{"id":42182,"date":"2015-04-25T01:53:14","date_gmt":"2015-04-25T01:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=42182"},"modified":"2015-04-27T01:54:16","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T01:54:16","slug":"tinseltown-talks-lou-costello-the-generous-jester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/04\/25\/tinseltown-talks-lou-costello-the-generous-jester\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinseltown Talks – Lou Costello \u2013 The Generous Jester"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Scene from Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955). (Photos provided by Chris Costello.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Lou with daughter Chris around 1950.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Lou at family pool with Ann Corio. In the background, a Universal swan prop from \u201cKeep \u2018Em Flying\u201d finds its way to Lou\u2019s home. Inert \u2013 Lou and Martha Raye in the swan on set.<\/p><\/div>\n

Fans of legendary comic duo Abbott and Costello have much to commemorate this year. Seventy-five years ago, the pair debuted on film for Universal\u2019s \u201cOne Night in the Tropics.\u201d They would go on to make almost 30 films for the studio, including \u201cAbbott and Costello Meet the Mummy,\u201d the last of their \u2018meet the monster\u2019 series, which was released 60 years ago this year.<\/p>\n

Chris Costello was only 11 when her dad died in 1959. Nine months later, her brokenhearted mother passed away.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I was only a child when I knew him, the memories of our time together are vivid,\u201d said Chris from Los Angeles. \u201cMy father was famous, but when he walked in the house at night he was just my dad, not Lou Costello. No, he didn\u2019t do pratfalls around the home, but when he was with kids the funnyman could come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nor did she question him about his early career. \u201cOkay, so he\u2019s driving me to school \u2013 what am I going to ask him \u2018gee, dad, tell me about your days in vaudeville?\u2019 That\u2019s just not something that would interest a 10-year-old kid!\u201d<\/p>\n

With both parents dead at such an early age, it wasn\u2019t until Chris did research for her 1982 book, \u201cLou\u2019s on First,\u201d that she began to learn much more about her dad and his partner. \u201cI interviewed over 100 people who knew them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Honed over years in early burlesque, Abbott and Costello\u2019s most famous routine, \u201cWho\u2019s on First?,\u201d was performed in condensed form in their first film. It later appeared in \u201cThe Naughty Nineties\u201d (1945) as well as their TV show.<\/p>\n

Despite being around \u201cforever,\u201d the routine is not public domain.<\/p>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Chris Costello.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cUniversal owns the rights to images from their movies, but the Costello and Abbott families jointly own that routine. We have a website for fans with all our licensed products, abbottandcostellocollectibles.com, and a license is needed to perform that routine. However, the license is free for anything dealing with children, for example, schools or universities, because that\u2019s what dad would have wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite problems with the IRS late in life, Lou was extremely generous and not just with friends or family.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was in a store his last Christmas and talking to the clerk when he heard a little girl crying because her mother couldn\u2019t afford a doll she wanted. He told the guy \u2018wrap it up and tell her it\u2019s from Santa Claus.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As generous as he was, Lou was notorious for walking off sets with studio props.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom used to say our home was decorated in early Universal!\u201d laughed Chris. \u201cTwo of the miniature battleships used for \u201cIn the Navy\u201d disappeared one day. They ended up in our pool! And I have a photo of him in our backyard with Ann Corio, who got him his start in burlesque. In the background is a giant swan from the Tunnel of Love ride, which he sat in with Martha Raye in \u2018Keep \u2018Em Flying.\u2019 I have no idea what happened to all that stuff. I imagine it was lost, given away, or just stolen after my parents died.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris says Lou would also use his light-fingered reputation for leverage with the studio. When the Andrews Sisters began appearing in their films in 1941, Lou was upset they were given an army tent for a changing room, especially with the 100-degree heat.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told Universal they should have a trailer. If they didn\u2019t listen, he\u2019d say something like \u2018fine, you know that clock in the upcoming scene, wouldn\u2019t it be awful if it disappeared!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Lou\u2019s generosity extended to the creation of a recreation center in East Los Angeles for underprivileged kids, which still operates today.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, my dad was great not because he was a great comic, but because of what he did with his fame,\u201d says Chris. \u201cThat is the footprint he made in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The official Abbott and Costello fan club is www.abbottandcostello.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 550 magazines and newspapers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fans of legendary comic duo Abbott and Costello have much to commemorate this year. Seventy-five years ago, the pair debuted on film for Universal\u2019s \u201cOne…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nTinseltown Talks - Lou Costello \u2013 The Generous Jester - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/04\/25\/tinseltown-talks-lou-costello-the-generous-jester\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tinseltown Talks - Lou Costello \u2013 The Generous Jester - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fans of legendary comic duo Abbott and Costello have much to commemorate this year. 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