The Life of Riley

The Life of Riley was an American situation comedy that appeared on both radio and television in the 1940's and 1950s.

The shows plot-line centered around Chester Riley, a family man who lived with his wife and daughter. Digby "Digger" O'Dell (Radio and 1st TV version only), was grave digger whom Riley often turned to for advice when he got into trouble. "Digger" O'Dell was know for his corny morbid puns such "I ought to be shoveling off now" or 'Business is a little dead tonight" when asked how things where going.

A radio version, starring William Bendix, ran from 1944 - 1951. Later, the show was adapted for television, with two different versions having been produced. The first, starring Jackie Gleason, ran from 1949-1950. In the second version, Riley was played by William Bendix, who had played the same character in the radio version. .

Riley was known for devising various plans that never seemed to work out.

One of the show's developers was Gummo Marx, one of the Marx Brothers.

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Life of Riley is also the name of a single released by British pop band the Lightning Seeds. It reached number 28 in the British charts on its first release in the early 1990s, but reached higher in a subsequent re-release later in the decade. For several years it was used as the "Goal of the Month" theme music on the BBC's Match of the Day programme.