Junior's dog Tiger as well as that of a dog catcher who claimed to have a special bond with dogs. Gillis often gave Riley bad information that got him into trouble, whereas Digger gave him good information that "helped him out of a hole," as he might have put it. Brown's lines as the undertaker were often repetitive, including puns based on his profession; but thanks to Brown's delivery, the audience loved him. The program was broadcast live with a studio audience, most of whom were not aware Brown played both characters. As a result, when Digger delivered his first line, it was usually greeted with howls of laughter and applause from surprised audience members. The series was co-developed by the nonperforming Marx Brother turned agent Gummo. The American Meat Institute (1944–45), Procter & Gamble (Teel dentifrice and Prell shampoo) (1945–49), and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (1949–51) took turns as the radio program's sponsor. An unrelated radio show with the title Life of Riley was a summer replacement show heard on CBS from April 12, 1941, to September 6, 1941. The CBS program starred Lionel Stander as J. Riley Farnsworth and had no real connection with the more famous series that followed a few years later. Film William Bendix also starred in the 1949 film version of The Life of Riley directed by Irving Brecher. It earned $1.6 million in the U.S. and Canada, preventing him from starring in the TV series that began in the same year. Television In 1948, NBC broadcast "two live television test programs based on the radio series." The April 13 episode starred Herb Vigran as Riley, and the April 20 episode had Buddy Gray in the title role. Jackie Gleason The NBC adaptation, also created by Irving Brecher, was a single-season series from October 4, 1949, to March 28, 1950. Originally, William Bendix was to have appeared on both radio and TV, but Bendix's RKO Radio Pictures movie contract prevented him from appearing on the TV version. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred, with Rosemary DeCamp replacing Paula Winslowe as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Jim Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. John Brown returned as the morbid, counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell. In the 1955–1956 season, the Riley family moved and were given new neighbors portrayed by Florence Sundstrom