Sunday, February 19, 2023

The Life Of Riley - "Newspaper Subscription Contest" (06-29-46)

Newspaper Subscription Contest (Aired June 29, 1946)

The first Life of Riley radio show was a summer replacement show heard on CBS from April 12, 1941 to September 6, 1941. 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. The radio program starring William Bendix aired on the ABC Blue Network from January 16, 1944 to June 8, 1945. Then it moved to NBC, where it was broadcast from September 8, 1945 to June 29, 1951. The supporting cast featured John Brown, who portrayed not only undertaker Digger O'Dell but also Riley's co-worker Gillis. Whereas Gillis gave Riley bad information that got him into trouble, Digger gave him good information that "helped him out of a hole," as he might have put it. 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.

THIS EPISODE:
 
June 29, 1946. "Newspaper Subscription Contest" - NBC network. Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley "helps" Junior sell newspaper subscriptions, which wins Junior two weeks...at a girl's camp! Alan Lipscott (writer), Dink Trout, Don Bernard (director), George Pirrone, Herb Vigran, Irving Brecher (producer), Jack Brecher (writer), John Brown, Ken Carpenter (announcer), Lou Coslowe (music), Mary Lansing, Paula Winslowe, Reuben Ship (writer), Scotty Beckett, William Bendix. 29:38. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

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