WILLIAM BENDIX COLLECTIONOLD TIME RADIO - 4 CD - 280 mp3 - Total Playtime: 133:03:50William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. He is best remembered in movies for the title role in The Babe Ruth Story. He also memorably portrayed the clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley. He received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for Wake Island (1942).It was Bendix's appearance in The McGuerins of Brooklyn, playing a rugged blue-collar man, that led to his most famous role. Producer and creator Irving Brecher saw Bendix as the perfect personification of Chester A. Riley, giving a second chance to a show whose audition failed when the sponsor spurned Groucho Marx for the lead. With Bendix stumbling, bumbling, and skating almost perpetually on thin ice, stretching the patience of his otherwise loving wife and children, The Life of Riley was a radio hit from 1944 through 1951, and Bendix brought an adaptation of the film version to Lux Radio Theater. He made Riley's frequent exclamation, "What a revoltin' development this is," into a national catchphrase.Bendix as Riley with Sterling Holloway, 1957.Bendix was not able to play the role on television at first because of a contracted film commitment. The role went instead to Jackie Gleason and the show aired a single season beginning in October 1949. Despite winning an Emmy award, the show ended, in part because Gleason was less than acceptable as Riley, and Bendix had been so identified with the role on radio. In 1953, Bendix became available for a new television version, and this time the show clicked. The second television version of The Life of Riley ran from 1953 to 1958, long enough for Riley to become a grandfather.On the 1952 television program This Is Your Life, hosted by Ralph Edwards, Bendix was declared a descendant of the 19th-century composer Felix Mendelssohn.In 1958, Bendix played the lead in Rod Serling's The Time Element, a time-travel adventure about a man who travels back to 1941 Honolulu and tries to warn everyone about the impending attack on Pearl Harbor.In 1958, Bendix appeared on NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford. He returned for a second appearance on October 1, 1959, the fourth season premiere of the series in which he and his friend, Tennessee Ernie Ford, perform a comedy skit about a safari.In 1960, Bendix starred in all seventeen episodes of the NBC western series Overland Trail in the role of Frederick Thomas "Fred" Kelly, the crusty superintendent of the Overland Stage Company. Doug McClure, later Trampass on NBC's The Virginian, co-starred as his young understudy, Frank "Flip" Flippen. The program was similar to another offering on ABC the following season, Stagecoach West.Bendix was a Republican. In 1944, for instance, he attended the massive rally organized by David O. Selznick in the Los Angeles Coliseum in support of the Dewey-Bricker ticket as well as Governor Earl Warren of California, who would become Dewey's running mate in 1948 and later the Chief Justice of the United States. The gathering drew 93,000, with Cecil B. DeMille as the master of ceremonies and with short speeches by Hedda Hopper and Walt Disney. Among the others in attendance were Ann Sothern, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Adolphe Menjou, Gary Cooper, Eddy Arnold, Lionel Barrymore, Leo Carrillo, and Walter Pidgeon.SHOWS LISTAl Jolson 47-10-30 First Song - Almost Like Being In Love, Guest - William BendixBob Hope Show 530318 Guest William BendixBurns and Allen 44-01-18 Guest - William BendixCavalcade of America 430329 The Cook on the P-T Boat Writes HomeCavalcade of America 450305 425 Bernadine I Love YouCavalcade of America 460422 476 Meet Artie GreengroinCavalcade of America 520318 736 The Marine Who Was 200 Years OldCharlie McCarthy Show-William BendixChristmas on the Blue 1944Columbia Workshop 400707 The Cock-Eyed WonderCommand Performance - 45-02-08 Jeannie Crain, William Bendix, Gene KrupaCommand Performance - 45-03-29 Bob Hope-Ingrid Bergman-William BendixDinah Shore - Ford Show 461106 Guest William BendixFamily Theater 500920 God and a Red ScooteFamily Theater 511212 Fable of the PerfectFifth Horseman - 460711 DownGI Journal 45-01-26 Guest - William Bendix, Arthur TreacherGI Journal 45-04-13 Guest - Monte Wooley, William BendixGunsmoke 59-01-04 The Coward (Joseph Kearns)(reused script)Kraft Music Hall 47-10-30 First Song - Almost Like Being In Love, Guest - William BendixLux Radio Theater 43-11-22 ChinaLux Radio Theater 44-02-28 Guadalcanal DiaryLux Radio Theater 50-01-23 I'll Be YoursLux Radio Theater 50-05-08 Life of RileyMarine Story 1948 Captian James WillingMarine Story 1949 Lt Francis DeBellvueMartin & Lewis Show 49-04-10 William BendixScreen Guild Theater 45-04-09 Abroad with Two YanksScreen Guild Theater 46-07-08 The Great OMalleyScreen Guild Theater 48-10-21 The Babe Ruth StorySuspense 450419 