Happy Birthday, Lou Costello!
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 9:16 am
Lou Costello was born on this day in 1906. His work with Bud Abbot made them one of the most successful comedy teams of all time, and their “Who’s on First” sketch is still one of the funniest exchanges ever put on film.
This is another one of my favorites, as Lou tries to get some sleep:
And here he is re-creating a vaudeville routine performed by many comedians, including the Three Stooges. His co-star is Sid Fields.
I have always enjoyed Abbott and Costello when I have seen them on TV in either a variety type show or a movie. I believe Costello had tried to break into films before meeting Abbott and it didn’t seem to work out. At that time, was he doing comedy or trying to do straight acting ? Also, when the duo stopped making films, was it because of personal or professional problems or had their brand of humor run its course ? Either way I hope that maybe one of the cable stations will show some of his work.
Thanks, Tim! Both men worked with other partners in vaudeville, both as comedians, and when they got together on stage one night, everyone realized they had special chemistry. They both struggled with substance abuse and personal problems and at one point stopped speaking to each other except in performances. After their success began to wane and both were badly hit with IRS problems, their partnership broke up.
I have always loved(and still do) the works of Abbott & Costello. What is sad is that their brand of comedy and humor, along with the likes of such acts like, The Three Stooges(another favorite of mine), Groucho Marx/ the Marx Bros. and Laurel & Hardy, to name a few.
is pretty much all gone now. We are predominantly left with profanity ridden comedy now days. It simply isn’t like it used to be. Even when I was a kid, comedy wasn’t what it is today. Thank GOD, we still have the many fine works of Lou Costello and Bud Abbott, The Three Stooges and the others to find respite in.
Thanks, Ron! We are so lucky that these classic performances were preserved on film.