The Abbott and Costello Show

Last updated
The Abbott and Costello Show
Abbott and costello show.jpg
GenreSitcom
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer Pat Costello
Producers
Cinematography
Running time25–26 minutes
Production company Television Corporation of America
Original release
Network Syndicated
ReleaseSeptember 1952 (1952-09) 
May 1954 (1954-05)

The Abbott and Costello Show is an American television sitcom starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The program premiered in syndication in the fall of 1952 and ran two seasons to the spring of 1954. Each season ran 26 episodes.

Contents

The series is considered to be among the most influential comedy programs in history. In 1998, Entertainment Weekly praised the series as one of the "100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". In 2007, Time magazine selected it for its "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME". Jerry Seinfeld has declared that The Abbott and Costello Show, with its overriding emphasis upon funny situations rather than life lessons, was the inspiration for his own long-running sitcom, Seinfeld . [1]

Overview

The show was conceived as a vehicle to bring the duo's tried-and-true burlesque routines to television in a format that the team could control, without the limitations and unpredictability of live television or the musical interludes or love stories that marked most of their feature films. Basically, if a situation or gag was funny, the team filmed it with little regard to plot, character or continuity. As a result, the show became a valuable record of classic burlesque scenes performed by the duo.

Abbott and Costello portrayed unemployed entertainers sharing a small apartment in a rooming house in Los Angeles. The supporting cast included Sidney Fields as Sidney Fields, their landlord; Hillary Brooke as Hillary Brooke, their neighbor and sometime love interest for Costello; Gordon Jones as Mike the Cop, a dimwitted foil for the boys and sometime rival for Hillary; and Joe Kirk (Costello's brother-in-law) as Mr. Bacciagalupe, an Italian immigrant caricature who held a variety of jobs depending upon the requirements of the script. Joe Besser occasionally appeared as Stinky, a manchild dressed in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit. Bobby Barber and Joan Shawlee also appeared frequently in small roles. Several episodes featured a pet chimpanzee named "Bingo", who was costumed in the same outfit as Costello; she was later fired from the show after biting Costello.

The show was modified for the second season. While the rooming house format was retained, Brooke, Kirk and Besser did not appear, and scripts were structured like two-reel comedies and less dependent on old burlesque routines.

Production notes

The show was initially put into production in May 1951, soon after Abbott and Costello had joined the roster of rotating hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour . [2] Episodes were filmed in groups scheduled around the team's movie, personal appearance, and live TV commitments.

Lou Costello owned the show with Bud Abbott working on salary. The first two establishing episodes were produced by Alex Gottlieb, who had produced the team's first eight films and, more recently, their two independent color films, Jack and the Beanstalk and Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952). Jean Yarbrough, who directed every episode of the TV series, took over the producing chores thereafter. Costello's brother, Pat Costello, was listed as the producer, but his function was nominal.

Eddie Forman, head writer on the team's radio show, wrote the first five TV episodes, after which Sidney Fields was credited for the remaining 21 shows in the first season. Episodes in the second season were primarily scripted by veteran writers of two-reel comedy, Clyde Bruckman (15 shows) and Jack Townley (10). Fields received a co-writing credit on five episodes, including one with Costello.

First season shows opened with a title sequence over a montage of scenes from Abbott and Costello's early Universal films. Each episode began with a framing sequence on a stage, where the pair would share gags with the audience and occasionally a fellow cast member, and often set up the episode's plot. They would reappear halfway through the episode and discuss what had just occurred or hint at things to come. These stage portions were dropped in the second season, which followed a more traditional sitcom format. A simpler opening title sequence, without film clips or co-star credits, was also introduced.

