Life of Riley???

Question

When someone uses the phrase that you have "The life of Riley"....... Who was the original Riley and what was so good about his life???

Answer 1

The Life of Riley
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William Bendix as Chester A. Riley
William Bendix as Chester A. Riley

The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s.

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. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."

"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

I'm not sure of the origins of the phrase you mention, but a long time ago I think that there was a show on television called, "Life of Riley" (probably taken from the phrase of the same name) which was a comedy about two ordinary guys who worked at some war time factory and hung out on weekends getting into comical situations (when situation comedy shows were really that, and not just skin flicks as they are today). The phrase probably meant, "Having it made, so to speak, no problems, all fun times". I hope that this helps. Happy trails. :-)

Answer 3

< on a tombstone>

Here lies Paddy Murphy
And here he's going to lay
He lived the life of Reilly
While Reilly was away.