Editing Bud Abbott (section)

===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.