The series did not employ a laugh track in the strictest sense; completed episodes were screened for an audience in a theater and their reactions were recorded and added to the soundtrack. In the 2021 4K restoration release, several episodes have the option to mute audience reactions. [3] [4]

The first season was filmed at the Hal Roach Studios in Culver City. The 14.5-acre (59,000 m2) studio, once known as "The Lot of Fun," was razed in 1963 and replaced by "Landmark Street," an area of light industrial buildings, businesses and an automobile dealership, where a plaque marks the studio's former location. The second season was shot at Motion Picture Center Studios (today Red Studios Hollywood), where the team had made Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd. Soon after, the studio became Desilu-Cahuenga Studios. I Love Lucy and the Danny Thomas and Jack Benny shows were also filmed there.

Broadcast history

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 26September 1952 (1952-09)May 1953 (1953-05)
2 26October 1953 (October 1953)May 1954 (1954-05)

The show was not a network program when first introduced in the fall of 1952, but was sold into syndication by MCA Inc. to about 40 local stations across the country. As a result, it was broadcast on different days, at different hours, and in different episode order in different cities. In New York City, it began airing on December 5, 1952, on WCBS-TV, [5] leading earlier reference works to erroneously presume that the show was carried nationally on the CBS network starting on that date. (WCBS broadcast the show at 10:30 pm, which was after network programming had signed off and local programming resumed.) The series had already debuted in other cities by then, including Los Angeles. Similarly, second-season episodes (1953–54) were telecast in New York on NBC's flagship station, WNBT (later WNBC-TV), but not carried on that network, either. (The 2024 release of Season 2 arranges the episodes in production order.) The only time the show was broadcast on a network was when CBS repeated first-season episodes as part of its Saturday morning schedule in the 1954–55 season.

The sitcom had a long life in reruns from the late 1950s to the 1990s. In the 2010s and into the 2020s, the series has appeared on classic TV networks such as MeTV and its spinoff/sister network Decades.

Home media

There have been several releases since the early 1990s:

Related Research Articles

<i>Seinfeld</i> American television sitcom (1989–1998)

Seinfeld is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 180 episodes. Its ensemble cast stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and focuses on his personal life with three of his friends: best friend George Costanza, former girlfriend Elaine Benes, and neighbor from across the hall, Cosmo Kramer.

<i>The Mary Tyler Moore Show</i> American television sitcom (1970–1977)

The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970, to March 19, 1977. Moore portrayed Mary Richards, an unmarried, independent woman focused on her career as associate producer of a news show at the fictional local station WJM in Minneapolis. Ed Asner co-starred as Mary's boss Lou Grant, alongside Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight, Georgia Engel, Betty White, Valerie Harper as friend and neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern, and Cloris Leachman as friend and landlady Phyllis Lindstrom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bud Abbott</span> American comedian and actor (1897–1974)

William Alexander "Bud" Abbott was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Costello</span> American comedian and actor (1906–1959)

Louis Francis Cristillo, better known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with Bud Abbott and their routine "Who's on First?".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbott and Costello</span> American comedy duo

Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in the world during the Second World War. Their patter routine "Who's on First?" is considered one of the greatest comedy routines of all time, a version of which appears in their 1945 film The Naughty Nineties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Who's on First?</span> Comedy routine made famous by Abbott and Costello

"Who's on First?" is a comedy routine made famous by American comedy duo Abbott and Costello. The premise of the sketch is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team for Costello. However, the players' names can simultaneously serve as the basis for questions and responses, leading to reciprocal misunderstanding and growing frustration between the performers. Although it is commonly known as "Who's on First?", Abbott and Costello frequently referred to it simply as "Baseball".

<i>The Larry Sanders Show</i> American television sitcom (1992–1998)

The Larry Sanders Show is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. Created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein, the show ran for six seasons and 90 episodes on the HBO cable television network from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Costanza</span> Fictional character

George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic relationships through his own fear of being dumped. He is also relatively lazy; during periods of unemployment he actively avoids getting a job, and while employed he often finds ingenious ways to conceal idleness from his bosses. He is friends with Jerry Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer, and Elaine Benes. George and Jerry were junior high school friends and remained friends afterward. George appears in every episode except "The Pen".

