Editing Abbott and Costello (section)

=="Who's on First?"==
{{Main|Who's on First?}}
"Who's on First?" is Abbott and Costello's signature routine. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine (December 26, 1999) named it the best comedy routine of the 20th century. The sketch was based on other earlier burlesque wordplay routines. They began honing the routine shortly after teaming up in 1936, and performed it in vaudeville in 1937 and 1938. It was first heard by a national radio audience on March 24, 1938, when the team were regulars on the Kate Smith radio show.<ref name="auto"/> By then, [[John Grant (screenwriter)|John Grant]] had been writing or adapting other sketches for the team and may have helped expand "Who's on First?" prior to its radio debut. He stayed on as their head writer into the 1950s.

Depending upon the version, Abbott has either organized a new baseball team and the players have nicknames, or he points out the proliferation of nicknames in baseball (citing [[St. Louis Cardinals]] sibling [[pitcher]]s [[Dizzy Dean|Dizzy]] and [[Paul Dean (baseball)|Daffy Dean]]) before launching into the routine. The [[infielder]]s' nicknames are Who ([[first baseman|first base]]), What ([[second baseman|second base]]) and I Don't Know ([[third baseman|third base]]). The key to the routine is Costello's mounting frustration set against Abbott's unyielding formality. Audio recordings are readily available on the Internet.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/download/1940sComedy/Comedy-abbotAndCostello-WhosOnFirst1942.mp3 |format=MP3|title=Listen to "Who's on First?" from a 1942 radio performance|website=Archive.org}}</ref>

A notable version is the first television performance on the 1951 ''[[The Colgate Comedy Hour|Colgate Comedy Hour]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/download/AbbottCostelloWhosOnFirst/AbbottAndCostello-WhosOnFirst.mp4 |format=MP4|title=Abbott and Costello performing "Who's on First?" in 1951 from the Colgate Comedy Hour|website=Archive.org}}</ref>

[[File:AbbottCostelloWhosOnFirst.jpg|left|thumb|Abbott and Costello performing "[[Who's on First?]]"]]
"Who's on First?" is believed to be available in as many as twenty versions, ranging from one minute to up to ten minutes. The team could time the routine at will, adding or deleting portions as needed for films, radio or television. The longest version is seen in "The Actors' Home" episode of their filmed TV series, running approximately eight minutes. A live performance commemorating the opening day of the Lou Costello Jr Youth Foundation in 1947 was recorded, and has been included in numerous comedy albums. The team's final performance of "Who's on First?" on TV was on [[The Steve Allen Show|Steve Allen's variety show]] in 1957.