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Abbott & Costello

The Time of Their Lives was one of my favorites. Just a classic ghost story. And while the baseball sketch was one of their most famous we mustn't forget the countless other skits that they were known for. "Hey, Chick" (with the candles) and the Susquehanna Hat Company are two that come to mind and for me are remembered much more fondly. Their war movies were pretty good, too.

I love these guys, and would love to have thier entire colletion someday.
 
Highly Selassie said:
Also, it's been adapted and reintroduced to new generations. I remember an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures from the early '90s that used the "Who's on first" routine in the context of a concert festival.
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Not to mention this dialogue from "Airplane 2 -The sequel"

Simon: Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet your captain, Captain Oveur.
Clarence Oveur: Gentlemen, welcome aboard.
Simon: Captain, your navigator, Mr. Unger, and your first officer, Mr. Dunn.
Clarence Oveur: Unger.
Unger: Oveur.
Dunn: Oveur.
Clarence Oveur: Dunn. Gentlemen, let's get to work.
Simon: Unger, didn't you serve under Oveur in the Air Force?
Unger: Not directly. Technically, Dunn was under Oveur and I was under Dunn.
Dunn: Yep.
Simon: So, Dunn, you were under Oveur and over Unger.
Unger: Yep.
Clarence Oveur: That's right. Dunn was over Unger and I was over Dunn.
Unger: So, you see, both Dunn and I were under Oveur, even though I was under Dunn.
Clarence Oveur: Dunn was over Unger, and I was over Dunn.



Ows a LOT to Abbott and Costello :D
 
Brings back good memories of my grandfather. Laurel and Hardy too, or as he called them 'fatty and skinny.'
 
firestorm said:
Brings back good memories of my grandfather. Laurel and Hardy too, or as he called them 'fatty and skinny.'
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Was he German?? They were called "Die Dicke und die Dünne" down there, AND syncronized off course....
 
An Abbott & Costello bit that I try to use whenever possible.



Me: I saw this big flock of deer yesterday.

Other: It’s a heard of deer not a flock.

Me: What?

Other: Heard of deer.

Me: Of course I’ve heard of deer.
 
imjohn said:
Some of their routines were very good. Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein was the death rattle of the Universal Horror Films, but is very funny.
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"What was that?"
"That was the wind."
"Needs oil."

"Everybody knows Dracula isn't real ..."
"But does Dracula know it?"

Funny thing ... A&B meet quite a few monsters in the above mentioned film. The only one they don't meet is Frankenstein.
 
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The one episode that allways has med rolling with laughter is the one where Abbot is helping Costello get some sleep by giving him earplugs. Everytime Costello puts the earplugs in Abbot makes one more remark, that Abbott can't hear and screams "What" - It goes on for a while and is SO beautifully timed. :D
 
applecorped said:
A&C. 7X13=28.

:)
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Another one of my favorite bits from A&C, although I've never actually tried it on anybody, I have to give that a shot sometime. I have a book of some of their popular skits, but I haven't looked at it in years. I'll have to dig it out again.
 
Highly Selassie said:
Also, it's been adapted and reintroduced to new generations. I remember an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures from the early '90s that used the "Who's on first" routine in the context of a concert festival.
Click to expand...

Alan King used to do a variation of "Who's on first" using names of rock bands.

I'm a big A&C fan. You can get their TV shows on DVD now. The quality of the video is terrific - glorious black and white. They recreate all of their famous routines from stage, screen, and radio.

My favorite routines are 7x13=28 (as mentioned earlier - they perform it a few different ways in movies and on TV) and the one where Abbott teaches Costello to play dice (pretty much the only time Costello gets the best of Abbott).

-- Roger
 
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jadebox said:
Alan King used to do a variation of "Who's on first" using names of rock bands.

I'm a big A&C fan. You can get their TV shows on DVD now. The quality of the video is terrific - glorious black and white. They recreate all of their famous routines from stage, screen, and radio.

My favorite routines are 7x13=28 (as mentioned earlier - they perform it a few different ways in movies and on TV) and the one where Abbott teaches Costello to play dice (pretty much the only time Costello gets the best of Abbott).

-- Roger
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The dice bit is also one of my favorites (for the same reason), after reviewing the book I have, I really can not find any other bits that one might be able to perform with an unknowing “straight man” (your friends and family). The herd of deer, heard of deer bit is workable but you just need some flexibility and act real stupid (keep repeating flock or group of cows or deer) until your “mark” gives you the appropriate statement (sometimes you just can’t sell it or they just aint buying it). The 7 x 13 =28 bit I think is the only other one that I might be able to work in with a unsuspecting “straight man” but I just need to be given the right pretense and it is still going to be a hard act to pull off. As always, successful or unsuccessful, in the end I give credit to the originators of any routine to those I attempt to perform it with, even though they might not know they are performing it at the time.

ETA:
I just did the herd of deer, heard of deer bit on my girlfriend and her son at dinner. Although I targeted him, he just wasn’t going for it, so I had to carry it along like I said before. Eventually she jumps in with “what’s wrong with you? It’s a herd of deer”, a couple of “what?” from me and then it was “hook, line and sinker”.
 
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http://www.abbottandcostello.net/funfacts.asp

There's more at the link:


Did you know that...

Abbott & Costello raised a record 3 million in just 3 days on behalf of the war bond effort.

Lou Cristillo became Lou Costello after the actress Dolores Costello! It was Ms Costello who advised Lou to hone his craft and then let Hollywood ask for him.

One of Lou's first films in Hollywood, long before teaming with Bud, was in a Laurel &
Hardy film "Battle of the Century!" Lou can be seen as a spectator in the boxing sequence.

One of Bud Abbotts first partners was his wife, Betty (Jenny Mae Pratt). In fact, Betty for a time worked with Lou, before Bud and Lou became a team.

Abbott & Costello were the first non-baseball playing celebrities ever to be inducted into the world-famous Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957.

Abbott & Costello were the first contractual stars with a major film studio to contractually receive 10% profit participation on their films.
 
The interesting thing about "Who's On First?" is that Costello is the straight man throughout the piece. Of course, Costello's reactions create much of the humor. Costello had so many terrific bits: the "homina homina" bit when he was scared, the "I'm a bad boy", the "Hold me back, hold me back--you're not holding me back!" routine when facing a tough guy... great moments in comedy.
 
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