Who was Riley and what was so good about his life?

Answer 1

"Living the life of Riley" suggests an ideal life of prosperity and contentment, possibly living on someone else's money, time or work. Rather than a negative freeloading or golddigging aspect, it instead implies that someone is kept or advantaged. The expression was popular in the 1880s, a time when James Whitcomb Riley's poems depicted the comforts of a prosperous home life [1], but it could have an Irish origin: After the Riley 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.” Thus, the radio-TV title has an ironic edge.

Answer 2

living the life or Riley means every thing comes to you with no effort on your part but by sheer good luck so you've got no worries don't know where it originates from

Answer 3

Living life of Riley, but bench beckons
There he stood in triumph against the New Jersey Nets, tan and trim, a coach without a whistle but an executive with a cause. Pat Riley was smiling about his good fortune. A man had just found the stone that had popped out of his 1985 championship ring, the one throwing light from his right hand, the one reminding the president of the Miami Heat where he had been and where he might someday be.
"I'll never say never," Riley said of a return to the bench, "but I can't right now."

Not when he should be named executive of the year, hands down, no hanging Florida chads required. The small print defining the honor should read like this: awarded to the man with the most votes in a purely democratic process or to the guy who trades for Shaquille O'Neal without giving up Dwyane Wade.

Jerry Buss didn't offer to deal O'Neal when he met with Riley to discuss his former employee's possible return to the Lakers. "It wasn't until Mitch called," Riley said. That would be Mitch Kupchak, Lakers general manager. He informed Riley the Lakers were ready to replace the most irreplaceable athlete on the planet.

"Let's do business," Riley responded.

He suckered Kupchak into believing the Lakers didn't deserve the Heat's best player in return. "It's beyond belief that Pat pulled that off," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said.

So Riley watches as a contender he built moves toward a chance to win one for the president's thumb. Riley won four titles with Magic and Kareem, but he was punching blackboards back then. He was very much in the arena, in the fight, wearing his blood, sweat and tears on his perfectly tailored sleeves.

Now he sits out of sight, a safe distance from the playoff boil. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it a little bit," Riley said.

Oh yeah, he'd be lying, even if Riley looks younger than he did when Patrick Ewing missed that Game 7 finger roll 10 years ago, leaving his Knicks coach a gaunt, hollow-eyed, hands-around-his-own-neck mess. When asked Sunday if the playoff pressure eats away at him like it did when he coached, Riley said, "Do I look like it does?"

But there's a part of him hurting inside; he wouldn't be human otherwise. "Just my opinion," Van Gundy said, "but I think this is the time of year when it hits him. I don't think Pat's got a great urge to come back and go through the grind of 82 games, but he's such a great competitor who loves the big game. This time of year he gets the itch to be the guy again because he's so damn good at it."

So good at coaching yet so willing to let Van Gundy reap all those Shaq and Wade rewards. Two training camps back, Riley called his assistant into his office and asked him if he was ready. "For what?" Van Gundy asked. Riley told his aide he was handing him the team.

"Like going from Larry Bird to a CBA player," Van Gundy said.

That CBA player is running the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference tournament. Van Gundy doesn't cower in his predecessor's shadow; Riley has put him very much at ease. Across his last two seasons as president, Riley has only once asked to address the team — during Miami's four-game losing streak. Riley will watch the Heat work out here and there but has never sat through an entire Van Gundy practice.

The president will talk to players individually, during water breaks. He'll make supportive phone calls to his coach when the time is right. Riley phoned Van Gundy on the eve of Game 1, told his man to relax and followed that routine through Game 4.

"Pat's always telling me to never worry about the possible consequences, to just get after it and coach my team," Van Gundy said. "I'm amazed he's as helpful to me as he's been without micromanaging. He's given me all the help I could ever ask for without once stepping over the line and making it tougher for me."

Out of a 25-57 season, his last as coach, Riley rebuilt the roster so it had enough pieces to land O'Neal without sacrificing Wade, the guard he drafted in 2003 because GM Randy Pfund declared, "If you don't take him, I'm quitting."

Wade is soaring toward Jordan-hood, and Van Gundy is the beneficiary. "I'm so happy for Stan," Riley said. But the itch is real. "Five years from now," Riley said, "I don't know."

The executive of the year is only 60. He'll be back on someone's bench long before he's 65.

Answer 4

50's TV Show.

Answer 5

Wasn't he the ace of spies????