hey 15 boys go ahead and kill you then as long as
your dentists know you said you were to susquehanna come here sir
William Alexander Abbot better known professionally as Bud Abbott was born
on October 2nd 1897 in Asbury Park New Jersey his mother and father were showbiz folks working for
the Barnum & Bailey Circus after the family moved to Brooklyn New York bud left school and started
working at dreamland Park at Coney Island when he was 15 Budd went to see working on a Norwegian
steamer he grew tired of shoveling coal and after a year made his way back to the US and took a job
working in the box office of the casino theater in Brooklyn he knocked around performing a different
acts in vaudeville and burlesque where he met and married Jenny Mae Pratt who went by the stage name
Betty Smith in 1923 they were married for 55 years until Bud's death they had two adopted
children but jr. and Vickie but eventually met Lou Costello on the burlesque circuit and they
became Abbot and Costello in 1936 after becoming popular on the Kate Smith radio show and being in
a hit Broadway show they started their long film and television careers in 1940 through the years
there were some hard feelings between bud and Lou due to money issues and the fact that Lou
thought they should be billed as Costello and Abbott their popularity waned during the late
1950s and they officially split in 1957 due to tax problems in the 50s but needed to keep
working after Lou's death he appeared in a few TV productions and also attempted to create a
new comedy duo with candy Candido but it didn't work out in 1964 but had a few strokes due to
the epilepsy he had suffered since the 1920s but had a drinking problem and liked to gamble and
by 1970 he was living off his $180 a month Social Security benefit his children helped support him
and his wife worked part-time in 1972 but broke his hip the National Inquirer did a
story about bud sad situation and he received many cards and letters from his fans wishing
him well but Abbott sadly died of cancer at his Woodland Hills California home on April 24 1974
Lou Costello was born Lewis Francis crystal Oh on March 6 1906 in Paterson New Jersey he went
to school in Paterson and was a good athlete he was good at basketball and boxing boxing under
the name of Lou King Lou married and battler a burlesque dancer on January 30th 1934 they had
four children Patricia Carol Liu jr. and Christine in 1927 Lou went to Hollywood to become an actor
but only found work as a laborer extra and occasional work as a stunt man in 1930 after not
having much success he returned home to New Jersey while performing in burlesque theaters he changed
his stage name to Costello after actress Helene Costello during these years he met a straight
man named Bud Abbott Abbott and Costello formally teamed up in 1936 Abbott and Costello were very
popular on the radio with routines like who's on first and were signed to do Hollywood pitchers
where they enjoyed legendary success over the next 20 years in March 1943 Costello was suffering from
rheumatic fever and wasn't able to work for six months on November fourth of that year he
returned to the teams radio show but a tragic event darkened his comeback after arriving at
the NBC studios Lew received word that his baby son Lou jr. had accidentally drown in the family
pool during an afternoon nap the baby managed to get out of his crib and ended up in the pool
unnoticed by the nanny the child was just two days short of his first birthday Lu had asked
his wife to keep Lu jr. up that night so that boy could hear his father on the radio for the first
time rather than cancel the broadcast Lu 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 demonstrated by Lou
that night though they were very successful as a comedy duo in films radio and TV there
were hard feelings between bud and Lou they argued constantly over money and billing by the mid-1950s
Abbott and Costello films were no longer doing so well at the box office Universal declined to
renew their movie contract in 1955 Abbott and Costello dissolved their partnership in 1957 on
good terms Costello then pursued a solo career including performing in Las Vegas he appeared
several times on Steve Allen's The Tonight Show shortly after the completion of the film the
30-foot bride of candy Rock Costello suffered a heart attack he died at doctor's hospital
in Beverly Hills on March 3rd 1959 just three days before his 53rd birthday many times it has
been falsely reported that his final words were that the strawberry ice-cream soda he had just
finished was quote the best I ever tasted by other accounts including several newspaper obituaries
he asked his nurse to adjust his position in bed and said I think I'll be more comfortable
but before the nurse could comply he suffered a cardiac arrest and died after a funeral mass at
his parish in Sherman Oaks Costello was interred at the Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles on
March 8th his wife Han died only nine months later from an apparent heart attack at age 47
you