Happy Birthday Lou Costello!

March 6, 1906

[lowbridge]

Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), known by the stage name Lou Costello, was an American actor and comedian best remembered for the comedy double act of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott. Costello played a chubby, bumbling character. He was known for the catchphrases "Heeeeyyy, Abbott!" and "I'm a baaaaad boy!"

[Rummyfan]

Who's on first?

[knarf]

sean hannity

[Buckeye McFrog]

wow, he was not even 53

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

[Alex Murphy]

ROTFL!

[Cincinatus]

Who's on first?

[Rummyfan]

Born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey, 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, Buck Privates (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 died.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan

Source:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0182579/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

[Col Frank Slade]

Loafing at the bakery is perhaps the funniest Abbott & Costello bit.

“You have to join the Union to loaf” ..

[blueunicorn6]

Classic.

[Cry if I Wanna]

Costello forced straight man Abbott to take a cut in pay that then went into Costello’s pocket. While there’s no question that funny man Costello was who people paid to see, their deal from early on was that they were a 50/50 team. People in show business at the time were disgusted by Costello’s treatment of Abbott.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzA8ZyX3lgU

[Resettozero]

Classic photo. Photoshopped? Or do you know.

[Maceman]

VIDEO: Bud & Lou (The TV Biopic) Harvey Korman & Buddy Hackett (1978)

[Rocko]

Lou as a cat

[Maceman]

Abbott & Costello Biography - (A&E Biography) 45minute video

[CGASMIA68]

Always thought the so called humor was dumb

[Texicanus]

Ah yes, from the days of good clean humor when comedians had the skills to make you laugh without using sex.

He was a ba...d boy back in those days when life was really good. My condolences to the current generation; you missed a great time and part of a great comedy team.

[Resettozero]

Always thought the so called humor was dumb.

It was. That was the point of it.

Took impeccable timing and some intelligence to pull it off. Which they did until Abbott's drinking escalated and interfered noticeably with his delivery.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Not certain, but I believe it to be an un-retouched photo from a spring-training game a few years ago.