Pearls Are a NuisanceSuspense 470227 Three Faces At MidnightSuspense 481230 Break-UpSuspense 510301 The Gift of Jumbo BranniganTheater Guild on the Air 45-09-09 Wings over EuropeTruth or Consequences - 1948-01-17 - Guest - William Bendix (Walking Man Contest Begins)Yours Truly Johnny Dollar 590315 The Baldero MatterLife of Riley 43-07-25 (xxx) Riley Wants to Build a HouseLife of Riley 44-01-30 (003) The Butler Part 2Life of Riley 44-02-06 (004) Riley Rents a House and Moves from the HotelLife of Riley 44-02-13 (005) Telephone StoryLife of Riley 44-02-20 (006) Van Planten Theater Part 1Life of Riley 44-03-26 (011) The Barber ChairLife of Riley 44-04-02 (012) Riley's Birthday - Thinks Baxter Is Giving PartyLife of Riley 44-04-09 (013) Riley Is Best Dressed ManLife of Riley 44-04-23 (015) Proxy Wedding Part 2Life of Riley 44-04-30 (016) Baxter Goes to New YorkLife of Riley 44-05-07 (017) The Dog CatcherLife of Riley 44-05-14 (018) Riley Fixes Dinner for Mother's DayLife of Riley 44-06-04 (021) Fish StoryLife of Riley 44-06-25 (024) Riley Tries to Marry Baxter to Miss Grimshaw, Waldo's AuntLife of Riley 44-08-27 (033) The Houseboat Vacation Part 1Life of Riley 44-09-03 (034) The Houseboat Vacation Part 2Life of Riley 44-09-24 (037) Making Each Other JealousLife of Riley 44-10-08 (039) Muley's Surprise Party for RileyLife of Riley 44-10-22 (041) The Boss's Son-In-LawLife of Riley 44-10-29 (042) Halloween Haunted HouseLife of Riley 44-11-05 (043) Piano Lessons for JuniorLife of Riley 44-11-12 (044) Big Football BetLife of Riley 44-11-19 (045) Turkey HuntLife of Riley 44-11-26 (046) Bridesmaid BabsLife of Riley 44-12-03 (047) Most Popular BoyLife of Riley 44-12-10 (048) Riley's Mash Note at Night SchoolLife of Riley 44-12-17 (049) The Christmas PresentLife of Riley 44-12-24 (050) Roswell's a Guest for ChristmasLife of Riley 44-12-31 (051) New Year's Eve PartyLife of Riley 45-01-07 (052) Silver Gloves Boxing TourneyLife of Riley 45-01-14 (053) The Wedding AnniversaryLife of Riley 45-01-21 (054) Riley's Conscience Bothers Him for Taking Phone Booth NickelsLife of Riley 45-01-28 (055) Five Dollars Is MissingLife of Riley 45-02-04 (056) The BPLA Initiates a New MemberLife of Riley 45-02-11 (057) Riley Trains Junior's DogLife of Riley 45-02-25 (059) Riley Helps Luigi Pass English Exam to Become US CitizenLife of Riley 45-03-04 (060) Expectant FathersLife of Riley 45-03-11 (061) Junior Runs AwayLife of Riley 45-03-18 (062) Riley Tries to Become a Pal to JuniorLife of Riley 45-05-13 (069) Riley's Mother-In-Law VisitsLife of Riley 45-09-15 (078) Feud with Neighbor New Neighbor Gillis Over Junior's GoatLife of Riley 45-09-22 (079) Junior Is Head of the HouseholdLife of Riley 45-09-29 (080) Change of TimeLife of Riley 45-10-06 (081) Riley Refuses to Let Babs See Simon - Thinks He's a SuicideLife of Riley 45-10-20 (083) Peg's Old Boyfriend, Sidney, Is House GuestLife of Riley 45-10-27 (084) The Football GameLife of Riley 45-11-03 (085) Rosewell VisitsLife of Riley 45-11-10 (086) Junior's Birthday PartyLife of Riley 45-11-24 (088) Babs and Simon - MarriedLife of Riley 45-12-01 (089) BPLA Lodge Election - Phonograph Record Saves RileyLife of Riley 45-12-08 (090) Riley Takes Job Promotion ExamLife of Riley 45-12-15 (091) Grandma's Captain RileyLife of Riley 46-01-26 (097) Riley's TonsillectomyLife of Riley 46-02-02 (098) Junior's School PlayLife of Riley 46-03-09 (103) Babs Music ScholarshipLife of Riley 46-03-16 (104) Riley Buys an Insurance PolicyLife of Riley 46-03-23 (105) Junior Races Egbert - Poison IvyLife of Riley 46-04-06 (107) Riley Finds a Silver Fox Fur CoatLife of Riley 46-04-13 (108) Riley Thinks Junior Is a ShoplifterLife of Riley 46-04-20 (109) The Giant Easter BunnyLife of Riley 46-04-27 (110) Gambling Doesn't PayLife of Riley 46-05-04 (111) Rileys Take in the Gillises After a FireLife of Riley 46-05-11 (112) Junior Forgets Mother's DayLife of Riley 46-05-18 (113) Playing HookeyLife of Riley 46-05-25 (114) Junior Sells Peanuts at the CircusLife of Riley 46-06-01 (115) The Riley Family of ActorsLife of Riley 46-06-08 (116) The Bread Shortage and the Black MarketLife of Riley 46-06-15 (117) A New Suit for Father's DayLife of Riley 46-06-22 (118) Morris Buys the Riley HouseLife of Riley 46-06-29 (119) Paper Route Subscription Contest to Go to CampLife of Riley 46-09-07 (121) Riley Thinks He's Been PromotedLife of Riley 46-09-14 (122) Riley Doesn't Want Peg to Work for Sidney MonahanLife of Riley 46-09-21 (123) Riley Hides on Boat to Catch Babs and Her Boyfriend SimonLife of Riley 46-09-28 (124) Riley Bribes Junior to Win Football GameLife of Riley 46-10-05 (125) Good Neighbor WeekLife of Riley 46-10-12 (126) The School Formal Dance - Helene's Swap Shop Dress For BabsLife of Riley 46-10-19 (127) Riley Sues the Bus CompanyLife of Riley 46-10-26 (128) Riley Gets a Job in South America for His CompanyLife of Riley 46-11-02 (129) Peg and Riley Both Run for Park Supe