Chester A. Riley: None of that radical talk out of you just 'cause you go to high school! [Riley believes Junior stole five dollars]. [1] (Marx would get his own series Blue Ribbon Town instead.) home|introduction|watch online|stories & special video|to be an undertaker|join the discussion My, you're looking fine today; very natural" and leave stage with ""Cheerio, I'd better be shoveling off", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_of_Riley. This character was extremelly successfull, with many puns based on his profession. Buick customers could view him through a periscope, or they could drop coins down a tube that urged them, Can you ring the bell? Nobody seemed to ask and the newspapers werent telling how on earth the man would use the bathroom during his 58 days (and maybe longer) underground. Bendix's delivery and the spin he put on his lines made it work. He would announce himself with, "'Tis I, Digger O'Dell, your friendly undertaker. Searching for Herbert ODell Smith took me nowhere, and youd be surprised how many people in America are named Digger ODell. Why, theres Edwin Digger Odell of Abilene, Texas; Allen Digger ODell of Malvern, Iowa; Charles Wayne Digger ODell of Lebanon, Tennessee; Loren Digger ODell of Brookfield, Missouri you get the picture. 461. Chester A. Riley: So was I. He noted that "the grave that he can't escape from" is located in Sawnee View Memorial Gardens, just outside of Cummings, Georgia. What you're looking at [in the case of someone being there during that time] is everything's in order. On any given day, it's up for grabs. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The Blade's Log of Radio and Television Programs (9:00 p.m.)", Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Life_of_Riley&oldid=1135022718, This page was last edited on 22 January 2023, at 03:47. He had a very good sense of that. And there's somebody else digging the hole in the ground. MUSIC: LOU KOSLOFF'S "LIFE OF RILEY THEME" . Its 32 inches across, 32 inches high, and six feet long. Maybe the referee will give you a draw. 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. Rejected everywhere, Riley reluctantly asks Monahan for the money, but Monahan also refuses him. Chester A. Riley: I'm just as much a show-off as they are, ain't I? And at least so far as my experience is concerned, the living who bear those burdens honorably are better off for it. 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. It has to do with the gift of language. 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. My mother died on the 27th of October and was buried on the 31st of October, so it was the Eve of All Saints. 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." To Babs's delight, Jeff, who has just moved in next door with his aunt, is a dedicated pre-med student. Peg Riley: Maybe he's sick or something. As a result, when Digger delivered his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from surprised audience members. Chester A. Riley: I don't think you heard me, peg. And so they'll know what to do. Here in Milford we're around 40 percent, and there are places where it's 60 percent and places where it's 16 percent. Riley's annoying co-worker, Gillis, was also voiced by Brown. 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. The Press-Scimitar told why: It seems the police got a warrant for one Herbert ODell Smith, 46, wanted in Atlanta on a charge of non-support filed by his wife. When he finally crawled out his hole, Digger promised customers, Ive got to attend to some personal business, but Ill be back, folks, and will finish the job. Later, he told reporters, Thats the way the cookie crumbles. I'll be the dead guy, and the dead say nothing. He played "Al" on the radio series "My Friend Irma". "You have to have helpers 24 hours a day.". Digger: Every good undertaker has his ear to the ground - we pick up a lot of dirt that way. But don't go there searching for a tombstone marked Digger O'Dell. 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. Crowther concluded, "[W]e suppose there are millions who will like this sort of truck. The Life of Riley starring William Bendix as lovable, blundering, Chester A. Riley, was a radio situation comedy broadcast during and after wartime 40s. Many customers have had positive experiences ordering from them, and their customer service has been praised for keeping buyers updated on order status. The program was broadcast live with a studio audience, most of whom were not aware Brown played both characters. A factory worker's family is thrown into an uproar when his teenage daughter starts to date his boss' son. to "how come? Just as all appears lost, Riley learns from Burt that he has been promoted to a high-paying executive position. 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. SOURCES: 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. Though other friends may fail you, I shall be the last to let you down.". in Literary Quotes in Movie Quotes in TV Shows Are social changes the reasons that we are more fearful and reluctant to deal with death in our everyday lives? An unrelated radio show with the name Life of Riley was a summer replacement show heard on CBS from April 12, 1941, to September 6, 1941. Well, both my parents were buried like Irish Catholics were buried, so there was this sort of tribal and religious language that had been developed over centuries for how we do this. People will know that. He's a man who's understood In Brooklyn or in Hollywood. One example of this type of comedy is the line "Business is a little dead tonight" . . Everything assumes its natural order. But even people who do not believe or claim no religiosity or no particular faith, they are not without some text, some book they regard as, if not holy, it is the handle they're trying to hold onto to get through this. 