Talk:The Life of Riley

Requested move
Move to Life of Riley (disambiguation) and create separate articles for each use. jmd
 * Add *Support or *Oppose followed by an optional one sentence explanation, then sign your opinion with ~ 


 * Oppose Philip Baird Shearer 17:58, 2 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Support disambiguation, but oppose moving it all to Life of Riley (disambiguation). Current format is too unwieldy, and the sections on the band and the webcomic in particular are so brief (and in the band's case, a bit repetitious) that they can be left more or less as is, perhaps slightly revised, on a disambig page, at this page name. The breakout topic right now, to my mind anyway, is the "Life of Riley" radio and television series (which incidentally, also spawned a theatrical film, which was then adapted back to radio on "Lux Radio Theater"). Given the history of the show (and the fact that the radio and TV versions are so closely intertwined; the current divisions are artificial and misleading, and the page lacks even basic cast info apart from mentioning Bendix and Gleason), I think it certainly deserves it's own article, as The Life of Riley (situation comedy). In fact, when I have time, I plan to do just that (gradually trying to improve Wikipedia's coverage of radio dramas and comedies, etc.) Aleal 23:22, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Discussion
Why. The article is not very big so what is the advantage of creating 4 or 5 even smaller pages? Philip Baird Shearer 18:51, 1 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Concur. Until we get more content, it is better to lump rather than split. Pcb21| Pete 20:29, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

Conclusion - page removed from WP:RM having failed to reach consensus to move. -- Francs2000 01:31, 26 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Living on my Reillys, Rileys,etc


 * Back when the Rileys were top of the pile, a family coat of arms used
 * to mean something --like a logo supposedly for genetic material. It
 * can be viewed as an abstract representation of a double helix. But
 * when yours is a severed orange hand dripping blood the impression
 * sure wasn't romantic. In Ireland severed hands were an emblematic
 * dime a dozen. Them Celts knew the shock value of body parts.


 * However, ours, if I can claim such lineage, had a great story
 * attached to it. The Riley bros were told by their da that the one who
 * touched Irish land first got their choice of the countryside. So in
 * rowing to shore -- as some sort of boat race was involved -- one of
 * the lads saw that he was slipping behind his sibling(s). Rather than
 * miss out on the chance of a lifetime, junior hacked off his own hand
 * and threw it ahead onto the beach. And the winner, by a bloodied fist
 * is... So the Rileys grasped County Cavan in the open palm of a
 * severed hand thereby learning a lesson or two about sibling rivalry.
 * I live on to tell the story at some time and distance from its
 * occurrence.


 * This quaint episode of family life doesn't enlighten us about the
 * most perplexing aspect of Riley folklore: the origin of the phrase
 * "living the life of Riley". Every now and then someone is sure to
 * write to me with just such a query. Until now, I haven't been able to
 * help them. Fortunately, an American who takes his Rileyness more
 * seriously than I has supplied me with the following explanation.


 * After the incident with the hand the Rileys consolidated their "hold"
 * (sic) on County Cavan. As befits such clannishness they minted their
 * own money. This money was widely recognised for its value, even in
 * England it was accepted as Legal Tender.* The coins became known as
 * "O'Reillys, or Reilly's", and as such, became synonymous with a
 * monied person. A gentleman freely spending his cash was said to be
 * "Living on his Reillys" or "Living the life of Reilly".


 * So if I had 15 Rileys, spent four at the market and gave three away,
 * how many Rileys would I have left? [R15-R4 = R11. R11-R3=R8.] And if
 * I bought a pint of Guinness for myself then shouted the whole bar, I
 * truly would be "a gentleman freely spending his cash" . And no doubt,
 * there would be very few Rileys left.


 * This no doubt explains why I am stuck with the name and am always out
 * of cash. It is in the nature of us Rileys to spend like a man without
 * any hands.


 * Dave Riley LIFE OF RILEY BLOG http://ratbaggy.blogspot.com/

The information on this page seems to contradict: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=life%20of%20riley - I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts? - lawrence at aslak dot net I am not sure the year here is right: "adapted into a *1949* feature film". The May 1945 radio episode has an ad that says that "Life of Riley" movie is currently playing in theaters. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.207.132.139 (talk) 19:27, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

Riley Coinage
Is there any concrete evidence (beyond some random guy's blog) that this Riley clan minted their own money, and thus was a probable origin for the term? Or even that it is (or was) commonly believed to be so? If so, a citation should be added. If not, the section should be removed.

--Matthew0028 14:43, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

No citation/source. Sounds more like myth or even contrived: After the Reilly clan consolidated its hold on County Cavan, they minted their own money, accepted as legal tender even in England. These coins, called “O'Reillys” and “Reilly's,” became synonymous with a monied person, and a gentleman freely spending was “living on his Reillys.” I agree with Matthew0028, cite or remove — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.184.198.241 (talk) 17:02, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

This annoying problem has been unresolved for 10 years it seems. WHEN did the bloody O'Reillys mint their coins or consolidate their hold on County Cavan? Mightn't that be relevant to the question, considering the term appears around 100 years ago? This whole "Irish Origin" has a rotten fishy weasel word aura to it, and it's bloody annoying. Either it has to be footnoted with dates of the coin minting and consolidation provided, or the whole garbage line should be eliminated. It's beneath Wikipedia's aimed-for standards. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.142.246.221 (talk) 12:19, 31 July 2016 (UTC)

When did the syndicated reruns end?
The article currently states that the syndicated reruns lasted until Bendix's death in 1964. Is this supposed to imply that the reruns stopped being syndicated once Bendix died? I can't think of any other television show having its reruns ended just because the lead actor had died. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 05:37, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

Hans Conreid
In the earliest season of the Bendix series, Hans Conreid played freeloading Uncle Baxter, who stayed with the Rileys because he had once given Riley a blood transfusion that saved his life, and Riley felt obligated to let him live with them, even though Baxter had absolutely no interest in earning his keep by getting a job. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.57.229.254 (talk) 18:01, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

'William Bendix'
Sponsors of the TV show included Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer (1949–50), Gulf Oil (1953–58) and Lever Brothers (1957–58).

Does a line on the sponsors of the show really hold any relevance to the article without a source? I'm indifferent about it and i've already removed an unsourced line about the 'hopes of the fans for the DVD release' so figured best to discuss this second one. MM (WhatIDo WHATIDO?)  (Now THIS... I did.) 19:22, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Origin of title
This source has much more detail, but is not reliable - the phrase probably traces back to a ballad about a kidnapping trial in Sligo in the early 19thC.-Shtove (talk) 10:32, 21 February 2018 (UTC)