The Life of Riley was a 30-minute family sitcom that started airing on CBS radio on April 12, 1941. It starred William Bendix as the lead character Chester A. Riley, a simple aircraft plant worker with a very complicated life. "What a revoltin' development this is!" was Riley's famous line in the show, which he usually utter after getting into one mess after another.
Due to its popularity, the show lasted for a decade, with the last episode aired on June 29, 1951. A total of 320 episodes were produced during its entire run. It also has a movie and TV adaptation in the 1950s. The movie adaption was a flop in terms of ratings, although it ironically received the very first Emmy Award. The TV adaptation (with also starred Bendix), on the other hand, was a success, producing more than 200 episodes in its six season run.
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Please enjoy these 243 old time radio episodes:
| Air Date | Title | Synopsis | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.15.1945 | life of riley (091) grandma's captain riley |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley is sure that his mother has a boyfriend while his father is away... | |
| 01.26.1946 | life of riley (097) riley's tonsillectomy |
+ Chester A. Riley had weathered many a storm in his turbulent life but one storm that really got hi... | |
| 02.02.1946 | life of riley (098) junior's school play | ||
| 03.09.1946 | life of riley (103) babs music scholarship | ||
| 03.16.1946 | life of riley (104) riley buys an insurance policy | ||
| 03.23.1946 | life of riley (105) junior races egbert poison ivy | ||
| 04.06.1946 | life of riley (107) riley finds a silver fox fur coat |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley finds a fur coat on the bus and wins an argument with his consci... | |
| 04.13.1946 | life of riley (108) riley thinks junior is a shoplifter | ||
| 04.20.1946 | life of riley (109) the giant easter bunny |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley is sure that his new secret fertilizer is a roaring success when... | |
| 04.27.1946 | life of riley (110) gambling doesn't pay | ||
| 05.04.1946 | life of riley (111) rileys take in the gillises after a fire |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. The Gillises move in with the Rileys after a fire in their house. Brot... | |
| 05.11.1946 | life of riley (112) junior forgets mother's day |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley suspects that Junior has forgotten Mother's Day. Chester A Rile... | |
| 05.18.1946 | life of riley (113) playing hookey | ||
| 05.25.1946 | life of riley (114) junior sells peanuts at the circus |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. At Riley's urging, Junior gets a job selling peanuts at the circus. | |
| 06.01.1946 | life of riley (115) the riley family of actors | ||
| 06.08.1946 | life of riley (116) the bread shortage and the black market |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley finds himself in the black market bread business. + Chester A Ri... | |
| 06.15.1946 | life of riley (117) a new suit for father's day |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Babs and Junior want to buy Riley a new suit for Father's Day. + Well,... | |
| 06.22.1946 | life of riley (118) morris buys the riley house | ||
| 06.29.1946 | life of riley (119) paper route subscription contest to go to camp | ||
| 09.07.1946 | life of riley (121) riley thinks he's been promoted | ||
| 09.14.1946 | life of riley (122) riley doesn't want peg to work for sidney monahan | ||
| 09.21.1946 | life of riley (123) riley hides on boat to catch babs and her boyfriend simon |
+ Sponsored by: Teel. Riley tries to catch Babs and her boyfriend by stowing away on a boat. + Ches... | |
| 09.28.1946 | life of riley (124) riley bribes junior to win football game |
+ Sponsored by: Teel. Riley really wants Junior to win the football game. He even tries bribery! + ... | |
| 10.05.1946 | life of riley (125) good neighbor week |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley and Gillis are named "ideal neighbors," if only they'll stop bea... | |
| 10.12.1946 | life of riley (126) the school formal dance helene's swap shop dress for babs | ||
| 10.19.1946 | life of riley (127) riley sues the bus company |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. It's Riley vs. the bus company. + Chester A Riley is waiting on the co... | |
| 10.26.1946 | life of riley (128) riley gets a job in south america for his company | ||
| 10.26.1946 | life of riley 128 riley gets a job in south america for his company {afrs#008} |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley can't get along with his boss and plans to move to South America... | |
| 11.02.1946 | life of riley (129) peg and riley both run for park supervisor | ||
| 11.16.1946 | life of riley (131) music brings riley and peg together | ||
| 11.23.1946 | life of riley (132) riley, football hero for the night club team |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley becomes a football hero, on the the night club team. + When Rile... | |
| 11.30.1946 | life of riley (133) riley gets free medical advice from simon's uncle, a horse doctor |
+ Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley has hurt his leg while jumping over a fence. He gets some good a... | |
| 12.14.1946 | life of riley (135) riley accidentally invites monahan for a visit to new york | ||
| 12.28.1946 | life of riley (137) new year's eve 10 dates for babs | ||
| 01.11.1947 | life of riley (139) efficiency expert |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Drene shampoo. Riley gets Junior to take a course in Industrial Engineering ... | |
| 01.18.1947 | life of riley (140) riley and simon, business partners |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Drene shampoo. The birth of "Riley and Vanderhopper." Riley thinks Babs' boy... | |
| 01.25.1947 | life of riley (141) riley's honeymoon |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Drene shampoo. Riley recalls his honeymoon train trip to Niagara Falls. + Ch... | |
| 02.01.1947 | life of riley (142) mr x riley switched as a baby | ||
| 02.08.1947 | life of riley (143) riley's birthday forgotten | ||
| 03.15.1947 | life of riley (148) simon is `advice to the lovelorn' column editor |
+ Chester A. Riley is a man who usually agrees with his wife except when they happen to be disagreei... | |
| 03.22.1947 | life of riley (149) riley, the milkman |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Drene Shampoo. Flashback story: how Riley handled his in-laws when he and Pe... | |
| 03.29.1947 | life of riley (150) riley the gentleman new chair | ||
| 04.05.1947 | life of riley (151) riley, the child beater |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Drene Shampoo. Riley is expelled from his lodge...accused of child beating! ... | |
| 04.12.1947 | life of riley (152) real life soap opera, `marriage can be beautiful' | ||
| 04.19.1947 | life of riley (153) riley, the boxer junior, the coward | ||
| 04.26.1947 | life of riley (154) simon the waiter blackmails riley |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Prell. Riley is being blackmailed by Babs' boyfriend Simon, after being seen... | |
| 05.03.1947 | life of riley (155) launching babs in society |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Prell. Babs has to put together a dinner party for her home economics teache... | |
| 05.10.1947 | life of riley (156) model son, the mother's day speech |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Prell. Riley's mother makes a batch of delicious doughnuts, which leads Rile... | |
| 05.31.1947 | life of riley (159) the accident insurance policy |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Prell. Riley sprains his ankle and files for benefits under his new accident... | |
| 06.14.1947 | life of riley (161) junior wins the soap box derby |
+ Sponsored by: Dreft, Prell. Riley's bragging gets Junior disqualified from the Soap Box Derby. Th... |
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