{"id":86345,"date":"2022-06-16T16:32:26","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T16:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?p=86345"},"modified":"2023-02-14T16:59:47","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T16:59:47","slug":"cvs-william-bendix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/cvs-william-bendix\/","title":{"rendered":"The Life of William Bendix"},"content":{"rendered":"

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on ATVN with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

William Bendix<\/strong><\/a>, who would go on to star in radio, television and films, had an auspicious start to his working career.<\/span><\/p>\n

He would be fired as a bat boy for the New York Yankees<\/a><\/strong> baseball team.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reason?\u00a0 He obeyed orders from Babe Ruth<\/a><\/strong> during the height of his popularity to go out and buy him hot dogs and sodas right before a game — which was against team rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

Twenty years later, Bendix starred in the <\/span>The Babe Ruth Story<\/i><\/b><\/a> motion picture, portraying the titular character.<\/span><\/p>\n

*********<\/span><\/p>\n

Bendix was born in Manhattan, the only child of Oscar and Hilda (Carnell) Bendix. Named William after his paternal German grandfather, his uncle was composer, conductor, and violinist Max Bendix.<\/span>\u00a0 He would work odd jobs through the Great Depression<\/a><\/strong>, until deciding at the age of 30 to try his hand at acting.<\/span><\/p>\n

After six years, he starred in his first feature film, <\/span>The Glass Key<\/a>, <\/i><\/b>and in other film noir flicks. He had success largely playing rough but kind-hearted gangsters, soldiers or \u201cblue-collar\u201d type roles.\u00a0 From 1942 until his death in 1964, Bendix was featured in 66 movies.\u00a0 His greatest individual accomplishment in films was earning an Academy Award nomination for his role as a soldier in the 1942 war classic, <\/span>Wake Island<\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

But in addition to his success on the big screen, Bendix became a national treasure throughout the 40s and 50s by portraying the fictional Chester A. Riley in the hit radio and later television series, <\/span>The Life of Riley<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Originally a radio treatment to be a vehicle for Groucho Marx<\/a><\/strong> in a show called, \u201cThe Flotsam Family,\u201d series creator Irving Brecher<\/a><\/strong> saw Riley in a film in which he played a taxi cab driver with a heavy Brooklyn accent.\u00a0 According to the book \u201cRaised on Radio<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>,\u201d Brecher went back and rewrote the premise of his show, basing the lead character on a \u201cmeat-and-potatoes\u201d man of the house with comical frailties, casting Bendix in the lead.<\/span><\/p>\n

The result was a Top 20 show through the latter half of the 1940s, in a period that also featured other radio show giants hosted by legends like Bob Hope<\/strong><\/a>, Bing Crosby<\/strong><\/a>, Jack Benny<\/strong><\/a>, Fred Allen<\/strong><\/a>, Milton Berle<\/strong><\/a>, Red Skelton<\/strong><\/a>, George Burns<\/strong><\/a> and Gracie Allen<\/strong><\/a>, and many others.\u00a0 Bendix also starred in the film version of the show in 1949 — the movie grossing $1.6 million at the box office.<\/span><\/p>\n

The comedic plotlines centered around Riley himself — a gullible and clumsy but big-hearted man. Although operating with the best of intentions, Riley had the inclination of turning slight misunderstandings and slightly troubling situations into near-disasters.\u00a0 He also had the uncanny ability to successfully play off of unique characters like his neighbor Waldo Binny, \u201cDigger\u201d O\u2019Dell (\u201cthe friendly undertaker\u201d), his co-worker and best friend, Gillis, and other colorful personalities.<\/span><\/p>\n

To give yourself a treat, find copies of \u201cRiley\u2019s\u201d radio shows involving his traditional Thanksgiving and Mother\u2019s Day holidays episodes and also an episode entitled, \u201cA Spicy Book.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His trademark lines uttered on the show were some of the most popular catch-phrases of the decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of his movie contract, Bendix was not available when the series transitioned to television.\u00a0 After an initial failed attempt with \u201cThe Great One\u201d (Jackie Gleason<\/strong><\/a>) in the title role, Bendix reclaimed the role of Riley in 1953.\u00a0 The show quickly shot up in the Nielson\u2019s ratings (reaching as high as #16 in its first season), followed by five more years as a hit show, perennially winning its time slot.<\/span><\/p>\n

William continued acting in movies and guest-starring on television until he was cast to star in a brand new sitcom in 1964 but CBS removed him from the project because of a rumor of ill-health.\u00a0 This action severely curtailed Bendix\u2019s job opportunities in the industry.\u00a0 Bendix sued the network, claiming that he was in great health, and won the lawsuit, but the damage was done for the remainder of his career.\u00a0 He later died of pneumonia at the age of 58.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his obituary in <\/span>The<\/span><\/i> New York Times<\/span><\/i>, Bendix was quoted as saying, \u201c<\/span>I’ve had a long, varied, pleasant, eventful career. I don’t hate anybody and I don’t have any bitter thoughts. I started out without any advantages, but I’ve been lucky and successful and I’ve had fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You can see William Bendix in one of his most prominent film roles–that of Nick, the Saloon Owner, in the film, <\/span>The Time of Your Life<\/i><\/b><\/a>, <\/b>in the<\/span> \u201cRCN Movie Vault\u201d this Saturday at 9:30 p.m. on ATVN.\u00a0 (This movie was made in 1948, at the height of his popularity on radio.)<\/span><\/p>\n

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on ATVN, check out the weekly listings here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The views expressed in this blog are<\/span><\/i> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of <\/span><\/i>ATVN<\/span> or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.\u00a0 Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classic-video-showplace"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Life of William Bendix - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Life of William Bendix - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. 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