Editing Abbott and Costello (section)

==Later years==
In the 1950s, Abbott and Costello's popularity waned with the emergence of [[Martin and Lewis|Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis]]. Another reason for their decline was overexposure.<ref name="auto"/> Each year they made two new films, while [[Realart Pictures Inc.|Realart Pictures]] re-issued their older hits; their filmed television series was widely syndicated, and the same routines appeared frequently on the Colgate program. (Parke Levy, a writer,  told Jordan R. Young, the author, in ''The Laugh Crafters: Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age'',<ref name="Young/Laugh-Crafters">{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Jordan R. |title=The Laugh Crafters: Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age |date=1999 |publisher=Past Times |isbn=978-0-940410-37-4 |language=en}}</ref> that he was stunned to learn that the pair were afraid to perform new material.)

In 1952, Abbott and Costello sued Universal for breach of contract for $5,000,000.<ref name="AC-Breach-suit-1952">{{cite news |last1=Pryor |first1=Thomas M. |title=ABBOTT, COSTELLO STOP DAMAGE SUIT; Comedians Cancel Action for $5,000,000 Against Universal Charging Contract Breach |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/10/31/archives/abbott-costello-stop-damage-suit-comedians-cancel-action-for.html |access-date=12 March 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=31 October 1952 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312133614/https://www.nytimes.com/1952/10/31/archives/abbott-costello-stop-damage-suit-comedians-cancel-action-for.html |archive-date=12 March 2025}}</ref> Universal dropped the comedy team in 1955 after they could not agree on contract terms. In the early 1950s, the [[Internal Revenue Service]] charged them for back taxes, forcing them to sell their homes and most of their assets, including the rights to most of their films.<ref name="auto"/>

In 1956, they made one independent film, ''[[Dance with Me, Henry]]'', and Costello was the subject of the television program ''[[This Is Your Life (American franchise)|This Is Your Life]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/download/TIYL_Lou_Costello/TIYL_Lou_Costello_512kb.mp4|format=MP4|title=This is your Life Lou Costello|website=Archive.org}}</ref> then formally dissolved their partnership in 1957.<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><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2cZRAAAAIBAJ&dq=lou+costello&pg=7136,2077109|title=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |via= Google News Archive Search|website=News.google.com|access-date=September 23, 2017}}</ref> In his posthumously published 1959 autobiography, ''[[My Wicked, Wicked Ways]]'',<ref>{{cite book|title=My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Autobiography of Errol Flynn|first1=Errol|last1=Flynn|first2=Jeffrey|last2=Meyers|date=November 4, 2002|publisher=Cooper Square Press|isbn=0815412509}}</ref> [[Errol Flynn]] claims that he triggered the breakup. Flynn, a chronic practical joker, invited them, along with their wives and children, to his house for dinner, and afterwards, he commenced to show a home movie that "accidentally" turned out to be hard-core pornography. While Flynn pretended to be baffled, Costello and Abbott each blamed the other for the film's substitution.

In his last years, Costello made about ten solo appearances on ''[[The Steve Allen Show]]'' doing many of the old routines without Abbott. Costello performed [[Stand-up comedy|stand-up]] in [[Las Vegas]], and appeared in episodes of ''[[General Electric Theater|GE Theater]]'' and ''[[Wagon Train]]''. On March 3, 1959, not long after completing his lone solo film, ''[[The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock]]'', he died of a heart attack three days short of his 53rd birthday.<ref name=nytobit>{{cite news |title=Lou Costello, 52, Dies on Coast. Comic Had Teamed With Abbott. 'Little Guy Trying to Be a Big Shot' in Films and on TV-Partners Broke Up in '57 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/03/04/archives/lou-costello-52-dies-on-coast-comic-had-teamed-with-abbott-little.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 4, 1959}}</ref>

Abbott attempted a comeback in 1960 with [[Candy Candido]]. Although the new act received good reviews, Abbott quit, saying, "No one could ever live up to Lou." Abbott made a solo, dramatic appearance on an episode of ''General Electric Theater'' in 1961. In 1966, Abbott voiced his character in a series of 156 five-minute ''[[The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show|Abbott and Costello]]'' cartoons made by [[Hanna-Barbera]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toontracker.com/lh-ac/lh-ac.htm |title=Toon Tracker's Laurel & Hardy/Abbott & Costello Cartoons Page |access-date=June 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070530054057/http://www.toontracker.com/lh-ac/lh-ac.htm |archive-date=May 30, 2007  }}</ref> Costello's character was voiced by Stan Irwin. Bud Abbott died of cancer on April 24, 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rY5AAAAAIBAJ&pg=4590,5423224&dq=bud+abbott+dies&hl=en|title=The Glasgow Herald |via=Google News Archive Search|access-date=September 23, 2017}}</ref><ref name="nytimes/abbott-dead"/>