those classics. So yes, the hurt is there, but the hurt does not overwhelm. Chester A. Riley: I don't think you heard me, peg. I always knew I'd bring up my daughter to be somebody someday. There must be some reason for it! 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. 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. So we had those advantages. Gillis: I tried to help you, Riley, but I'm through. I'm calling it off now! He calculated that he had been "buried alive" 94 times, and some of these almost ended his life. And yet someone's weeping because of the changed life that we're seeing before us. Slap, slap, slap Rip, Rip, Rip it's over! Chester A. Riley : Hello, Digger. He never acted this way before. But the strange case of Digby "Digger" O'Dell offers an elegant counterpoint. This character was extremelly successfull, with many puns based on his profession. According to the 1999 obituary, Digger was survived by his wife, Julie Ann "Maggie" Smith of Dawsonville, Georgia; a son, Bobby Smith, of Lakewell, Florida; and a stepson, Timothy Eugene Fowler, of Gainesville, Georgia. 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. I got my picture in the paper! I want reports! Dear Vance:What happened to the Memory Grove plaque an old war memorial that stood in Overton Park, in a stand of trees close to Poplar Avenue? Last updated Jun 12 2013. 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]. Riley, Riley, what a guy! It's not always the same thing, and for everyone it's different. I know as a person who has grieved before, and I also know as a person who has been next to people in grief, that one of the awful messages on the day is "Life goes on." In 1949, Universal Studios released a Life of Riley motion picture, and later that same year NBC produced a TV version with Jackie Gleason playing Riley (Bendix was unable to play the role . It just doesn't work out that way. Land of miracles, where dreams come true! And what about the formalities, the particular traditions and customs that are a part of the funeral? 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? 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. Everything is going on, and here we are. It was during this period that Gleason played Riley on one episode of the radio series. Did you hear me? 16 in its first season, with four of its six seasons in the top 30, and ran for a total of 217 episodes. 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." And does the rise in cremation in America parallel changes in demographics? You have to have real talent to be accepted at the Van Plantan Workshop Theatre. Irving Brecher's onscreen credit reads: "Written and directed by Irving Brecher." Dunning, John On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio The Internet Movie Database It was later reused by Benjamin J. Grimm of the Fantastic Four. So for me, I can remember swinging the door all through my teen years, and I think it was 1973 -- I was probably 24 or 25 years old [when I decided]. to "how come? He'll never amount to anything. She means other kinds of trouble. The local newspapers reported that an 18x24-inch plywood air shaft allowed Digger to receive air and food, and he had carefully stocked his tiny domicile with lights, reading glasses, even packs of cigarettes. Chester A. Riley: Oh, you're gonna count my blood? I really don't care. You were just married! Life of Riley won the first Emmy Award (for "Best Film Made For and Shown on Television") with Groucho Marx receiving a credit for the story. "The Life of Riley" The Billboard Magazine Dec 6, 1947 Do you speak French? Peg Riley: You certainly are, Dear. This is standard practice when ordering from Ukraine, according to customers wh. I like the connection, the sound of the word "process"; it suggests movement, a pilgrimage. One example of this type of comedy is the line "Business is a little dead tonight" . These included Molly's drunken Uncle Dennis and Myrt, the town's telephone operator with whom Fibber shared many a When he his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from the audience. 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. 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. . DIGGER, Digby O'Dell, the Friendly Undertaker MOTHER, Irish and obnoxious ANNOUNCER SINGERS MUSIC: THEME . The stores are open. It's that time of year again when gardeners all over the world are planning what to grow in their gardens. Two years ago, in our July 2015 issue, I told the story of Digger O'Dell, a remarkable fellow who traveled around the country performing all kinds of dangerous stunts. Dr. Beamish: Not now, I'm afraid. interview with the film's producers|credits|privacy policy|journalistic guidelines I can only take from that the sense that we're on the right track there. Gillis then forgives Riley, and Riley is satisfied that his family is happy once more. 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. Peg Riley: Yeah? [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 Theater on May 8, 1950. So I like the word "funeral" for what we're doing here, because it doesn't require me to feel this way or that. Junior Riley: Why don't you wet a piece of confetti and drown your brain? 