Lou Costello

In 1928, with the advent of talking pictures, Costello headed back east intending to get the requisite stage experience. Stranded in St. Joseph, Missouri, he convinced a local burlesque producer to hire him as a Dutch comic ("Dutch" was a corruption of "Deutsche", and the comic performed with a German accent). By the end of the year he was back in New York and began working in burlesque on the Mutual Burlesque wheel the following year.[16]

After the Mutual Wheel collapsed during the Great Depression, Costello went to work for the Minskys, where he crossed paths with a talented producer and straight man named Bud Abbott.[16] They first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge Theatre on 42nd Street in New York City after Costello's partner fell ill. They formally teamed up in 1936.[16]

Reportedly their first disagreement was over a booking in a minstrel show at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Costello wanted to take the gig, but Abbott was hesitant. Costello offered to give Abbott a larger split of their salary, and Abbott agreed.

Abbott and Costello were signed by the William Morris talent agency, which landed them featured roles and national exposure on The Kate Smith Hour, a popular radio variety show, in 1938. The team's signature routine, "Who's on First?", made its radio debut on Smith's show that year. Many of the team's sketches were further polished by John Grant, who was hired soon after the team joined the program. Their success on the Smith show led to their appearance in a Broadway musical in 1939, The Streets of Paris.

The team was hosting a summer radio series in 1940 when they were signed by Universal Pictures. They had supporting roles in their first picture, One Night in the Tropics (1940), but stole the film with their classic routines, including a much-shortened version of "Who's On First?" (a more complete version was performed in The Naughty Nineties, released in 1945). The team's breakthrough picture, however, was Buck Privates, released early in 1941. They immediately became the No. 3 Box Office Stars of 1941.[16]

After working as regulars on the Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy radio program in 1941–42, they launched their own show The Abbott and Costello Show, in October 1942.[16]

The duo made 36 films from 1940 to 1956, and were among the most popular and highest-paid entertainers in the world during World War II. Among their most popular films are Buck Privates, Hold That Ghost, Who Done It?, Pardon My Sarong, The Time of Their Lives, Buck Privates Come Home, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.

In the summer of 1942, the team went on a 35-day cross-country tour to promote and sell War Bonds. The Treasury Department credited them with the sale of $85 million in bonds.[16]

In March 1943, after completing a winter tour of army bases, Costello had an attack of rheumatic fever and was unable to work for six months. On November 4 of that year, he returned to the team's popular radio show, but upon arriving at the NBC studio, Costello received word that his infant son, Lou Jr., had accidentally drowned in the family pool.[16] The baby worked loose one of the slats on his crib, climbed out and fell into the pool, unnoticed by the nanny.[17] The baby ('Little Butch') was just two days short of his first birthday. Lou had asked his wife to keep Butch up that night so the boy could hear his father on the radio for the first time. Rather than cancel the broadcast, Lou said, "Wherever he is tonight, I want him to hear me", and went on with the show. No one in the audience knew of the death until after the show, when Bud Abbott explained the events of the day and how the phrase "The show must go on" had been epitomized by Lou that night. Maxene Andrews of The Andrews Sisters, said that his entire demeanor changed after the tragic loss of his son, saying, "He didn't seem as fun-loving and as warm ... He seemed to anger easily ... there was a difference in his attitude."[18]

It was about this time that serious cracks began to appear in the relationship between Abbott and Costello. In 1945, when Costello fired a domestic servant and Abbott hired her, Costello announced that he would no longer work with Abbott.[19] However, they were still under contract to Universal and required to complete two movies in 1946. They did Little Giant and The Time of Their Lives, but barely appeared together in either film and rarely spoke to one another off-camera.[20] Abbott reached out to heal their relationship, suggesting that the foundation he and Costello had founded for rheumatic fever sufferers be named the Lou Costello Jr. Youth Foundation, which touched Costello deeply. The project became a youth foundation. [16]

Their radio program moved to ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from 1947 to 1949. It was pre-recorded.

In 1951, the duo began to appear on live television, joining the rotating hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour. (Eddie Cantor, Martin and Lewis and Bob Hope were among the others). The following year they began their own filmed situation comedy, The Abbott and Costello Show. Costello owned the half-hour series, with Abbott working on salary. The show, which was loosely adapted from their radio program, ran for two seasons, from 1952 to 1954, but found long life in syndicated reruns.[16]

Lou Costello being surprised on This Is Your Life

They were forced to withdraw from Fireman Save My Child in 1954 due to Costello's poor health — he had been plagued by heart problems all his life due to a childhood bout of rheumatic fever — and were replaced by look-alikes Hugh O'Brian and Buddy Hackett. The team could not reach a contract agreement with Universal the following year and left the studio after 15 years.[16]

Costello was surprised and honored by Ralph Edwards on NBC's This Is Your Life in 1956.[21]

By the mid-1950s, Abbott and Costello films were no longer box-office gold. With concurrent film and television appearances, they suffered from overexposure, and were further eclipsed by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, who were the hot entertainment commodity that Abbott and Costello had been a decade earlier. After failing to come to terms with the team, Universal dropped their movie contract in 1955.

In the early 1950s, troubles with the Internal Revenue Service forced both men to sell their large homes and the rights to some of their films. Abbott and Costello made their final film together, Dance with Me, Henry in 1956. The film was a box-office disappointment and received mixed critical reviews.

Abbott and Costello dissolved their partnership in 1957 amicably.[22] Costello went back to his roots of stand-up, including stints in Las Vegas, and sought film projects for himself. He appeared several times on Steve Allen's fledgling The Tonight Show, but most often in variations of his old routines, with Louis Nye or Tom Poston taking on the straight man role. Costello sought to be known as something other than the funny fat man in the baggy clothes, and in 1958, he played a dramatic role on The Tobias Jones Story episode of Wagon Train.[23]