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''The Life of Riley'', with William Bendix in the title role, is a popular American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a long-run 1950s television series (originally with Jackie Gleason as Riley for one truncated season, then with Bendix for six seasons), and a 1958 comic book. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, ''The Flotsam Family'', but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. (Marx went on to host ''Blue Ribbon Town'' from 1943 to 1944 and then ''You Bet Your Life'' from 1947 to 1961.) Then creator and producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in Hal Roach's ''The McGuerins from Brooklyn'' (1942). Brecher stated "He was a Brooklyn guy and there was something about him. I thought, This guy could play it. He'd made a few films, like ''Lifeboat'', but he was not a name. So I took ''The Flotsam Family'' script, revised it, made it a Brooklyn Family, took out the flippancies and made it more meat-and-potatoes, and thought of a new title, ''The Life of Riley''. Bendix's delivery and the spin he put on his lines made it work."〔Nachman, Gerald (1998). ''Raised on Radio'', p. 246. Pantheon Books, New York. ISBN 037540287x.〕 The reworked script cast Bendix as blundering Chester A. Riley, a wing riveter at the fictional Cunningham Aircraft plant in California. His frequent exclamation of indignation—"What a revoltin' development ''this'' is!"—became one of the most famous catchphrases of the 1940s. It was later reused by Benjamin J. Grimm of the Fantastic Four. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker". Brecher told Brown "I want a very sepulchral voice, quavering, morbid, and he got it right away." 〔Nachman, Gerald (1998). ''Raised on Radio'', p. 247. Pantheon Books, New York. ISBN 037540287x.〕 == Source of the title == The expression "Living the life of Riley" suggests an ideal contented life, possibly living on someone else's money, time, or work. Rather than a negative freeloading or golddigging aspect, it implies that someone is kept or advantaged. The expression is of uncertain origin, and is first attested from around World War I, particularly in American servicemen. Various theories exist as to the origin, such as to an origin in the 1880s, a time when James Whitcomb Riley's poems depicted the comforts of a prosperous home life,〔(James Whitcomb Riley: The Life of Riley )〕 but it could have an Irish origin—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”. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Life of Riley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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