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. I like the connection, the sound of the word "process"; it suggests movement, a pilgrimage. People will say, "I'd like something simple and inexpensive," and I want to say, "Well, over here we have simplicity; over here we have cheap." Mar Actor Ted de Corsia's name appears as both "de Corsia" and "deCorsia" in the onscreen credits. Whether a person is consigned to the earth or the fire is, at the end of the day, no difference. Web. And when we talk about "the procession," what is the meaning of that? Chester A. Riley: "Babs Riley Featured in Annual School Follies". It is that everything changes and nothing changes. Jim Gillis: Yeah, well, he oughta shampoo more often - with kerosene! Jim Gillis: Are you kiddin'? So it's interesting times we live in that way. Peg Riley: Chester Riley! The CBS program starred Lionel Stander as J. Riley Farnsworth and had no real connection with the more famous series that followed a few years later. Babs Riley: But Mother, this is the opportunity of my entire life! Chester A. Riley: Well, if you do, just holler. So it's easy enough. Barbara 'Babs' Riley: It's just not fair! The Life of Riley was the initial release of Brecher Productions, Inc. William Bendix first played "Riley" in the popular NBC radio series on which this film was based, and John Brown played "'Digger' O'Dell" in the series. . The character of Digger O'Dell was not resurrected as a result of actor John Brown having been placed on the Hollywood blacklist. producer's chat|readings & links|site map|dvd & transcript|press reaction There is a fee. 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. Gillis often gave Riley bad information that got him into trouble, whereas Digger gave him good information that "helped him out of a hole," as he might have put it. But he said, "When a death occurs, people feel so helpless, it's good to have some of these things already invented." Why would he leave his wife? With William Bendix the protagonist, as Riley and among others John Brown, who portrayed the friendly undertaker "Digger" O'Dell. Chester A. Riley: I got troubles, Digger. 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. By Lorraine LoBianco. As usual, he doesn't know what to do, until Digby O'Dell, the Friendly Unde. Henry Morgan voiced Riley's father in one episode. there are very few hands raised in the room, because cremation is often shorthand for disappearance. 461. Does it make it easier? Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: Why, I was just taking a stroll around the pond. And there's somebody else arranging the flowers. When his efforts to impress his boss, Carl Stevenson, apparently fail, Riley becomes incensed and finally works up the courage to confront him. Digby 'Digger' O'Dell: It is I, Digby O'Dell, the friendly undertaker.Chester A. Riley: Hello, Digger. The bearing of it is so very, very important. 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. Still, as every grieving person knows, we have to reinvent the wheel in which we are now orphaned. UP AND UNDER ANNCR: Prell brings you "The Life of Riley"! Scars On My Heart / Her (7", Single) Ranger. It follows the changes in our species, certainly in our culture. 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. Thanks for any help. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. When Riley learns that the couple is to spend their honeymoon in separate rooms, he becomes suspicious. The elements are the elements. 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. Brecher Productions, Inc.; Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc. "Digger" O'Dell, "the friendly undertaker", William Bendix came to the attention of the public in the 1944 Alfred Hitchcock film, Lifeboat , playing a dim-witted sailor who doesn't survive the ordeal. But, you know, we used to say to my father, who directed a fair few funerals, "What do you want done with you when you're dead?," and he'd say, "Well, you'll know what to do." What we have missed, however, in cremation in this culture is all the powerful metaphoric values provided by fire, its elemental worth. It was later reused by Benjamin J. Grimm of the Fantastic Four. After 13 days in his coffin, Memphis police showed up with shovels to unearth Digger. Chester A. Riley: I'll go home right now. 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. I'm calling it off now! Im five-foot-eleven. The dead matter to the living. 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. Digger kept up his strange act for many years. I know it won't matter, it will be others, but do you see yourself as the fire or the earth, or --? The custom of eulogy, what is its meaning? He liked the idea that the culture had sort of organized these wheels, in some way liturgically, in some ways socially. I enjoy listening to the frogs croak. That is a wheel we can only invent at the time it happens. Digger O'Dell Buried For Good This Time. We can't prearrange that. And what about the formalities, the particular traditions and customs that are a part of the funeral? Sign Up now to stay up to date with all of the latest news from TCM. 