Sooner Shadow's Old Time Radio
Return With Us Now To Those Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear, When Radio Was King.
Abbott & Costello ...
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's mastery of fast-paced
verbal repartee made them America's most popular comedy team--in radio, television and the movies. The former vaudeville comedians were so popular that they were able to raise more than $80 million in 1940's war bond drives. Their success at the box office rescued Universal Pictures from bankruptcy. Every week, 20 million radio listeners tuned in to The Abbott and Costello Show, where the comedians showcased many classic vaudeville and burlesque routines. In fact, their most famous skit, the legendary "Who's on First?" had been performed decades earlier by the husband-and-wife burlesque team of Joey and Judy Faye. Bud and Lou insisted on saving the best for last, and only performed "Who's on First?" in each season's final broadcast of their show.
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's mastery of fast-paced
verbal repartee made them America's most popular comedy team--in radio, television and the movies. The former vaudeville comedians were so popular that they were able to raise more than $80 million in 1940's war bond drives. Their success at the box office rescued Universal Pictures from bankruptcy. Every week, 20 million radio listeners tuned in to The Abbott and Costello Show, where the comedians showcased many classic vaudeville and burlesque routines. In fact, their most famous skit, the legendary "Who's on First?" had been performed decades earlier by the husband-and-wife burlesque team of Joey and Judy Faye. Bud and Lou insisted on saving the best for last, and only performed "Who's on First?" in each season's final broadcast of their show.
Abbott & Costello
Abbott and Costello got their big break in radio when they were recruited to replace Henny Youngman on The Kate Smith Hour. Initially, producer Ted Collins refused to allow the duo to perform their "Who's on First?" routine, so Bud and Lou resorted to subterfuge. Even though they had hundreds of old vaudeville routines in their repertoire, the boys pretended they didn't have another comedy sketch prepared for that week's show. "Maybe we'd better skip this week," Lou suggested. "Oh, no you don't," Collins yelled. "You still have that silly baseball thing...Use it!" The initial broadcast of "Who's on First?" made Abbott and Costello an overnight sensation. They reprised the routine many times on The Kate Smith Hour and in their feature films One Night in the Tropics and The Naughty Nineties.
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