April 27, 2020

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO

By Checker Bot

Updated 05-May-2020.

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Abbott and Costello – Abbott and Costello – Who’s on First? Hey, Abbott!: Abbott and Costello – Who’s on First? Hey, Abbott!

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My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: duo Bud Abbott and Lou costello were the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and early 1950s . their first performance resulted from Costello’s regular partner becoming ill . giant balloons of Abbott and Cost costello affected a high-pitched, childish voice . they performed on the program as regulars for two years . two of their films were adapted for Lux radio theater that year . the Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes . regulars and semi-regulars included Artie Auerbach (“Mr. Kitzel”), Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel the show’s writers included Howard Harris, Hal Fimberg, Parke Levy, Don Prindle, Eddie Cherkose . guest stars included Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, The Andrews Sisters and the duo also hosted a 30-minute children’s radio program on Saturday mornings . it finished its run in 1949. routine. Universal signed them to a two-picture contract . Buck Privates was a massive hit, earning $4 million at the box office . the studio decided to delay its release so the team could have a second service comedy . in the navy was co-starring crooner Dick the duo were voted the third biggest box office attraction in the country in 1941 .Universal loaned the team to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for a musical comedy, Rio Rita (1942) During film the team did a 35-day tour during the summer of 1942 to promote and sell War Bonds . the Treasury Department credited them with $85 million in sales . costello’s infant son died in an accidental drowning a rift developed when Abbott hired a domestic servant who had been fired by Costello . the following year they made two films, (Little Giant and The Time of Their Lives) in which they appeared as separate costello’s pet charity, a foundation for underprivileged children, opened in 1947 . costello and Abbott reunited as a team in Buck Privates Come Home (1947) a sequel to their big hit . the team’s next film was a massive hit and revitalized the duo’s careers . Mexican Hayride (1948) was an adaptation of a Cole Porter musical without the songs . they signed a new the duo were sidelined again for several months when Costello suffered a relapse of rheumatic fever . they returned to the screen in Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) the following year their first color film, Jack and the Beanstalk (1952), was made independent of Universal . they made a second independent color movie, Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1953) they were forced to withdraw from Fireman the show cast the duo as unemployed wastrels . one of the show’s running gags involved Abbott perpetually hounding Costello to get a job . the show featured Sidney Fields as the show originally ran for only two seasons . it found a larger viewership in reruns from the 1960s to the 1990s . the shows have also been released in three different DVD sets over the years . the sketch was based on earlier burlesque wordplay routines . the team began honing the routine shortly after teaming up in 1936 . it was first heard on march 24, 1938 . Abbott stayed on as their head writer into the 1950s . the key to the routine is Costello’s mounting frustration set against Abbott’s unyielding formality . audio recordings are readily available on the Internet team could time routine at will, adding or deleting portions as needed for films, radio or television . longest version is seen in “The Actors’ Home” episode of their filmed television series, running approximately eight minutes . costello and Abbott faced personal demons at times . both were inveterate gamblers and had serious health problems . Abbott suffered from epilepsy and turned to alcohol for seizure management . costello had occasional, near-fatal bouts with rheumatic fever . another reason for their decline was overexposure . Universal dropped the comedy team in 1955 after they could not agree on contract terms . in his posthumously-published 1959 autobiography, Errol Flynn claims he triggered the breakup . flynn, a chronic practical joker, invited them to his house for dinner . Flyn costello died of a heart attack three days short of his 53rd birthday . Abbott voiced his character in 156 five-minute cartoons made by Hanna-Barbera . Bud Abbott died of cancer on April 24, 1974 . he was one of 3 cartoons featuring the pair as cats or mice named “Babbit and Catstello” one of the cartoons, Bob Clampett’ in all three cartoons, Tedd Pierce and Mel Blanc provide voice impressions of comedy duo . revival of their former television series in syndicated reruns helped spark renewed interest . comedian Jerry seinfeld hosted Abbott and Costello are among the few non-baseball personnel to be memorialized in the Baseball Hall of Fame . their “Who’s on First?” routine has been referenced numerous times . a TV movie called Bud and Lou, based on a book by Hollywood correspondent Bob Thomas, was broadcast in 1978 . staring Harvey Korman as Bud Abbott and Buddy Hackett as Lou Costello, the film told seinfeld is an avid Abbott and Costello fan . their influence on him was celebrated in a 1994 NBC special . “the old man (Seinfeld)” featured a cantankerous old man named a copywriter for the catalog is named Eddie Sherman, after the team’s longtime agent . in episode 30, Kramer hears the famous Abbott and costello line, “His father was a mudder. His Abbott and Costello were inducted into the new jersey hall of fame in 2009 . in the 2012 Sherlock episode “the Hounds of Baskerville”, mayor Barrymore sarcastically says that a couple of aliens in 2015 a non-profit fan film was produced titled Abbott & Costello Meet Superman . the film was screened at the superman celebration film festival in Metropolis Illinois . Abbott and Costello are played by two Avon Books Costello, Chris, Lou’s on First: The Tragic Life of Hollywood’s Greatest Clown Warmly Recounted by His Youngest Child (1982) St. Martin’s Press ISBN 0- Hold That Ghost: The Original Screenplay (2016) Bear Manor Media.