Editing Bud Abbott (section)

==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.<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/> 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.<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/> Abbott began performing as a [[straight man]] in the show when he could no longer afford to pay one.<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/> He continued producing and performing in burlesque shows on the [[Mutual Burlesque Association|Mutual Burlesque]] wheel, and as his reputation grew, he began working with veteran comedians like [[Harry Steppe]] and Harry Evanson.<ref name="Furmanek 1991">Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood''. New York: Perigee Books. {{ISBN|0-399-51605-0}}</ref>

===Lou Costello and Hollywood===
Abbott crossed paths with [[Lou Costello]] in the early 1930s, when Abbott was producing and performing in [[Minsky's Burlesque]] shows in New York, and Costello was a rising comic. They worked together for the first time in 1935 at the [[Eltinge Theatre]] on 42nd Street, after an illness sidelined Costello's regular partner.<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/> They formally [[Abbott and Costello|teamed up]] in 1936, and performed together in burlesque, [[minstrel show]]s, what was left of vaudeville, and stage shows.<ref name=nytobit/>

In 1938, they received national exposure as regulars on the ''[[Kate Smith]] Hour'' [[radio]] show, which led to roles in a [[Broadway musical]], ''[[The Streets of Paris]]'' in 1939. In 1940, [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] signed the team for their first film, ''[[One Night in the Tropics]]''. Despite having minor roles, Abbott and Costello stole the film with several classic routines, including an abbreviated version of "[[Who's on First?]]"<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/> Universal signed the team to a two-picture deal, and the first film, ''[[Buck Privates]]'' (1941), became a major hit and led to a long-term contract with the studio.<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/>

[[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."<ref name="kings">{{cite book|title=Kings of the Bs: working within the Hollywood system: an anthology of film history and criticism|year=1975 |publisher=E. P. Dutton |first1=Charles |last1=Flynn |first2=Todd |last2=McCarthy |chapter=Arthur Lubin |editor-first1=Charles |editor-last1=Flynn |editor-first2=Todd |editor-last2=McCarthy |page=367}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/> They were among the [[Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll|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 (radio program)|The Abbott and Costello Show]]'') throughout the 1940s, first on [[NBC]] from 1942 to 1947, and from 1947 to 1949 on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. During a 35-day tour in the summer of 1942, the team sold $85 million worth of War Bonds.<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Abbott and Costello Honored for War Bond Sales |url=https://history.nebraska.gov/blog/abbott-and-costello-honored-war-bond-sales |website=History Nebraska |access-date=December 6, 2021}}</ref>

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 [[wiktionary:straight man|straight man]] was always viewed as the more valuable member of the team. This was eventually changed to 50/50, but after a year in Hollywood, Costello insisted on a 40/60 split in his favor. It remained 40/60 for the rest of their careers. Costello also demanded that the team be renamed "Costello and Abbott," but this was rejected by Universal because the studio had been promoting "Abbott and Costello" for years. Abbott's top billing resulted in a "permanent chill" between the two partners, according to Lou's daughter Chris Costello in her biography ''Lou's on First''. Their relationship was further strained by Abbott's alcohol abuse, a habit motivated by his desire to stave off [[epileptic seizures]].<ref>Thomas, Bob (1977). "Bud and Lou: the Abbott and Costello Story." Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. {{ISBN|0-397-01195-4}}</ref>

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."<ref>Furmanek and Palumbo, pp. 133–134.</ref> 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."<ref>Norman Abbott to Bob Furmanek and Ron Palumbo, p. 144.</ref> 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 [[Internal Revenue Service|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.<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/>

In November 1956, Costello was the subject of the Ralph Edwards–produced TV show ''[[This Is Your Life (American franchise)|This Is Your Life]]''. A month later the team opened in [[Las Vegas]]. The act went badly. Witnesses differ on exactly what happened<ref>Furmanek and Palumbo, p. 260.</ref> (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.<ref>{{cite news |agency= [[United Press International]] |title=Abbott, Costello Split. Comedy Team Breaks Up to Let Abbott Raise Horses |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/07/15/archives/abbott-costello-split-comedy-team-breaks-up-to-let-abbott-raise.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 15, 1957 }}</ref> Costello made solo appearances on several TV shows, including the Steve Allen show, and did one film, ''[[The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock|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.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety215-1959-06#page/n145/mode/1up|title=Bud Abbott Preps New Act with Eddie Foy Jr.|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=June 17, 1959|page=2|access-date=June 15, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>

In 1960, Abbott began performing with a new partner, [[Candy Candido]], to good reviews. But Abbott called it quits, remarking that "No one could ever live up to Lou." The following year, Abbott played a straight role in a dramatic television episode of ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' titled "The Joke's on Me". In 1962, he was interviewed by NBC's [[Jack Lescoulie]], in a nostalgic segment. That year, as it's reported, Abbott was considered for a cameo in Stanley Kramer's comedy ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]''.{{Citation needed |date=August 2022}} In 1964, he suffered the first in a series of [[stroke]]s and recuperated at the [[Motion Picture Country Home]].<ref name="Furmanek 1991"/> The following year, he was filmed on the set of the Elvis Presley movie, ''Frankie and Johnny'', with [[Barbara Stanwyck]], [[Frank Sinatra]] and other celebrities when Presley donated $50,000 to the Motion Picture Relief Fund to help its $40 million building and endowment drive.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/elvis-presley-make-a-charitable-donation-to-the-motion-news-footage/590239562|title = Elvis Presley make a charitable donation to the Motion Picture Relief| date=August 16, 2016 }}</ref> In 1967, Abbott provided his own voice for the [[Hanna-Barbera]] animated series ''[[The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show]]''. Stan Irwin provided the voice of Lou Costello.