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Who's On First? - The Abbott and Costello Resource Page
Who's On First? - The Abbott and Costello Resource Page
Have you heard about the team where the players have funny names? No
– well “Who” is the first baseman, “What” is the second baseman and “I Don’t
Know” is the third baseman. From a team with players with funny names comes
one of the funniest and most recognizable comedy sketches of all time. The
famous “Who’s on first” routine by the duo of Abbott and Costello. Bud Abbott,
the straight man of the duo, and Lou Costello, the short, pudgy, and one that
got most of the laughs, were burlesque performers in the 1920’s and
1930’s. After working separately and with other partners, they were put
together in a show in 1935 for the first time. The result was a unique
pairing which people thought had the makings of a good team. And, those
people were right! The pair started to perform and perfect the personas that
became the trademarks for the team. One of their first breaks came in 1938
when the appeared on the Kate Smith Radio Hour. From there they moved to
Broadway in 1939, when they appeared in “The Streets of
Paris.”
And, in 1940, Universal Studios signed them to appear
as a supporting role in the movie “One Night in the Tropics”. This
movie was the biggest break, as their performance, including the “Who’s on
first” skit, stole the movie. Universal Pictures realized they had a special
combination and signed them to a long term contract to appear in movies for the
studio. Their first starring movie was in the 1941 movie “Buck
Privates”. For the next several years, Abbott and Costello appeared in
36 movies together. During this time they were one of the most successful
movie performers with movies such as “Buck Privates”, “Hold That Ghost”,
“Pardon My Sarong”, “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” and “Abbott
and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.” Starting in October 1942, Abbott and
Costello began “The Abbott and Costello Hour” which was a radio
program.
The show featured comedic sketches by the pair along with
musical numbers by special guests and regulars on the show. The radio show
continued while they were making movies until 1951, when the show transferred to
the new media – television. The 30 minute show ran for two years and
featured a cast of regular characters and was a vehicle for re-introducing some
of their famous sketches to a new audience. However, the glory days of the duo
were behind them, and a new group of comedians started to become
popular. The duo split up in 1955 when Bud Abbott retired. After the
group stopped performing together, they still made solo appearance, however, in
1959 Lou Costello died of a heart attack at the age of 53. After the death
of Costello, Abbott worked occasionally but was not able to recapture the spirit
of his old partnership. In 1974, Bud Abbott died of Cancer.
While
the duo of Abbott and Costello are no longer with us, their spirit is still
around for as long as their radio shows, television shows and movies are
preserved. Abbott and Costello was one of the most popular comedy duos of
the 20th Century, and they laid a foundation for a number of future
comedy teams to follow. To help remember the spirit of Abbott and Costello,
we have assembled a collection of resources:
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