Lou Costello

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Louis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), more commonly known as Lou Costello, was an American actor best known for his film comedy double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their comedy routine "Who's on First?" During World War II, the comedians, who formed burlesque in 1936, were one of the world's most popular and highest-paid entertainers.

In 1942, they sold $85 million in war bonds in 35 days.

Their fame by 1955 waned as a result of overexposure and renewed film and television contracts.

The relationship came to an end shortly after.

Early life

Louis Francis Cristillo was born in Paterson, New Jersey, on March 6, 1906, the son of Helen Rege and Sebastiano Cristillo, a silk weaver and insurance sales agent. His father was Italian, from Caserta, Italy, and his mother, an American of Italian, French, and Irish roots (her grandfather was Francesco Rege of Piedmont, Italy), and he was an Italian of Italian, French, and Irish ancestry. Costello was regarded as a gifted student at Public School 15 in Paterson. He excelled in basketball and was reportedly twice Paterson's free-throw champion. In Here Come the Co-Eds (1945), in which he performs his own trick basketball shots, his basketball prowess can be seen. Lou King, the nickname of a boxer, also battled him.

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Career

Costello was a great fan of silent-film comedian Charlie Chaplin. Costello migrated to Hollywood in 1927 to become an actor, but at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Hal Roach Studios, he could only find jobs as a worker or extra. His athletic ability earned him occasional jobs as a stunt man, particularly in The Trail of '98 (1928). In the Laurel and Hardy film The Battle of the Century (1927), he can also be seen sitting ringside. He claimed that he borrowed his stage name from actress Helene Costello, but that his brother Anthony (Pat) had used the name in his career as a professional musician by this time.

Costello returned east in 1928 to seek out theatrical experience, with the emergence of talking pictures. He persuaded a local burlesque writer to hire him as a Dutch comedian ("Dutch") was a misappropriation of "Deutsche," and Costello performed with a German accent. He was back in New Jersey by the end of the year. The following year, he began working in burlesque on the Mutual Burlesque wheel.

Costello worked for several stock burlesque impresarios, including the Minskys, where he crossed paths with talented producer and straight man Bud Abbott after the Mutual Wheel fell during the Great Depression. After Costello's straight man fell ill in 1935 at the Eltinge Theatre on 42nd Street in New York City, they first met together in 1935. In 1936, the two companies officially joined.

Abbott and Costello were recruited by the William Morris talent agency, which gained them regular appearances and national recognition on The Kate Smith Hour, a popular radio variety show in 1938. "Who's on First?" the team's signature game, "Who's On First?" "It's debut on Smith's show early this year was on radio." Many of the team's sketches were pushed further by John Grant, who was hired right away right after the team was hired. They were able to appear in a Broadway musical in 1939, The Streets of Paris, after their success on the Smith show.

In 1940, Abbott and Costello were staging a summer replacement series for The Fred Allen Show in the Tropics, when Universal Pictures had them signed by Universal Pictures for supporting roles in One Night in the Tropics (1940). They stole the film with their classic routines, as well as a shortened version of "Who's On First?" (The complete version was performed in The Naughty Nineties, and it was first published in 1945). Buck Privates, who was released early in 1941, was the team's breakthrough picture. In 1941, three more films were released, and they were voted the No. 1 in the United States. This year, there are three main characters in the box office.

They became regulars on Edgar Bergen's The Chase and Sanborn Program in October, 1942, and The Abbott and Costello Show on NBC premiered in October 1942. The show ran on NBC from the spring of 1947 to the spring of 1949, then ABC until 1949.

During World War II, Abbott and Costello appeared in 36 films from 1940 to 1956, making them one of the world's most popular and highest-paid entertainers. Buck Privates, Hold That Ghost, Who Done It?, Pardon My Sarong, The Time of Their Lives, Buck Privates Come Home, Abbott and Costello are two of their most popular films.

Abbott and Costello embarked on a 35-day cross-country tour to promote and sell war bonds in the summer of 1942. The Treasury Department credited them with the selling of $85 million in bonds.

Costello died of rheumatic fever during a winter tour of army bases in March 1943 and was unable to work for six months. He returned to the team's most popular radio show on November 4th, but Costello discovered news that his infant son Lou Jr. had mistakenly drowned in the family's pond. The baby had slats loose in his playpen and plunged into the pond, not by the nanny. The baby was just two days shy of his first birthday. Costello's dad was on the radio for the first time, so his wife begged him to keep Lou Jr. up. Costello said, "I want him to hear me wherever he is tonight." and continued with the program. No one in the audience knew of the death until after the performance, when Bud Abbott described the day's tragic events and how Costello epitomized the phrase "the show must go on" that night. After the death of his son, Maxene Andrews of the Andrews Sisters said that Costello's demeanor changed: "He didn't appear as fun-loving and as warm." He seemed to rage quickly, but there was no difference in his attitude."

As their careers progressed, real cracks began to appear in Abbott and Costello's relationship. According to reports, the first altercation took place in 1936 over a reservation in a minstrel show at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Costello wanted to attend the performance, which was outside of their traditional burlesque venues, but Abbott was reluctant. Abbott agreed that Costello gave Abbott a larger share of their pay, which Abbott accepted. Costello argued that the team split their income 60/40 in Costello's favour at the end of 1941, and Abbott agreed.

Costello announced that he would not work with Abbott after she was fired a maid and Abbott hired her in 1945. However, they remained under Universal contract and were required to complete two films in 1946, which became Little Giant and The Time of Their Lives. In neither film, the two men did not appear together much, and they rarely spoke to one another off-camera. Abbott attempted to mend fences by recommending that the Lou Costello Jr. foundation that they had created for rheumatic fever sufferers be named. The Youth Foundation, which deeply affected Costello, has a scholarship. In Los Angeles, the youth charity is still exists.

From 1947 to 1949, ABC's radio station (the former NBC Blue Network) was prerecorded.

The pair first appeared on live television in 1951, when they became the rotating hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour. (Eddie Cantor, Martin, Lewis, and Bob Hope were among the others). The Abbott and Costello Show, which was a film situation comedy, has since appeared in syndication around the country. Costello was the star of the half-hour series, with Abbott working on salary. The show, which was largely based on their radio show and films, lasted for two seasons from 1952 to 1954, but it was unavoidably reruns in syndicated reruns.

After Costello's relapsed of rheumatic fever, Abbott and Costello were compelled to leave Fireman Save My Child in 1954. Hugh O'Brian and Buddy Hackett, two studio employees, were swapped with them.

On NBC's This Is Your Life in 1956, Costello was surprised and lauded by Ralph Edwards.

Abbott and Costello were no longer ranked among the top box-office celebrities by the mid-1950s. They were weakened by overexposure in concurrent film and television appearances, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, who were as popular in the 1950s as Abbott and Costello were a decade earlier, were eclipsed by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, who were as popular in the 1950s as Abbott and Costello were a decade ago. In 1955, the team was unable to reach a labour agreement with Universal and left the company after 15 years.

Both men were forced to sell their large homes and the rights to some of their films in the early 1950s due to problems with the Internal Revenue Service. Dance With Me, Henry, Abbott and Costello's last film together, was a box-office disappointment and received mixed critical feedback.

Abbott and Costello dissolved their relationship early in 1957, as a result of its friendship. Costello performed with other comedians, including Sidney Fields in Las Vegas, and was in search of film and television roles. He appeared on Steve Allen's The Tonight Show several times, most often in the straight-man role, but most often performing his old routines with Louis Nye or Tom Poston. He appeared on Wagon Train's Episode "Tobias Jones" in 1958.

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