Bud Abbott

Date of Birth

2 October 1895, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

Date of Death

24 April 1974, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (prostate cancer)

Birth Name

William Alexander Abbott

Abbott worked in carnivals while still a child and dropped out of school in 1909. He worked as assistant treasurer for the Casino Theater in Brooklyn, then as treasurer or manager of various theaters around the country. He worked as straight man to vaudeville performers such as Harry Steepe and Harry Evanson while managing the National Theater in Detroit, and, in 1931 while cashiering at the Brooklyn theater, he substituted for comic Lou Costello's ill straight-man. The two formed their famous comedy team and, through the 1930s, they worked burlesque, minstrel shows, vaudeville and movie houses. In 1938 they got national exposure through the Kate Smith Hour radio show, and signed with Universal the next year for their film debut in One Night in the Tropics (1940). Their 1941 movie Rookies (1941), with The Andrews Sisters, grossed what was then a company record $10 million, and in 1942 they topped a poll of Hollywood stars. They had their own radio show (ABC, 1941-6, NBC, 1946-9) and TV show ("The Abbott and Costello Show" (1952)). After the war their movies shifted formula to one in which they met various monsters or found themselves in exotic locations. The team split up in 1957 with both members completely out of money after troubles with the Internal Revenue Service. Abbott started over with a new partner, Candy Candido, in the 1960s but failed. In 1966 he did voice for a cartoon version of their television show.

Lou Costello

Date of Birth

6 March 1906, Paterson, New Jersey, USA

Date of Death

3 March 1959, East Los Angeles, California, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name

Louis Francis Cristillo

Born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey (a city he invariably mentioned in almost all his movies and TV shows), Lou Costello dropped out of high school and headed west to break into the movies. He got a job as a carpenter at MGM and Warners. He went from there to stuntman and then to vaudeville as a comic. In 1931, while working in Brooklyn, his straight man became ill and the theater cashier, Bud Abbott, filled in for him. The two formed their famous comedy team and, through the 1930s, they worked burlesque, minstrel shows, vaudeville and movie houses. In 1938 they got national exposure through the Kate Smith Hour radio show, and signed with Universal Pictures the next year. They debuted in One Night in the Tropics (1940). Their scene-stealing performances in that film landed them their own picture the next year, Rookies (1941), with The Andrews Sisters. It was a runaway hit, grossing what was then a company record $10 million on a $180,000 budget. In 1942 they topped a poll of Hollywood stars. They had their own radio show (ABC, 1941-46, NBC, 1946-49) and TV show ("The Abbott and Costello Show" (1952)). After the war their movies shifted formula to one in which they met various monsters or found themselves in exotic locations. The team split up in 1957, with both winding up completely out of money after troubles with the Internal Revenue Service. After that Lou appeared in a few television shows and the movie The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959), released a few months after he d


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