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Abbott
& Costello were the last of the great comedy teams.
Their career spanned 21 years…from burlesque, to Broadway,
to radio, to films and finally to, television.
Bud
Abbott and Lou Costello officially teamed up in 1936. Bud
was regarded as one of the best and sought after straightmen
on the burlesque circuit. Born William Alexander Abbott
on October 2, 1895 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Bud’s
early career in show business began in 1918 when he was
a treasurer of the National Theatre, a burlesque house in
Washington, DC. It was here where Bud met his wife, Jenny
Mae Pratt, whose stage name was Betty Smith.
Lou
Costello was born Louis Francis Cristillo on March 6, 1906
in Paterson, N.J. Wanting to try his luck in Hollywood,
Lou found sparse work as a laborer and an extra at MGM in
1927. He appeared in the boxing sequence of Laurel &
Hardy’s “Battle of the Century” (1927) and
in the Delores Del Rio 1928 epic “Trails of 98.”
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