Adamantium
03-04-2004, 09:48 PM
TV Adam's Sitcom School / Class # 1.
Here's the deal, I open up my TV Book (The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows) and randomly pick a sitcom. Then I research that sitcom and inform you, my friends at Sitcoms Online.
Today's Show Is: "The Life of Riley"
Series One:
October 4, 1949 - March 28, 1950
Cast: 26 b&w episodes
Chester A. Riley ............................. Jackie Gleason
Peg Riley ........................................ Rosemary DeCamp
Junior ............................................. Lanny Rees
Babs ............................................... Gloria Winters
Jim Gillis .......................................... Sid Tomack
Digby "Digger" O'Dell ...................... John Brown
Series Two:
January 2, 1953 - August 22, 1958
Cast: 217 b&w episodes
Chester A. Riley ............................... William Bendix
Peg Riley .......................................... Marjorie Reynolds
Junior ............................................... Wesley Morgan
Babs Riley/Marshall .......................... Lugene Sanders
Jim Gillis (1953-55,1956-58)............. Tom D'Andrea
Honeybee Gillis (1953-55,1956-58).. Gloria Blondell
Egbert Gillis (1953-55)....................... Gregory Marshall
Cunningham ....................................... Douglas Dumbrille
Dangle ............................................... Robert Sweeney
Hank Hawkins ................................... Emory Parnell
Waldo Binney ..................................... Sterling Holloway
Otto Schmidlap .................................. Henry Kulky
Calvin Dudley (1955-56).................... George O'Hanlon
Belle Dudley (1955-56)...................... Florence Sundstrom
Don Marshall (1957-58)..................... Martin Milner
"Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully disrupting life with his malapropisms and ill-timed intervention into minor problems. His stock answer to every turn of fate became a catchphrase: "What a Revoltin' Developement This Is!" Riley's long suffering wife, Peg, and their children Babs and Junior, somehow saw that it always came out alright in the end. Others seen with Gillis, Riley's sarcastic friend, and in the original version, "Digger" O'Dell, the smiling undertaker ("Guess I'd better be shoveling off ..."), played by John Brown, the only member of the radio cast to make the transition to TV." (Taken from The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows.)
Throughout the five seasons of the second series, Babs got married to Don Marshall and Junior left for college. Both Riley kids came back for occasional visits, however.
****************************************************
-"Television's original lovable bumbler was Chester A. Riley, a hardhat with a soft heart and a genius for unwittingly turning order into chaos." (sentence from The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows)
-"The Life of Riley" was created by William Bendix (who played Riley from 1953-58) for the radio in 1943.
-At the time "The Life of Riley" went to television in 1949, William Bendix was tied up with movie commitments, and so the role of Riley went to Jackie Gleason.
-"The Life of Riley" was cancelled after 1 season with Jackie Gleason, only to be resurrected three years later. This time starring Riley creator William Bendix. The second series lasted 5 seasons.
-It appears that the Gillis' (Jim, Honeybee and Egbert) were replaced in the 1955-56 season by Calvin and Belle Dudley. The Gillis' were back in the fall of 56, and the Dudleys were gone. Egbert, however, didn't return with Jim and Honeybee.
-I don't know of any TV stations currently airing either version of "The Life of Riley." However, I have seen some episodes for sale on VHS.
Now if your friends are talking about "The Life of Riley," you can join in the conversation!
Our next class will be about the 1973-74 sitcom, "Roll Out."
Here's the deal, I open up my TV Book (The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows) and randomly pick a sitcom. Then I research that sitcom and inform you, my friends at Sitcoms Online.
Today's Show Is: "The Life of Riley"
Series One:
October 4, 1949 - March 28, 1950
Cast: 26 b&w episodes
Chester A. Riley ............................. Jackie Gleason
Peg Riley ........................................ Rosemary DeCamp
Junior ............................................. Lanny Rees
Babs ............................................... Gloria Winters
Jim Gillis .......................................... Sid Tomack
Digby "Digger" O'Dell ...................... John Brown
Series Two:
January 2, 1953 - August 22, 1958
Cast: 217 b&w episodes
Chester A. Riley ............................... William Bendix
Peg Riley .......................................... Marjorie Reynolds
Junior ............................................... Wesley Morgan
Babs Riley/Marshall .......................... Lugene Sanders
Jim Gillis (1953-55,1956-58)............. Tom D'Andrea
Honeybee Gillis (1953-55,1956-58).. Gloria Blondell
Egbert Gillis (1953-55)....................... Gregory Marshall
Cunningham ....................................... Douglas Dumbrille
Dangle ............................................... Robert Sweeney
Hank Hawkins ................................... Emory Parnell
Waldo Binney ..................................... Sterling Holloway
Otto Schmidlap .................................. Henry Kulky
Calvin Dudley (1955-56).................... George O'Hanlon
Belle Dudley (1955-56)...................... Florence Sundstrom
Don Marshall (1957-58)..................... Martin Milner
"Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully disrupting life with his malapropisms and ill-timed intervention into minor problems. His stock answer to every turn of fate became a catchphrase: "What a Revoltin' Developement This Is!" Riley's long suffering wife, Peg, and their children Babs and Junior, somehow saw that it always came out alright in the end. Others seen with Gillis, Riley's sarcastic friend, and in the original version, "Digger" O'Dell, the smiling undertaker ("Guess I'd better be shoveling off ..."), played by John Brown, the only member of the radio cast to make the transition to TV." (Taken from The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows.)
Throughout the five seasons of the second series, Babs got married to Don Marshall and Junior left for college. Both Riley kids came back for occasional visits, however.
****************************************************
-"Television's original lovable bumbler was Chester A. Riley, a hardhat with a soft heart and a genius for unwittingly turning order into chaos." (sentence from The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows)
-"The Life of Riley" was created by William Bendix (who played Riley from 1953-58) for the radio in 1943.
-At the time "The Life of Riley" went to television in 1949, William Bendix was tied up with movie commitments, and so the role of Riley went to Jackie Gleason.
-"The Life of Riley" was cancelled after 1 season with Jackie Gleason, only to be resurrected three years later. This time starring Riley creator William Bendix. The second series lasted 5 seasons.
-It appears that the Gillis' (Jim, Honeybee and Egbert) were replaced in the 1955-56 season by Calvin and Belle Dudley. The Gillis' were back in the fall of 56, and the Dudleys were gone. Egbert, however, didn't return with Jim and Honeybee.
-I don't know of any TV stations currently airing either version of "The Life of Riley." However, I have seen some episodes for sale on VHS.
Now if your friends are talking about "The Life of Riley," you can join in the conversation!
Our next class will be about the 1973-74 sitcom, "Roll Out."