Africa Screams is a 1949 comedy film starring Abbott and Costello and directed by Charles Barton that parodied the safari genre. The title is a play on the. Abbott and Costello were a comedy double act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. The team was composed of William 'Bud' Abbott and Lou. One Night in the Tropics (1940) Buck Privates (1941) In The Navy (1941) Hold That Ghost. Abbott and Costello - Wikipedia. Abbott and Costello were a comedy double act during the early. Classical Hollywood era of American cinema. The team was composed of William . Their patter routine . He worked at Coney Island and ran his own burlesque touring companies. He first worked as a straight man with his wife Betty, then with veteran burlesque comedians like Harry Steppe and Harry Evanson. When he met his future partner in comedy, Abbott was performing in Minsky's Burlesque shows, and had been working at least a decade before meeting Lou Costello. He appears briefly in the 1. ![]() Laurel and Hardysilenttwo- reeler, The Battle of the Century, seated at ringside during Stan Laurel's ill- fated boxing match. This first performance together occurred due to Costello's regular partner being ill. The duo built an act by refining and reworking numerous burlesque sketches into the long- familiar presence of Abbott as the devious straight man, and Costello as the stumbling, dimwitted laugh- getter. Movies and fame. To solve the problem, Costello began affecting a high- pitched, childish voice. Cast in supporting roles, they stole the show with several classic routines, including the . The same year they were a summer replacement on radio for Fred Allen. Two years later, they had their own NBC program, The Abbott and Costello Show. Universal then signed them to a long- term contract, and their second film, Buck Privates, in 1. Universal also added glitzy production numbers to capitalize on the popular musical- comedy film genre of the day, which featured such acts as Ted Lewis and his Orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, Martha Raye, The Merry Macs, and Dick Foran, singing . Bud & Lou's sequel, In The Navy, featured crooner Dick Powell along with the Andrews Sisters, and initially out- grossed Buck Privates, with the management at Loew's Criterion in Manhattan keeping theater doors open until 5 a. Abbott and Costello adventure-comedy film that parodies the safari genre. The title is a play on the 1930 documentary, 'Africa Speaks!'. Bud Abbott, Actor: The Abbott and Costello Show. Long acknowledged as one of the best 'straight men' in the business, Bud Abbott was born William Alexander Abbott in. Hold That Ghost (which had been completed before production of In the Navy began) when first shown to preview audiences, received complaints from film- goers on feedback cards that they were disappointed not to see The Andrews Sisters, so the trio was hired and musical numbers were added to a re- edited version as a prologue and epilogue. The singing sisters became good friends with Costello during this period, enjoying many barbecues and film showings with their parents at Lou's home throughout the early 1. In 1. 94. 5, the two acts traded guest appearances on each other's top- rated radio shows. They were among the most popular and highest- paid entertainers in the world during World War II. In the latter film, Bela Lugosi reprised his famous role as Dracula for the final time, with Lon Chaney Jr. The film ended with a voice cameo by Vincent Price as the Invisible Man. On December 8, 1. Pearl Harbor, Abbott and Costello had their prints set in concrete at what was then . In 1. 94. 2, they were the top box office draw with four films, earning a total of $1. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1. Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (by vocalists such as Connie Haines, Ashley Eustis, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, Marilyn Maxwell, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi- regulars on the show included Artie Auerbach (. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott and Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello routinely insulted his on- air wife). Niles was succeeded by Michael Roy, with announcing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle. The show went through several orchestras during its radio life, including those of Ennis, Charles Hoff, Matty Matlock, Matty Malneck, Jack Meakin, Will Osborne, Fred Rich, Leith Stevens, and Peter van Steeden. The show's writers included Howard Harris, Hal Fimberg, Parke Levy, Don Prindle, Eddie Cherkose (later known as Eddie Maxwell), Leonard B. Stern, Martin Ragaway, Paul Conlan, and Eddie Forman, as well as producer Martin Gosch. Sound effects were handled primarily by Floyd Caton. Guest stars were plentiful, including Frank Sinatra, The Andrews Sisters, and Lucille Ball. During their time on ABC, the duo also hosted a 3. The Abbott and Costello Children's Show). Loosely based on their radio series, the show cast the duo as unemployed wastrels. One of the show's running gags involved Abbott perpetually nagging Costello to get a job to pay their rent, while