ABBOTT AND COSTELLO

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO

These two men got together to form a comedy duo.

They were William (Budd) Abbott and Louis (Lou) Francis Cristillo. They performed together in

A. Film
B. Radio
C. Television

Abbott and Costello were big in the l940’s and l950’s. What made them famous was their skit (WHO’S ON FIRST) routine. Their rapid comebacks is what made them real funny.

Both Abbott and Costello were into burlesque entertainment, in fact they met in a burlesque theater in 1935.

“The Who’s on First routine was first performed in The Kate Smith’s Hour.

After spending some time on The Kate Smith’s Hour, this had made them successful to go out on their own. They made it on Broadway revue by doing their famous routine.

Abbott and Costello then signed up with Universal Studios in 1940, for a film called (One Night in the Tropics) along with their classic routine.

After this Universal Studios signed them up for a long-term contract. Their second film is what made them box office stars. They had made 36 films from the period of 1940 to 1956. This made them the highest paid stars in Hollywood and the most popular during the World War II era.

They also had made other movies that were classics, and that made them more successful than before they were:

A. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
B. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man

Abbott and Costello still were in the top 10 until 1952. Their take was about 10 million for the movies that they had made.

In 1951 they had moved to live TV. There was rotating hosts:

A. Eddie Cantor
B. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

Abbott and Costello then moved into syndication in the late 60’s.

You can get the Abbott and Costello’s DVD’s now.

In the late 50’s Martin and Lewis were discovered by Abbott and Costello. Also by this time their comedy was wearing thin. They found out that Bud Abbott was afraid to do new routines.

In 1957 they had ended their partnership.

Lou Costello had made it big in Las Vegas for awhile. Shortly after that he had died after his 53rd birthday.

Bud Abbott had died in 1974.

In the late 1940’s (Warner Bros’s Looney Toons/Merrie Melodies had made some cartoons:

A. Babbit and Catsello
B. A Tale of Two Kitties (introducing Tweetie Bird)
C. A Tale of Two Mice
D. Mouse-Merized featuring (Mel Blanc)

The comedian Jerry Seinfeld got his inspiration from Abbott and Costello.

Depending on what you’re listening to their famous routine was also called “Baseball”.

When Abbott and Costello were asked to do their routine for radio or television the two could do this without thinking about what they were doing because they knew it so well and did it often enough so they did not have to rehearse it.

The routine of Abbott and Costello’s routine can be heard on “RAIN MAN” and other movies.

The bands The Who and The Guess Who were taken from Who’s on First routine.

Montclair State University had named a hall after Abbott and Costello. This was how popular they were.