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Abbott & Costello Story: Sixty Years of "Who's on First?"

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I've read a lot of (good, medium and bad) books on Abbottt and Costello -- and this is the BEST e-v-e-r.

If you're just discovering Abbott and Costello (and a major movie is reportedly in the works so you will hear more about them) you'll discover in these lively, profusely illustrated pages why the team greatly inspired Jerry Seinfeld and others. If you're into comedy and want to learn about their techniques and routines, you'll get plenty of helpful analysis plus some superb transcripts of some of their most famous, classic routines. If you're a Baby Boomer and want to read THE ULTIMATE book to take you down a nostalgic path to your beloved childhood stars, this is all you need. Why? A few reasons:

1. It's filled with tons of bio material about their careers, long lively quotes, a complete listing of their movies, tv and other appearances.

2. It is not a fanzine book. It looks at the two, warts and all, dispells a few of the myths that grew up due to bad reporting and, in one case, apparently, a highly inaccurate Hollywood movie about them done nearly 30 years ago.

3. It traces their whole careers, their triumphs, the sad loss of Costello's drowned son (how he went on the radio nonetheless with his show), their split up, Costello going solo, his tragic untimetly death, Abbott's attempt to stay in show biz, Abbott's tax problems and final years.

4. It has the BEST interviews from people who worked with them and knew them.

5. It has the BEST photos, illustrations - even a full color section that is not available in any other book on them. We don't usually think about this team in color, even though they made two color flicks.

6. Its the BEST COLLECTION of info and the most UP TO DATE. This is basically a comprehensive rewrite (LOTS of new stuff) and expansion of an earlier book on them under a different title. I have both books now and will not part with either.

The biggest compliment of a show biz bio book is that you read it and you immediately want to re-examine the artists' work. You truly won't want to put this book down if you're a comedy fan, just discovering this team, or remember them. Save your money on the other books -- get, read and/or gift this. I'm an entertainer and I collect show biz bios...NO OTHER BOOK ON THIS COMEDY TEAM COMES CLOSE.

First published in 1990 as THE OFFICIAL ABBOTT & COSTELLO SCRAPBOOK, this 1997 release of THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO STORY by Stephen Cox and John Lofflin is an affectionate and nostalgic journey through the career of these two comedians. It's everything the Abbott and Costello fan would want to know, and then some.

A majority of the book's thirteen chapters comprise a narrative history of the team's progression through burlesque, radio, film, television, and animation. Additionally, there's one chapter summarizing each of their 36 films (production facts, cast members, plot, and sidelights), plus the one film that Costello did solo, from 1940 to 1959, and one chapter summarizing each of the 52 installments (cast and plot) of their TV show , which aired in 1952-53. Finally, and perhaps over the top for the reader satisfied with less rather than more, there's a chapter of one-paragraph program synopses for the 156 Abbott & Costello cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the late 60s, by which time Lou was dead, though Bud, by then in declining health, managed to provide the voice for his character.

THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO STORY includes lots of sidebar stories, the most significant of which is perhaps daughter Chris Costello's defense of her father as he was depicted in the 1978 NBC-TV docudrama "Bud and Lou", a production she loathes to this day.

Cox and Lofflin manage not to be too slavish in their admiration of the pair. The authors don't hesitate to remind the reader of A&C's addiction to gambling, in which they lost vast sums at cards, Bud's alcoholism and cavalier attention to U.S. tax law, and Lou's borderline sadistic sense of humor when it came to playing on-set pranks on an old pal, Bobby Barber, whom Costello apparently hired for just that purpose. The most amusing negative aside is one noted as coming from character actress Mary Wickes, who appeared in two A&C films ("Who Done It?" and "Dance with Me, Henry"), and who said:

"I didn't care for them. But that's alright. They just had no taste. They were coarse."

THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO STORY is loaded with photos, which might make it a coffee-table book except that, in its paperback format, it wouldn't likely serve as such in a Martha Stewart home. On the other hand, because of its awkward size - 10" x 8" x 3/4" - it doesn't fit easily on a bookshelf nor is it amenable for inclusion in carry-on luggage for reading on a plane. Perhaps the best way to approach it is to leave it at the bedside, enjoy it immensely at your leisure, then pass it on to a friend when finished.

Abbott and Costello fans be warned: this book shamelessly recylces and abridges material from earlier books, including Jim Mulholland's "Abbott and Costello Book" (1975) and Furmanek and Palumbo's "Abbott and Costello in Hollywood" (1991) in an offhand attempt to cover all of Bud and Lou's work. As a result, it covers nothing well. Other detriments: no index; numerous errors; the corny "theme of baseball" approach; a gushy, juvenile writing style suitable for nine-year-olds. Pick up either of the other books, which are vastly superior.

