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There was a lot more to Bud Abbott (on the right in the pic above) and Lou Costello (on the left, of course!) than most of us realize. I know I always just thought of them as light-hearted, hilarious, clowns that brought a lot of fun into the world. And, onscreen that was totally true. Ofscreen, the men barely resembled the characters they played.
Facts about Bud Abbott
Born in 1895
His mom was a bareback rider for the Ringling Bothers Circus.
One story has it that, at Lou Costello’s insistance, the monies earned from the their act were split 60/40, favoring Bud Abbott. Lou Costello’s reasoned that “comics are a dime a dozen. Good straight men are hard to find.” (see below for the other side of the story)
Bud Abbott was a lifelong epileptic.
His twin sister, Olive Victoria Abbott, was in vaudeville and lived to be 101 years old!
Bud Abbott was an avid gun collector and once owned an Adolf Hitler shotgun.
After Abbott and Costello broke up, Bud Abbott said, “I never understood Lou.”
Died in 1974
Facts About Lou Costello
Born in 1906
Before heading to vaudeville, Lou Costello worked as a stutman.
Lou Costello was married to Anne Battler from January 1934 – March 1959 (his death)
Lou mentioned his hometown (Paterson, New Jersey) in virtually every episode of his TV show and in many of his films – listen for it, it’s amazing (and touching) how he works it in!
Tragically, his only son, Lou Jr., drowned in the family’s swimming pool just days before his first birthday.
Lou Costello simply took home any prop or furniture from a set that he took a liking to. Once, during filming of Hit The Ice, the director was reshooting a scene when he noticed all the furniture was gone! Sure enough, Lou had hauled it off to his place – so an arrangement was made for him to bring it back just long enough to reshoot the scenes.
Costello, outrageously enough, wanted to change the name of the duo to “Costello and Abbott.” Naturally, Universal Pictures wasn’t for the idea. The result was a “permanent chill” between the partners that lasted until their split in the late 1950s.
Initially, the earnings for the duo were 60/40, in Abbott’s favor. One story has it that this bothered Costello GREATLY and that he fought hard to change it.
In 1943, Lou was developed rheumatic fever. The disease damaged his heart and led to the heart attack that killed him when he was only in his early 50’s.
After the death of his son, Lou Costello Jr., he somehow performed the “Who’s On First” routine as usual, but with tears running down his face.
Lou was an amateur boxer.
Lou Costello always suspected Universal Pictures of cheating him and Bud Abbott out of some of the profits of their pictures, but he could never prove it. Apparently that’s why he didn’t feel guilty about taking home expensive props! According to IMDB, one day Lou’s manager stopped in a photo supply store in Hollywood to buy some film and noticed a display that was selling 8mm film clips from Abbott and Costello films that he had never heard of! He learned that Universal was lifting scenes from the duo’s early films, retitling them, selling them for the then burgeoning home 8mm market and not paying Abbott & Costello anything. The team sued Universal and received a hefty out-of-court settlement.
Lou Costello died in 1959 (He was only 53)
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