Abbott barely lifted a finger in that direction. The show featured Sidney Fields as the landlord of the rooming house in which they lived, and Hillary Brooke as a friendly neighbor who sometimes got involved in the pair's schemes. Other regulars were future Stooge Joe Besser as Stinky, a whiny child in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit played by the clearly adult Besser, Gordon Jones as Mike the cop, who always lost patience with Lou, Joe Kirk (Costello's brother- in- law) as Mr. Bacciagalupe, an Italian immigrant caricature whose role varied with the requirements of the script, and Bobby Barber, who played many . Since Lou owned the series, this allowed them to own these versions of their classic routines as well. Although The Abbott and Costello Show originally ran for only two seasons, it found a larger viewership in reruns for decades, from the late 1. The shows have also been released in three different DVD sets over the years. 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 pitchers. Dizzy and Daffy Dean) before launching the routine. The infielders' nicknames are Who (first base), What (second base) and I Don't Know (third base). The key to the routine is Costello's persistent confusion over pronouns, and Abbott's unwavering nonchalance. Audio recordings are readily available on the Internet. It was first heard by a national radio audience in March 1. Kate Smith radio show. By then, John Grant had been writing or adapting other sketches for the team, and he may have helped expand . Grant stayed on as a writer for Abbott and Costello into the 1. One notable appearance of the sketch is from a 1. The team could time the routine at will, adding or deleting portions as needed for films, radio, or television. If they needed to fill four minutes, for example, Abbott and Costello would do four minutes' worth of the baseball bit. The longest version is seen in . A live performance commemorating the opening day of the Lou Costello, Jr. Youth Foundation, in 1. The team's final performance of . This is the only known recording that Costello says . Sidney Fields, in his role as Professor Mellonhead, was the . Abbott married Betty Smith in 1. Costello married Anne Battler in 1. The Costellos had four children; the Abbotts adopted two. Abbott and Costello faced personal demons at times. Both were inveterate gamblers and had serious health problems. Abbott suffered from epilepsy and turned to alcohol for pain management. Costello had occasional, near- fatal bouts with rheumatic fever. On November 4, 1. Costello returned to radio after a one- year layoff due to his illness, his infant son Lou Jr. Angered by Abbott's decision, Costello refused to speak to his partner except when performing. The following year, they made two films in which they appeared as separate characters rather than as a team (Little Giant and The Time of Their Lives). This may have been a result of the tensions between them, plus the fact that their most recent films had not done well at the box office and Lou wanted to change the formula. Abbott allegedly resolved the rift when he volunteered to help with Costello's pet charity, a foundation for underprivileged children, and suggested naming it the . The facility opened in 1. Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles. Later years. Another reason for the decline was overexposure. Abbott and Costello's routines, already familiar, were now glutting the movie and television markets. Each year they made two new films, while Realart Pictures also re- released most of their older hits; their filmed television series was widely syndicated, and the same routines appeared frequently on the Colgate program. Young, in The Laugh Crafters: Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age, that he was stunned to learn that Bud and Lou were afraid to perform new material.) They were forced to withdraw from Fireman Save My Child in 1. Costello's health, and were replaced by Hugh O'Brian and Buddy Hackett. Universal dropped the comedy team in 1. In the early 1. 95. 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. Flynn, an inveterate 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 . While Flynn pretended to be baffled and consternated, 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 and headlined in Las Vegas. He also appeared in episodes of GE Theater and Wagon Train. On March 3, 1. 95. The 3. 0 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, he died of a heart attack, just days short of his 5. Abbott attempted a comeback in 1. Candy Candido. Although the new act received good reviews, Bud quit, saying, . In 1. 96. 6, Abbott voiced his character in a series of 1. Abbott and Costello cartoons made by Hanna- Barbera. Bud Abbott died of cancer on April 2. During the height of their popularity in the 1. Warner Bros.'s Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies animation unit produced 3 cartoons featuring the pair as cats or mice named . One of the cartoons, Bob Clampett's A Tale of Two Kitties (1. Tweety. The other cartoons are A Tale of Two Mice and Mouse- Merized Cat.
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