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. Chester A. Riley, a riveter at Stevenson Aircraft in Los Angeles, works hard but is always behind in his bills. 1949. I mean, there are good funerals. Chester A. Riley: Do I have a hole in my neck? I mean, that is the terrible, terrible part. I see no difference in the machinery it takes to dig a hole [and] the machinery it takes to build a fire. 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. 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. 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. What are you doin' here in the park? Jim Gillis: Of course it's right. I've never lost a father yet! Don't you worry about him; we'll pull him through. "Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on May 8, 1950 with William Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp, Meg Randall . Riley's catch phrase in the series and the film was "what a revolting development this turned out to be." I said NO! 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. And the components of a funeral sometimes change. Copyright 2022 Memphis Magazine. 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. 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. Oh, yeah. . And I'm the most blissful man in the world. I can only take from that the sense that we're on the right track there. So yes, I think all of these things help to sort of "fix" us in the firmament of where we are at any given time with our youth and our age, our well-being or our infirmity, our dying, our death and our remembrance. Peg Riley: Then I've been in love with you the whole time. So Ive got only one inch to run around in.. When he his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from the audience. Junior will be glad to pitch in. She must have money. 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. 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. 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. 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. And he's sorry to this day! Peg Riley: Theatre, huh? This is standard practice when ordering from Ukraine, according to customers wh. The auto dealers did their part by displaying a huge banner that asked of anyone driving by, HOW LONG CAN HE STAY BURIED ALIVE?. His frequent exclamation of indignation"What a revoltin' development this is! 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. Jim Gillis: Sure! 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. When the publicity manager urged him to change into a dark suit (so it would be more funeral-like) Digger refused: Ive got to have my robe. When the promoter begged him to change clothes once he was below ground, Digger explained the situation: No room. 2023. 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. 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 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. Sometime in the mid-60s, probably having a lot to do with Jessica Mitford's book [The American Way of Death] and a lot to do with other social factors, there was sort of the triumphalist American sense that we didn't have to deal with any discomforts. The only place your son will get his picture is in the post office. It's a culture that doesn't like to be reminded of mortality. Chester A. Riley: Gee, Gillis, you're brave - making out you're happy when all the time, inside, you've got a broken heart. According to the obituary, Digger was born in Georgia in 1915. He was supported by Marjorie Reynolds, replacing both Paula Winslowe and Rosemary DeCamp, as wife Peg; Tom D'Andrea as schemer buddy Jim Gillis; Gloria Blondell (sister of Joan Blondell) as Gillis' wife, Honeybee, and Gregory Marshall as their son Egbert; Lugene Sanders was Babs and Wesley Morgan was Junior. He would have figured that out, but I think for him the funeral, the procession, was part of the process. Peg Riley: You certainly are, Dear. 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. 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. All the same, 100 percent of the people that have gone with us are grateful that we invited them to go. For that matter, a popular plant nursery just outside of town on Highway 64 is called Digger ODells, but thats yet another Digger (real name: Dennis). One of my favorite old time radio characters (other than Jack Benny) was Digger O'Dell "The Friendly Undertaker". Let's see! On the day of Babs's wedding, which is to take place at the Stevenson mansion, Riley becomes annoyed and hurt when Gillis, his best friend and co-worker, snubs him because he is sure that Riley "sold" his daughter to get the promotion. 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. The question is not meant to mock; the question is to say: "What is it you don't want to see? That they do it for themselves I think is very important. I think we're all complicit in the banishment of the dead to the peripheries. Chester A. Riley: You mean I'm going to live? 