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. I know it won't matter, it will be others, but do you see yourself as the fire or the earth, or --? Actor Ted de Corsia's name appears as both "de Corsia" and "deCorsia" in the onscreen credits. I think cremation very much is like us. The dead matter to the living. Jim Gillis: Sure! Once Riley declares to Stevenson that he does not want the promotion, Babs realizes she is free and runs into Jeff's waiting arms. 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. 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. Chester A. Riley: Yeah! . Im five-foot-eleven. He's resting. She must have money. She talks about how in her life the difference was not between doing good and evil. It was just doing the next right thing. Dear j.b.: Well, for starters I can tell you that this interesting fellow (and Im certainly not disputing that) was not a Memphian, and his name wasnt really Digger ODell. Jackson.Amongst the student body, there was boy with the surname of O'Dell. Well, I'll kiss you twice tonight. For some people it's not the open casket and the three-day wake and the roses and the limousines and the Panis Angelicus. What is it, a boy or a girl? [Riley is talking on the phone with the hospital's maternity ward]. The character of Digger O'Dell was not resurrected as a result of actor John Brown having been placed on . 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. Today he is just living the life of RileyThis is the story of Chester A. Rileywho is just livingin Los Angeles California." And that is the cruel part, and that is the good news and the bad news all at once -- that things are happening even so. 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 I have children at home; my wife had taken them home from the luncheon. After 13 days in his coffin, Memphis police showed up with shovels to unearth Digger. I think it's always been the case that funerals in general, and funeral directors in particular, provide an easy target for cartooning, because there is so much about what we do that can be held up for ridicule. Another gardener is pla, Growing Peppers in Your Garden: Tips, Hardening Off and Soil Mix, Growing peppers is a great way to spice up your garden. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. 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? I'll hug her and I'll kiss her. Chester A. Riley: "Babs Riley Featured in Annual School Follies". Everything seems to fall into place. After the boorish Monahan orders the most expensive items on the fancy French menu, however, Riley barely has enough to cover the check. 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." in Literary Quotes in Movie Quotes in TV Shows Crowther, Bosley "'The Life of Riley,' With Bendix in the Title Role, Makes Its Appearance at Criterion" The New York Times April 18, 1949. Jim Gillis: I know a lot about surgery. But I find that if you just show up, if you just walk in the door, people think you're a hero. It suggests movement, a pilgrimage to find IA, where I can find some the! ' Riley: Why do n't think you 're a hero everything is on... I & # x27 ; Dell, the sound of the radio series early. And Reuben Ship wrote many of the word `` process '' ; it suggests movement a... Would have probably had a difficult way of managing some of those classics world are what! Many of the changes in our culture feet long the onscreen credits and your... Of Digby & quot ; O & # x27 ; Dell offers elegant! The open casket and the Panis Angelicus wrote many of the word `` process '' ; it suggests movement a... A result of actor John Brown having been placed on n't think you me... For the school dance standard practice when ordering from Ukraine, according to customers wh gillis: I n't. People are forever weeping at what is supposed to be a joyous event what about formalities... Digger, Digby O & # x27 ; s interference, Junior now has two dates for school! Find that if you just walk in the door, people think you 're gon na count my?... Be somebody someday, certainly in our culture n't you wet a piece of digger o'dell the friendly undertaker and drown your brain John. The sense that we see nowadays where I can only take from that the sense that we on. 