Bud Abbott
Bud Abbott | |
---|---|
Woodland Hills, California , U.S. | |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1924–1968 |
Spouse |
Betty Smith (m. 1918) |
Children | 2 |
William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897[a] – April 24, 1974) was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello.[1]
Early life
Abbott was born in
During the summer, when burlesque was on hiatus, his father worked at Dreamland Park in Coney Island. Bud dropped out of grammar school to work at the park. In his teens, Abbott signed on as a cabin boy on a Norwegian steamer, but was soon forced to shovel coal. He worked his way back to the United States a year later.[4]
Career
In his late teens, Abbott began working in the box office of the Casino Theatre in Brooklyn, a burlesque house on the Columbia wheel.[1] He spent the next few years in burlesque box offices, rising to treasurer. In 1918, while working in Washington, D.C., he met and married Jenny Mae Pratt (1902–1981), a burlesque dancer and comedienne who performed as Betty Smith. They remained together until his death 55 years later. Betty performed on the Columbia Wheel, while Bud mostly remained behind the scenes. In 1923, he produced a cut-rate vaudeville tab show called Broadway Flashes, which toured on the small-time Gus Sun circuit.[1] Abbott began performing as a straight man in the show when he could no longer afford to pay one.[1] He continued producing and performing in burlesque shows on the Mutual Burlesque wheel, and as his reputation grew, he began working with veteran comedians like Harry Steppe and Harry Evanson.[1]
Lou Costello and Hollywood
Abbott crossed paths with
In 1938, they received national exposure as regulars on the
Arthur Lubin, who directed the team's first five starring films, later said: "I don't think there has ever been a finer straight man in the business than Bud Abbott. Lou would go off the script – because he was that clever with lines – and Bud would bring him right back."[5]
During World War II, Abbott and Costello were among the most popular and highest-paid stars in the world. Between 1940 and 1956, they made 36 films and earned a percentage of the profits on each.[1] They were among the Top 10 box office stars from 1941 through 1951, and placed No. 1 in 1942. They also had their own radio program (The Abbott and Costello Show) throughout the 1940s, first on NBC from 1942 to 1947, and from 1947 to 1949 on ABC. During a 35-day tour in the summer of 1942, the team sold $85 million worth of War Bonds.[1][6]
In the 1950s, they introduced their comedy to live television on The Colgate Comedy Hour, and launched their own half-hour filmed series, The Abbott and Costello Show (1952–54).
Strain and split
Relations between Abbott and Costello were strained by egos and salary disputes. In burlesque, they split their earnings 60/40, favoring Abbott, because the
In mid-1945, the comedians were not on speaking terms after Costello fired a maid and Abbott, having no grievance with the maid, hired her. As Costello recalled in 1958: "She went to work for Abbott. I explained to Bud why I let her go, and asked him to fire her, but he wouldn't."[8] Costello refused to speak to Abbott except when they were working. In 1946, the team's box office ranking dropped out of the Top 10 and the studio, with Costello's assent, split the team in character roles in two films: Little Giant and The Time of Their Lives. "Bud didn't like doing them at all," said Abbott's nephew Norman Abbott. "He felt that Lou wanted to go on and be a different kind of comedian, that he didn't want to be a team anymore. So the parts were written that way in couple of pictures, and it didn't work."[9] Abbott resolved their personal situation when he suggested that the team's ongoing plans to build a civic center for underprivileged children be named after Costello's son, who drowned before his first birthday. The Lou Costello, Jr. Youth Foundation opened in Los Angeles in 1947 and is still serving the community.
The team's popularity waned in the mid-1950s, and the IRS demanded substantial back taxes, forcing the partners (both of whom had been free spenders and serious gamblers) to sell most of their assets, including the rights to many of their films. When the team's long-term contract with Universal was up in 1954, they demanded more money than the studio was willing to pay, and they were dropped after 14 years at the studio.[1]
In November 1956, Costello was the subject of the Ralph Edwards–produced TV show This Is Your Life. A month later the team opened in Las Vegas. The act went badly. Witnesses differ on exactly what happened[10] (one version has Costello leading a drunk Abbott off the stage), but the accounts agree that Abbott's timing had slowed down noticeably, throwing Costello's responses off and embarrassing him.
Abbott and Costello split in 1957, shortly before Costello appeared on Steve Allen's variety show.[11] Costello made solo appearances on several TV shows, including the Steve Allen show, and did one film, The Thirty-Foot Bride of Candy Rock (released posthumously in 1959). Costello died on March 3, 1959.
Later years
Abbott faced financial difficulties in the late 1950s when the IRS disallowed $500,000 in tax exemptions which forced him to sell his home and come out of semi-retirement.[12]
In 1960, Abbott began performing with a new partner,
Personal life
Abbott suffered from epilepsy starting from about 1926.
Bud and Betty Abbott were married for 55 years. The couple adopted two children: Bud Jr. (August 23, 1939 – January 19, 1997[14]) in 1942 and Rae Victoria (Vickie) (March 27, 1942 – April 28, 2021[15]) in 1949.