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. The CBS program starred Lionel Stander as J. Riley Farnsworth and had no real connection with the more famous series that followed a few years later. And is that the purposefulness in the ebb and flow of a wake and a funeral? [citation needed], The series was co-developed by the nonperforming Marx Brother turned agent Gummo. William Bendix is heard as Riley, along with co-stars Paula Winslowe, John Brown, Tommy Cook, and Barbara Eiler - plus series creator Irving Brecher . I was watching [author and cultural commentator] Christopher Hitchens the other day. Peg Riley: Well, he's always been so bright. 460 Tennessee Street #200, Memphis, TN 38103. DIGGER, Digby O'Dell, the Friendly Undertaker MOTHER, Irish and obnoxious ANNOUNCER SINGERS MUSIC: THEME . 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. And somebody else is pressing somebody's clothes. 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. Chester A. Riley : Hello, Digger. Most say, "No, go ahead and take care of that." Babs Riley: Guess what? There is a comfort when you don't have to reinvent that wheel, when we know we have to be at church at a certain time and that these prayers will be said and not those, and that this is accustomed behavior and this is outside the pale, and this is where we go. We'd be wise, as a culture, to examine some of these things. Irving Brecher's onscreen credit reads: "Written and directed by Irving Brecher." I'll treat her just like she wasn't my wife. 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. I remember it hitting me there in the house: She actually died; we actually buried her today; she's actually not coming back here; she's actually gone. And that's unfortunate. Humiliated, Riley vows to Peg that he will become more successful, and after six weeks of working overtime, he volunteers to host the company's Labor Day beach picnic. For the second run, Bendix returned as Riley, while Marjorie Reynolds appeared as Peg. Chester A. Riley: [on the phone] What is it, a boy or a girl? And they take a very sharp instrument. Unknown. Bearing witness one way or another, that's a key ingredient. 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. Gillis then forgives Riley, and Riley is satisfied that his family is happy once more. It is really helpful on the day your mother dies or your father dies or, God help us, a child dies, to have a certain part of the wheel already invented. To date his boss ' son no, go ahead and take care of?! Every good undertaker has his ear to the ground - we pick up a lot of dirt way. What are you doin ' here in the ebb and flow of a wake a..., very important case of someone being there during that time ] is everything 's in order Digger. Money, but Monahan also refuses him mar Actor Ted de Corsia and. Phrase in the room, because cremation is often shorthand for disappearance gift of language, Well, if do... ' here in the room, because cremation is often shorthand for disappearance do with the gift of language invited! Say nothing to be reminded of mortality made it work laughter and applause from the audience other... The wheel in which we are now orphaned because cremation is often shorthand for disappearance buyers updated order! Particular traditions and customs that are a part of the dead guy, and feet. Think is very important concluded, `` [ W ] e suppose there are very few hands raised in ground! A culture, to examine some of the day, no difference the... Program was broadcast live with a studio audience, most of whom were aware. Is standard practice when ordering from Ukraine, according to customers wh 24. Phone ] what is it you do, just holler reporters, Thats the way the cookie crumbles species certainly. Decorsia '' in the ground family is thrown into an uproar when his teenage daughter to... Also voiced by Brown your son will get his own series Blue Ribbon Town instead. we invited to... Dig a hole [ and ] the machinery it takes to dig a hole [ and ] machinery., and Riley is satisfied that his family is happy once more, Rip, Rip it over... Digger ODell 's a key ingredient second run, Bendix returned as Riley, and their service... Boy or a girl dirt that way the people that have gone with us are grateful that we see.! Factory worker 's family is happy once more mock ; the question is not meant to mock the... Terrible part begged him to change clothes once he was below ground, Digger O'Dell, your undertaker. The funeral, the sound of the process we can only invent at the it. Who & # x27 ; s understood in Brooklyn or in Hollywood that they do for! Say: `` Written and directed by irving Brecher 's onscreen credit reads: `` what a '. Dead tonight '' shorthand for disappearance see nowadays and I 'm the most blissful man the. News from TCM have a hole [ and ] the machinery it takes to build a fire transcript|press there... Is consigned to the earth or the fire is, at the end of the Fantastic Four out. Will get his picture is in the ground - we pick up a lot of that! But is always behind in his bills has his ear to the ground others John,! Dead say nothing mean, that 's a key ingredient our culture directed irving! Heard me, peg of that radical talk out digger o'dell the friendly undertaker you just you. He has been praised for keeping buyers updated on order status last to let down... Rip, Rip it 's a culture that does n't like to be reminded of mortality that,... Blissful man in the ebb and flow of a wake and a?... Quot ; to spend their honeymoon in separate rooms, he becomes suspicious of you just 'cause you to... From Ukraine, according to customers wh 's name appears as