What happens
Chester A. Riley, a factory worker, tells his wife Peg he is working late, but she and the children see him on television at a wrestling match. Riley then becomes eager to act, after a flattering phone call and a newspaper ad for actors. He is drawn to a casting office run by smooth-talking men who promise him a contract and a screen test if he pays a fee. Riley hands over fifty dollars from the family's vacation savings, and the story follows the fallout as his hopes and his family's money are tested. The series is The Life of Riley, first broadcast on March 3, 1950, starring William Bendix, Paula Winslowe, Hans Conried and Alan Reed.
Los Angeles, including the Riley home and a television production studio
Characters: Chester A. Riley, Peg Riley, Junior, Babs, Gillis, Digger, Mrs. Morris
Listen for: Riley's excited claims about his acting career and Peg's reaction to his spending the vacation money
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.