Larry Charles is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. He was a staff writer for the sitcom Seinfeld for its first five seasons. He has also directed the documentary film Religulous and the mockumentary comedy films Borat, Brüno, and The Dictator. His Netflix documentary series Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy premiered in 2019.

"The Seinfeld Chronicles" is the pilot episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, which first aired on NBC on July 5, 1989.

"The Jacket" is the third episode of the second season of the American sitcom Seinfeld and the show's eighth episode overall. In the episode, Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive suede jacket and has dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. Elaine's father Alton, a war veteran and writer, makes Jerry and his friend George Costanza very uncomfortable. Elaine is delayed and Jerry and George are stuck with Alton waiting for her at the hotel.

"The Ex-Girlfriend" is the first episode of the sitcom Seinfeld's second season and the show's sixth episode overall. The episode was first broadcast on NBC in the United States on January 23, 1991, after being postponed for one week due to the start of the First Gulf War. During the course of the show, George Costanza breaks up with his girlfriend Marlene and leaves some books in her apartment. He persuades his friend Jerry to retrieve them. Jerry starts dating Marlene, who annoys him as much as she did George, but he finds himself unable to break up with her because she has a "psycho-sexual" hold on him.

"The Pony Remark" is the second episode of the second season of the American sitcom Seinfeld, and the seventh episode overall. The episode was written by series co-creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, based on a remark David once made.

"The Chinese Restaurant" is the 11th episode of the second season of the American sitcom Seinfeld, and the 16th episode overall. Originally aired on NBC on May 23, 1991, the episode revolves entirely around Jerry and his friends Elaine Benes and George Costanza waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant, on their way to see a special one-night showing of Plan 9 from Outer Space. George tries to use the phone but it is constantly occupied, Elaine struggles to control her hunger, and Jerry recognizes a woman but is unsure where he has seen her before.

<i>The Colgate Comedy Hour</i> 1950 American TV series or program

The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series are archived at the UCLA Library in their Special Collections.

Sidney Fields, born Sidney Hirsch Feldman, was an American comedic actor and writer best known for his featured role on The Abbott and Costello Show in the 1940s (radio) and early 1950s (television). He was sometimes credited as "Sid Fields" or "Sidney Field".

Norman Abbott was an American vaudevillian, actor, producer and television director.

<i>The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show</i> US animated television series based on Abbott and Costello

The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show is an American half-hour animated series of the famous comedy duo that aired in syndication from September 9, 1967, to June 1, 1968. Each of the 39 individual episodes consisted of four five-minute cartoons. The cartoons were created jointly by Hanna-Barbera, RKO General, and Jomar Productions between 1965 and 1967. The series was syndicated by Gold Key Entertainment and King World Productions, with the rights now owned by Warner Bros. Television Distribution.

John Grant was a comedy writer best known for his association with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Costello called him their "chief idea man". Grant contributed to Abbott and Costello's radio, film and live television scripts, as well as the films of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and Ma and Pa Kettle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sitcoms in the United States</span> Broadcast genre; recurring cast comedy

Situation comedies, or sitcoms, have long been a popular genre of comedy in the US, initially on radio in the 1920s, and then on television beginning in the 1940s. A sitcom is defined as a television series featuring a recurring cast of characters in various successive comedic situations.

References

  1. Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld. By NBC Productions. Originally broadcast: November 24, 1994.
  2. Lewis, Jon E.; Stempel, Penny (1998). Cult TV: The Comedies: The Ultimate Critical Guide. Great Eastern Ward Parkgate Road, London: Pavilion Books Limited. p.12 ISBN   1-86205-245-X,
  3. 1 2 "The Abbott and Costello Show - Season 1 (Blu-ray) - ClassicFlix". www.classicflix.com. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  4. "Abbott and Costello - Season 1 Clips - ClassicFlix". www.classicflix.com. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  5. Broadcasting, Telecasting, Oct. 20, 1952.
  6. "The Abbott and Costello Show - Season 2 - ClassicFlix".