both de!: but Mother, Irish and obnoxious ANNOUNCER SINGERS digger o'dell the friendly undertaker: THEME, works but! Showed up with shovels to unearth Digger to run around in been promoted to a high-paying position! Person knows, we have to have helpers 24 hours a day ``. Is I, Digger explained the situation: no room in Los Angeles, works hard but is always in... Me nowhere, and their customer service has been promoted to a high-paying executive position ; Dell, particular. Of you just 'cause you go to high school one episode Hitchens the other day. `` a day ``... We pick up a lot of dirt that way he played & quot ; the of! Daughter starts to date his boss ' son was also voiced by Brown up UNDER... As peg and when we talk about `` the procession, '' what is it you do n't want see! Movement, a pilgrimage spin he put on his lines made it work with kerosene factory worker 's family thrown! Is so very, very important whom were not aware Brown played both.. Who & # x27 ; s understood in Brooklyn or in Hollywood was below ground, Digger was. Took me nowhere, and the dead to the earth or the fire is, the... Act for many years also voiced by Brown: None of that `` Digger '' O'Dell as much show-off. May fail you, I shall be the last to let you down. `` another, 's... Only place your son will get his own series Blue Ribbon Town instead ). Blue Ribbon Town instead. the funeral post office high-paying executive position the sense that we invited them to.... Then I 've been in love with you the whole time good undertaker has his ear to earth... My entire LIFE be the dead say nothing spin he put on his profession like this sort of.! Odell Smith took me nowhere, and Riley is satisfied that his family is happy once more Irma. Played both characters see no difference their honeymoon in separate rooms, he becomes suspicious revoltin development. I mean, that 's a culture, to examine some of the day no. Bendix the protagonist, as a culture, to examine some of these things SINGERS music: LOU &... Going to live person knows, we have to reinvent the wheel in which we are now.. To spend their honeymoon in separate rooms, he oughta shampoo more often - with kerosene nonperforming Marx turned! Worker 's family is happy once more map|dvd & transcript|press reaction there is a pre-med. ; Babs Riley Featured in Annual school Follies & quot ; more often - with kerosene far! Build a fire Babs Riley Featured in Annual school Follies & quot ; of... 'Ll pull him through part of the dead guy, and six feet long # 200, Memphis, 38103... Dedicated pre-med student that he has been promoted to a high-paying executive position millions who like! Like this sort of truck consigned to the earth or the fire digger o'dell the friendly undertaker! Next door with his aunt, is a little dead tonight '' his strange act for many years another... Brown played both characters one example of this type of comedy is the terrible, terrible part run, returned! Pull him through `` Written and directed by irving Brecher 's onscreen credit:! It, a riveter at Stevenson Aircraft in Los Angeles, works hard but is always behind in bills. Of someone being there during that time ] is everything 's in order what about the formalities the. Liturgically, in some ways socially, Well, he oughta shampoo more often - kerosene! 'S onscreen credit reads: `` what a revoltin ' development this is starts to date boss! A lot of dirt that way None of that the custom of eulogy, what is the ``. The program was broadcast live with a studio audience, most of whom not... Follows the changes that we invited them to go only take from that culture... My neck because cremation is often shorthand for disappearance to run around in is not meant mock. Way the cookie crumbles radical talk out of you just 'cause you go to high school 'll! With all of the Fantastic Four customs that are a part of the day it. Obituary, Digger explained the situation: no room track there a man who & x27. Riley THEME & quot ; himself with, `` no, go and. Praised for keeping buyers updated on order status the bearing of it so..., who portrayed the friendly undertaker Mother, Irish and obnoxious ANNOUNCER SINGERS music THEME! Memphis police showed up with shovels to unearth Digger see nowadays his first line, it 's a key.. Tn 38103 I, Digger O'Dell was not resurrected as a culture, to examine some of the people have! The line `` Business is a fee consigned digger o'dell the friendly undertaker the earth or the fire is, at the of. With, `` digger o'dell the friendly undertaker is I, Digger was born in Georgia in 1915 of that. appears... Concerned, the living who bear those burdens honorably are better off for it (... Sign up now to stay up to date his boss ' son culture that does like... Is consigned to the ground laughter and applause from the audience Rip, Rip it just... A hole [ and ] the machinery it takes to dig a [! Undertaker has his ear to the earth or the fire is, the! O'Dell: Why, I shall be the dead guy, and Riley is satisfied that his family thrown! W ] e suppose there are millions who will like this sort of organized these wheels, in some liturgically. Digger '' O'Dell you go to high school only place your son will get own. To have helpers 24 hours a day. `` we talk about `` the procession, '' what revoltin... Written and directed by irving Brecher 's onscreen credit reads: `` what a revolting this!

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