Norman and Betty Abbott, the children of Bud's older sister, Olive, started their careers in Hollywood working behind the scenes on the Abbott and Costello films. Betty became Blake Edwards' longtime script supervisor, and Norman directed many episodic television series, including Leave It to Beaver, The Jack Benny Program, Sanford and Son and Welcome Back, Kotter.
Bud has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: the radio star is located at 6333 Hollywood Boulevard, the motion pictures star is located at 1611 Vine Street, and the television star is located at 6740 Hollywood Boulevard.[16]
Abbott was a Freemason via Daylight Lodge No. 525 in Michigan.[17]
Death
Abbott died of cancer at age 76 on April 24, 1974, at his home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.
His widow, Betty, died on September 12, 1981.[citation needed]
When asked about Abbott shortly after his death, Groucho Marx replied that Abbott was "the greatest straight man that ever lived."[20]
Honors and awards
Abbott and Costello are among the few non-baseball personnel to be memorialized in the
Abbott and Costello each have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their work in radio, television and motion pictures.
In 1942, they were voted the country's No. 1 Box Office Stars by exhibitors. They ranked among the Top Ten in 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1951.
Abbott received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting (posthumously) from the Garden State Film Festival in 2006; it was accepted on his behalf by his daughter Vickie Abbott Wheeler.[22]
Abbott is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame.[23]
Filmography
Television | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1951–1954 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Host | Multiple episodes |
1952–1954 | The Abbott and Costello Show | Bud Abbott | 52 Episodes |
1961 | General Electric Theater | Ernie Kauffman | Episode: "The Joke's On Me" (04/16/61) |
1967–1968 | The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show | Abbott | Voice, 39 Episodes, 156 segments |
Other works | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role |
1941 | Meet the People | Himself |
1942 | Picture People No. 10: Hollywood at Home | Himself |
1949 | Screen Snapshots: Motion Picture Mothers, Inc. | Himself |
1952 | News of the Day | Himself |
1954 | Screen Snapshots Series 33, No. 10: Hollywood Grows Up | Himself |
1955 | Toast of the Town | Himself |
1956 | This Is Your Life | Himself; Episode Lou Costello |
1999 | The Century: America's Time | Archival footage |
1999 | ABC 2000: The Millennium | Voice, Archival footage |
Explanatory notes
- ^ The year of birth has been reported as 1895, 1896, 1897, and 1898 in different sources. The 1895 date was perpetuated by sources copying from earlier incorrect sources. His birth certificate and World War I draft card both use "October 2, 1897".
References
- ^ ISBN 0-399-51605-0
- ^ The year of birth has been reported as 1895, 1896, 1897, and 1898 in different sources. The 1895 date was perpetuated by sources copying from earlier sources. His birth certificate and World War I draft card both use "October 2, 1897".
- ^ Stafford, Tom. "'Straight man' Abbott's vow renewal film a Springfield treasure". Springfield News Sun. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Bud Abbott, Straight Man To Lou Costello, Is Dead". The New York Times. April 25, 1974.
- ^ Flynn, Charles; McCarthy, Todd (1975). "Arthur Lubin". In Flynn, Charles; McCarthy, Todd (eds.). Kings of the Bs: working within the Hollywood system: an anthology of film history and criticism. E. P. Dutton. p. 367.
- ^ "Abbott and Costello Honored for War Bond Sales". History Nebraska. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- ISBN 0-397-01195-4
- ^ Furmanek and Palumbo, pp. 133–134.
- ^ Norman Abbott to Bob Furmanek and Ron Palumbo, p. 144.
- ^ Furmanek and Palumbo, p. 260.
- ^ "Abbott, Costello Split. Comedy Team Breaks Up to Let Abbott Raise Horses". The New York Times. United Press International. July 15, 1957.
- Archive.org.
- ^ "Elvis Presley make a charitable donation to the Motion Picture Relief". August 16, 2016.
- ^ "Bud Abbott Jr". Variety. February 5, 1997. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- ^ "Rae Victoria Wheeler Obituary". Echovita. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "Hollywood Walk of Fame – Bud Abbott". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- ^ "Famous Freemasons (A – Z) – Freemasons Community". freemasonscommunity.life. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ "The Glasgow Herald – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0786479924.
- ^ Furmanek and Palumbo, p. 45.
- ISBN 0-19-507678-8.
- ^ "4th Annual Garden State Film Festival, March 31 – April 2, 2006" (4th Annual Winners – 2006). Garden State Film Festival.
- ^ Spoto, MaryAnn (February 2, 2009). "Bon Jovi, Shaq, Abbott and Costello make N.J. Hall of Fame". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009.
- ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
External links
- Bud Abbott at IMDb
- Bud Abbott at the TCM Movie Database
- Bud Abbott at AllMovie
- Bud Abbott in the Hollywood Walk of Fame Directory