The Abbott and Costello Story is a must for Abbott and Costello fans. It is not only entertaining and informative, but it is also moving and emotion provoking. For Baby Boomers, it takes us back to to our innocent youth, and gives us a chance to relive those days of deriving pure joy from watching the Boys on TV. This book is a perfect compadium for those of us who have the TV shows [all 52 of them!] and movies of Abbott and Costello on videotape. Let us bring some of that innonence and wholesome family value with us as we head into the 21st Century. Thank You God for Abbott and Costello. This book helps us feel good about their comedy, ourselves, and our country.

Any true fan of Bud and Lou will be delight and even overwhelmed by the amount of great things found within these pages. There is no other book on the market which features such great pictures, interviews, and rare tidbits on Abbott and Costello. This is the difinitive book about the comedy team and the only book you'll have to search for if you enjoy old comedy teams from the vintage era. The FULL COLOR photography inside the book is worth the price of the book itself, not to mention the superb photo reproduction and page quality. The design is bright and easy to access, although I wish it had an index. A few typos in the book. The coauthors did a marvelous job putting Bud and Lou's career into perspective and paying tribute to their unique blend of comedy which traveled the spectrum of stage, film, radio, tv, cartoons, you name it. This is THE book to have. Don't pass it up!

This is a highly recommended ( now out of print? ) book. Covers all the films, all the T.V. shows along with plenty of biographical info. If you like A and C this is for you, a great companion to your film collection.
( One point, when you order, make sure it's packed well unlike the flimsy bit of card mine was packed in ).

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello had their moments of friction, but remained friends even after calling it a day as a comedy team. Bud really was watching "Who's On First" when news of Lou's death came over the TV. Both had tax troubles, but were never destitute.

Sorting fact from myth, "The Abbott & Costello Story" offers fair-minded perspective on what may well have been Hollywood's most successful comedy team, but there's a hole at the heart of the book. It was first published in 1990, 16 years after Bud died and more than 30 years after Lou's passing. Surviving memories seem vague. Abbott & Costello were never embraced by the literati. The one attempt at a definitive history, Bob Thomas's "Bud And Lou", seems to have been something of a smear job. All we really have left is the work itself.

Coming out of vaudeville, Bud and Lou first made a splash on the Kate Smith radio show in 1938. Their first film, "A Night In The Tropics", was a dud, even with a snippet of their trademark "Who's On First" routine thrown in. Movie #2, "Buck Privates", a service comedy released just as the United States geared up for war in 1941, made them megastars.

"They hit when the war broke, and they made America laugh," is how Costello's daughter Paddy explains it here. A top-ten box office draw for more than decade, A&C's light comedies often put them in military service or spooky situations. Storylines were usually secondary; it was the routines that mattered, absurdist bits like Bud explaining to Lou how he was laying off thousands of people by not putting mustard on his hot dog or else just slapping the poor pudgy guy silly.

The pair worked at a furious pace. By the end of 1942, they had already made seven more films since "Buck Privates." The two were rich and not careful with money. Both had many hangers-on, and played poker with pots running to thousands of dollars. A photo from the book shows a standing ashtray Bud kept at home, its crystal basin lined with paper money underneath.

Photos are some of the book's strongest features, posed shots of the pair from their various films as well as others of Bud and Lou with their families. But someone wanting the story of how Bud and Lou first connected will be disappointed. Authors Stephen Cox and John Lofflin present different stories, but shrug off offering anything definitive. The prose tends to be dry. There's a lot of chronology hopping, and not a lot of depth. Even most of the movies get short shrift.

Most annoying is the element of baseball inserted in the text, in the chapter titles, and even in the illustrative iconography. Abbott & Costello may be best known today for their baseball routine, "Who's On First", but it's not the sum total of their career, as quotes by Jerry Seinfeld and others here make clear. A lot of people have seen "Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein" without having heard "Who's On First".

The best moments come in the margins, like the "Sidelights" section on their movies ("Buck Privates" was nominated for two Oscars; Henry Mancini's first work on a film score was "Lost In Alaska") and the notes accompanying many of the photographs. In one, Joe DiMaggio is seen with Lou on the set of "Abbott And Costello Meet Captain Kidd"; with a quote from the Yankee Clipper marveling at how eager the celebrated actor Charles Laughton was to make a movie with Bud and Lou. Even the other legends of their day were in awe of Abbott and Costello; you finish this inconsistent book feeling that way, too.

Nifty bio of the comedy team, with page after page of terrific photos (some in color!) and interesting facts about their careers. Of particular interest for lengthy sections about Bud after the split and the team's tax problems. Overall, a good job, but less adulation would have made book stronger. A&C were terrific comics and solid human beings, the kind of people that we need more of today in Hollywood. This book does a nice job of conveying their humanity in addition to their humor.