Abbott and Costello
Abbott and Costello were a famous US -amerikanisches comedian duo consisting of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello . They have appeared in film, radio, theater and television and were a successful comedian duo in America in the 1940s and early 1950s.
collaboration
Costello met Abbott in 1931 while he was working as a cashier at the Brooklyn Theater in New York . Costello asked Abbott to step in as a cue since his actual partner was ill. During the 1930s, Abbott and Costello began their careers in burlesques , variety shows, music shows, and movie theaters.
Costello insisted on dividing the profits from the shows 60:40 in favor of Abbott. He was of the opinion: “There are a dime a dozen comedians. Good keywords are difficult to find. "
Film projects
They made their first national appearance on the Kate Smith Radio Hour Show in 1938 , and the following year they signed a deal with Universal Studios . In 1940 they made their first film, One Night in the Tropics . Although Abbott and Costello only had supporting roles in this film, it became famous for Who's on First? , which is difficult to translate into German, to your film. As a result of this production, they were kept under contract by Universal Pictures and directed 27 other films for the studio as leading actors. In contrast, only eight films by the duo were made in other studios. In addition to these 36 films made between 1940 and 1956, there was a cameo in Fireman Save My Child in 1954 , which was largely prevented by Costello due to an illness (the two can only be seen in long shots), and a few mainly for advertising purposes produced short films in which the two had guest appearances.
In 1948 Abbott and Costello made the horror comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ( Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein ), in which they worked alongside the then greatest genre stars Bela Lugosi (as Count Dracula ), Lon Chaney Jr. (as a werewolf ) and Glenn Strange (as Frankenstein's monster ) were seen; Vincent Price was also part of the vocal as the invisible one . This film was an international success and the beginning of a series of feature films in which the comedians are confronted with well-known characters from the horror and crime cinema. However, Abbott and Costello could no longer match the success of the Frankenstein parody.
In the German-speaking countries, the two are still rather unknown. Only some of their films were dubbed at all, and most of these German versions are no longer available and may even have been lost. Three films were released on DVD that were only produced for small studios. These also include the only two Abbott and Costello color films Jack and the Beanstalk and Abbott & Costello Meet Captain Kidd . The third film Africa Screams is also available in a color version, which is, however, a subsequently colored version. In April 2011 the DVD box "Abbott & Costello meet the Hollywood monsters" with the black and white films "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein", "Abbott and Costello on Sherlock Holmes' footsteps", "Abbott and Costello against Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ”and“ Abbott and Costello as mummy robbers ”published.
watch TV
After a few years, the duo also got their own television series (The Abbott and Costello Show) , which was first broadcast in 1952 and 1953, as well as several radio shows. In addition, they acted as presenters in several episodes of the live television show The Colgate Comedy Hour , who always actively intervened in the action. Last but not least, they continued to be active on stage with their programs.
After Costello's death in 1959, Abbott directed another animated series broadcast in 1967 with the two as the main characters, in which he also dubbed his part himself. Without Costello as an actor in front of the camera, he only appeared once, in an episode of the 1961 General Electric Theater series . Costello also had an appearance in this series without Abbott, and shortly before his death also turned the comedy The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock , which was only published posthumously . He also had several appearances on the Steve Allen Show , also without Abbott, and was therefore much more keen to pursue a solo career. A year before his death, he last managed a change of image when he played an alcoholic in an episode of the series Wagon Train .
In November 1978, a biopic about the two of them, entitled Bud and Lou , was broadcast on US television , in which Bud Abbott by Harvey Korman and Lou Costello by Buddy Hackett , who had already made him the cameo in Fireman Save My Child represented, was played. The content of the film is very controversial.
separation
Abbott and Costello split in 1957 after problems with the tax authorities that drove them both to bankruptcy. Costello had also lost confidence in his partner Abbott, as appearances should have failed because of his alcohol consumption , with which he - according to reports - was trying to control his epilepsy , and not because of another success that could have saved them financially was more to think about. Shortly before the premiere of their last film together, Abbott had tried in November 1956 to surprise Costello with an episode of the television show This Is Your Life dedicated to him . Instead of rushing the two together again, the show got a rather dreary character, as u. a. the death of Costello's only son was made the subject in front of the camera and there was also a desperate attempt to draw a beautiful picture of the Costello family.
The duo parted in a dispute, and Abbott is said to have only found out about Costello's death from a newspaper, as it was called in the media at the time, but the families were good friends, which ultimately had an enduring character, and possibly an official " Reconciliation ”of the two was only prevented by the sudden death of Lou Costello. Their popularity is unbroken. In the US, all of her films have been released on DVD. Her TV series and several of her Colgate Comedy Hour episodes are also available on DVD. Groucho Marx once described Bud Abbott as the best catchphrase there has ever been in comedy. Costello, on the other hand, can be seen as one of the most talented comedians in film history, who enjoyed and still enjoys great popularity with his childlike, playful manner, which in some cases was almost comic-like in character.
Filmography
- 1940: One Night in the Tropics
- 1941: Buck Privates
- 1941: In the Navy
- 1941: Beware of ghosts! (Hold That Ghost)
- 1941: Parachute acrobats (Keep 'Em Flying)
- 1942: Heroes in the Saddle (Ride 'Em Cowboy)
- 1942: Rio Rita
- 1942: Abbott and Costello among cannibals (Pardon My Sarong)
- 1942: Who Done It?
- 1943: It Ain't Hay
- 1943: Abbott and Costello on Black Ice (Hit the Ice)
- 1944: In Society
- 1944: Adventure in a Harem (Lost in a Harem)
- 1945: Here Come the Co-eds
- 1945: The Naughty Nineties
- 1945: Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood)
- 1946: Little Giant
- 1946: The Time of Their Lives
- 1947: Two cloudy cups - discharged from the military (Buck Private Come Home)
- 1947: The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap
- 1948: The Noose Hangs High
- 1948: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein)
- 1948: Abbott and Costello in the land of the cacti (Mexican Hayride)
- 1949: Crazy Africa / Jungle of Dangers / On Safari (Africa Screams)
- 1949: Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer
- 1950: Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
- 1951: In the footsteps of Sherlock Holmes (Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man)
- 1951: Comin 'Round the Mountain
- 1952: Jack and the Beanstalk (Jack and the Beanstalk)
- 1952: Lost in Alaska
- 1952: Abbott and Costello as unwilling pirates ( Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd )
- 1953: Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
- 1953: Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- 1954: Fireman Save My Child
- 1955: Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops)
- 1955: Abbott and Costello as mummy robbers (Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy)
- 1956: Great Boys in Action (Dance with Me Henry)
literature
- Richard J. Anobile : Who's On First? Verbal and Visual Gems from the Films of Abbott & Costello . Studio Vista, London 1973, ISBN 0-289-70335-2
