Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Abbott & Costello Show

A) 11/16/44 School Play

B) 10/3/46 Breaking up the Act

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello started in vaudeville in the early 1930s and by 1938 they were appearing as regulars on The Kate Smith Hour. By the fall of 1942, they had their own weekly radio program which topped the popularity polls of Radio Daily and Radio Guide. At first, radio listeners had trouble telling them apart, so they quickly adapted by Bud lowering his voice a tad with Lou raising his (something they continued to do throughout their careers). Their celebrated Who’s On First baseball routine helped make them a national sensation. The Abbott & Costello Show ran for seven years until the summer of 1949 when the boys ventured into the television business. Produced by Costello’s wife, Patricia, their television series lasted two seasons and gave Bud and Lou an opportunity to reprise the best comedic sketches and scenarios from their radio scripts. The next time you watch one of their television programs, or one of their big screen movies, remember that the flat sarcasm of Bud Abbott and shrieks from Lou Costello originated on radio – the perfect medium for verbal standup that is often imitated today.