# Abbott and Costello **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [May 23, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981 "2024-05-23T18:28:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/61 "2024-05-24T18:30:07Z")
Re: The A&C arithmetic bits I referred to up thread. These are the ones, for example, where Bud owes Lou some back pay for so many days work. He takes off 2/3 since Lou only worked 8 hours a day and not 24. Then more off for not working weekends. Then there’s docking for a holiday and a sick day. Etc. When Bud’s done Lou owes Bud some money which he begrudgingly pays. OTOH, there’s a bit where it’s Lou’s arithmetic tricks on a chalk board that amazes Bud. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/62 "2024-05-24T18:37:13Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > OTOH, there’s a bit where it’s Lou’s arithmetic tricks on a chalk board that amazes Bud. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oN2_NarcM8c/hqdefault.jpg "7 times 13 is 28 | 13×7=28 | Abbott and Costello") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN2_NarcM8c) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/63 "2024-05-24T18:43:47Z")
I liked that. “Did you ever go to school, stupid?” “Yes, and I came out the same way.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/64 "2024-05-24T19:42:40Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > OTOH, there’s a bit where it’s Lou’s arithmetic tricks on a chalk board that amazes Bud. This one showed up in a few films. It’s in **In the Navy** , too, ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/65 "2024-05-24T19:49:37Z")
[https://youtu.be/pO6JcXXAqec?si=Swl-47cmRc5KJgHy](https://youtu.be/pO6JcXXAqec?si=Swl-47cmRc5KJgHy) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/66 "2024-05-24T20:15:03Z")
In a strange coincidence, after reading this thread yesterday, while driving across the city last evening, I noticed a marker on the map “Burial Location of Lou Costello”. I’ve just now looked it up. It’s a huge cemetery and quite a few famous people buried there. > **[Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvary_Cemetery_(Los_Angeles))** > > Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles runs in the community of East Los Angeles, California. It is also called "New Calvary Cemetery" because it succeeded the original Calvary Cemetery (on north Broadway), over which Cathedral High School was built. > When Los Angeles was originally surveyed and mapped under the leadership of Gen. Edward Ord in 1849, its graveyard was at the upper end of Eternity Street. At the lower end of Eternity was the first chur... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/67 "2024-05-25T18:19:37Z")
I love these scenes in _ **The Sopranos** _, where the statue of Lou holding a baseball bat foreshadows the murder/execution of Vito Spatafore: > [https://youtu.be/ApxduOmNy80?t=128](https://youtu.be/ApxduOmNy80?t=128) > [https://youtu.be/sLJQFZlkDuQ](https://youtu.be/sLJQFZlkDuQ) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/68 "2024-05-25T18:23:24Z")
Although I remain an A&C sceptic, I’m proud to have brought happiness to others as the founder of the Abbott & Costello Appreciation Society 🕶 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/69 "2024-05-25T18:41:03Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Lh2E0z42RGA/hqdefault.jpg "Abbott And Costello- You're not here!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh2E0z42RGA) ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/70 "2024-05-25T19:07:24Z")
I read somewhere that they would get hired out to do WOF for conventions and revues. They charged based on how long they were expected to perform and they had something like a two minute, five minute and ten minute version that they would do. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/71 "2024-05-25T21:35:22Z")
They were mediocre comedians. They only had a limited number of routines, and ruthlessly recycled them throughout their movies. Apparently they were very reluctant to try any new material. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/72 "2024-05-25T23:52:49Z")
Their radio show ran for nine years. I would have thought they used plenty of new material. I’m sure movies did recycle their most famous routines, because that’s what the audience wanted. It’s not like A&C had control over what the studios demanded being included. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/73 "2024-05-26T17:09:31Z")
I think calling them mediocre is…indefensible. We’re literally talking about them and some of their bits over half a century later. Mediocre comedians aren’t remembered or discussed much beyond their active performing days. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/74 "2024-05-26T17:18:03Z")
They were the highest paid entertainers _in the world_ in the 1940s. It’s hard to reconcile that with the idea that they were mediocre. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/75 "2024-05-26T18:22:57Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > They only had a limited number of routines, and ruthlessly recycled them throughout their movies. Apparently they were very reluctant to try any new material. Imagine that! Sticking with what works instead of using untested material! What losers 🙄 No wonder no one has ever heard of them. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/76 "2024-05-26T19:27:59Z")
I have no doubt that you could stuff a time machine with what we consider the top twenty comedians alive today and every single one of them would bomb in 1947. Very little humor is timeless and just the fact that Abbott and Costello still appeal to _any_ fraction of the current generations makes them exceptional. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/77 "2024-05-26T19:48:02Z")
Were there ever any scenes where Abbott wasn’t annoyed/ pissed off at Costello’s goofiness? It makes for kind of a surreal friendship. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/78 "2024-05-26T19:59:15Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > They were the highest paid entertainers _in the world_ in the 1940s. [_Among_ the highest.](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls072001203/) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/79 "2024-05-26T20:11:24Z")
Well, that list is for 1933-1945. [Wikipedia says](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbott_and_Costello) they were “the highest-paid entertainers in the world during the Second World War” (but without a source). [Variety says](https://archive.org/details/variety156-1944-10/page/n96/mode/1up?view=theater) they were the highest earners in 1942, earning $789,000. It’s hard to tell who was second, since the list is sorted alphabetically and doesn’t distinguish entertainers from executives, but I think it’s William Powell at $251,000. I don’t see Clark Gable on the Variety list at all, and Spencer Tracy (#2 on the IMDB list) earned just $220,000 that year. But “among the highest” certainly seems correct. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981/80 "2024-05-27T00:48:35Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Well, that list is for 1933-1945. Will Rogers is #16 on that list. He died in 1935. Does that mean he had the highest salary in the two years on the list? Highest salary per year? Does it count money made from other than movies? The Marx Brothers aren’t on the list although they made enormous amounts per movie in the 1930s. You’re right to question a list with no explanations or sources. It’s as meaningful as pulling names out of a hat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abbott-and-costello/1001981.md?page=5)