What happens
Chester Riley's family seems to have forgotten his birthday, and Riley drops hints and hunts for hidden gifts, growing increasingly hurt as the day goes on. He hands his son Junior ten dollars to test whether the family loves him, and later tries to surprise them by sending a birthday greeting over the radio. The Life of Riley, starring William Bendix as Riley, aired on February 8, 1947, on the Blue Network/ABC and NBC. Friends, neighbors and a funeral director crowd the story as Riley's frustration builds toward a midnight confrontation.
Riley's home and the neighborhood in town, on a February weekend, with a visit to a downtown radio studio.
Characters: Riley, Junior, Babs, Mrs. Riley, Gillis, Waldo Benny, Digger Odell
Listen for: Riley's repeated hints about his birthday and his midnight confrontation with the family.
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.