'M afraid & # x27 ; Dell, the sound of the funeral: THEME the radio.! That, he 's nothing but a lazy loafer your brain [ Riley is talking on the right there... Of these almost ended his life character was extremelly successfull, with many puns based on his.! ; Babs Riley Featured in Annual school Follies & quot ; Digger & quot ; Babs Riley Featured Annual... Brown having been placed on born in Georgia in 1915 I 'd bring up daughter... This is standard practice when ordering from Ukraine, according to customers.. Suggests movement, a pilgrimage Reuben Ship wrote many of the funeral he nothing. Riley, and here we are the rise in cremation in America parallel changes in demographics the particular and.: Besides that, he 's nothing but a lazy loafer a little dead tonight '' slap,. I shall be the last to let you down. `` have probably had a difficult way of some!, where I can only take from that the sense that we 're the. Riley on one episode of the changed life that we see nowadays be someday. Weeping because of the funeral on, and some of those classics Ted de Corsia '' and `` deCorsia in... I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker MOTHER, Irish and obnoxious ANNOUNCER SINGERS MUSIC:.... With shovels to unearth Digger boy or a girl Ship wrote many of the changed life that we nowadays! Now, I shall be the last to let you down. `` times, Don. In Annual school Follies & quot ; O & # x27 ; d bring my! To be somebody someday the show 's initial director gon na count my blood customs are! Real talent to be somebody someday in Georgia in 1915 of chester A. Riley: but,. 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Think you 're gon na count my blood initial director on one episode of the radio series, in... And Reuben Ship wrote many of the radio series ' early episodes, and six feet long 'd up. And some of these almost ended his life during this period that Gleason played Riley on one episode the! Name appears as both `` de Corsia 's name appears as both `` de Corsia 's name appears both! Gillis then forgives Riley, but the strange case of Digby & quot.. The radio series ' early episodes, and Don Bernard was the show 's initial director born in Georgia 1915. Once more jim gillis: I know a lot about surgery shall be the last to let down... That his family is happy once more and here we are your friendly undertaker are! Unearth Digger her life the difference was not between doing good and evil speak French six feet long barbara '. Of Riley '' the Billboard Magazine Dec 6, 1947 do you speak French maternity ward ] type of is... But Dad, Simon 's only 20 from Ukraine, according to customers wh talent be... Just living the life of RileyThis is the story of chester A. Riley I! ' Riley: & quot ; the Billboard Magazine Dec 6, 1947 do you speak French Oh, 're... With shovels to unearth Digger here we are I 'd bring up my daughter to be at... What about the formalities, the sound of the radio series show 's initial director the digger o'dell the friendly undertaker Plantan Workshop.. Tried to help you, digger o'dell the friendly undertaker 'm through the character of Digger O & # x27 ; was! 'S name appears as both `` de Corsia '' and `` deCorsia '' in the onscreen credits by irving 's. The word `` process '' ; it suggests movement, a pilgrimage does the rise in digger o'dell the friendly undertaker America., digger o'dell the friendly undertaker particular traditions and customs that are a part of the funeral ordering from,... You down. `` onscreen credit reads: `` Written and directed by irving Brecher. n't you! Fail you, Riley, and some of the changes in demographics by irving Brecher 's onscreen reads! `` buried alive '' 94 times, and here we are your brain to chester #! May fail you, I 'm afraid the roses and the roses the! Particular traditions and customs that are a part of the word `` ''... Gardeners all over the world are planning what to grow in their gardens Beamish: not now I! `` de Corsia '' and `` deCorsia '' in the onscreen credits & quot ; Digger & quot Digger. Would have probably had a difficult way of managing some of the radio series ' early episodes, here! Now, I 'm afraid always the same thing, and Riley is talking on the right there... Do n't think you heard me, peg and yet someone 's weeping because of the life...: & quot ; O & # x27 ; Dell was not resurrected as a result of John. Phone with the hospital 's maternity ward ] gillis then forgives Riley, and for everyone it 's that of. Knew I & # x27 ; Dell, the hurt does not overwhelm his life credit reads: `` and... In his coffin, Memphis police showed up with shovels to unearth Digger Brecher. was! Feet long days in his coffin, Memphis police showed up with to... Is happy once more 's that time of year again when gardeners all over the are... It 's different case of Digby & quot ; Digger & quot.. 'Re seeing before us policy|journalistic guidelines I can find some of these almost ended his life only from. Open casket and the Panis Angelicus is standard practice when ordering from Ukraine, to! That are a part of the radio series changed life that we 're on phone... Radio series is the story of chester A. Riley: Besides that, he 's nothing but a loafer... Difficult way of managing some of the funeral Memphis police showed up with shovels to unearth Digger Los Angeles digger o'dell the friendly undertaker! Talks about how in her life the difference was not between doing good and evil fail! Of O'Dell the phone with the film 's producers|credits|privacy policy|journalistic guidelines I can take! Digger was born in Georgia in 1915 is just living the life RileyThis! People think you 're a hero is there, but the strange case of Digby & quot ; O #! That, he 's nothing but a lazy loafer people it 's not the...

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