Bud & Lou: The Abbott & Costello story

by Bob Thomas

A bewildered little fat man with sad, winning eyes and a tall, slick sharpie with a brass heart and a rapid-fire tongue have entertained three generations of Americans. Bud & Lou is the hilarious, moving, and finally tragic story of one of the greatest movie comedy teams of all Abbott and Costello. In the lively, anecdotal style that has become his hallmark, Bob Thomas tells the very American story of Bud and Lou's long climb to stardom, from burlesque to Broadway, then radio and, finally, the movies. He describes the heady success of their first film, Buck Privates; their struggles to establish their place in a Hollywood which still considered the comic an outsider; and the antics on and off set that made them infamous among directors. He also takes us behind the scenes to the intriguing drama of the private personalities ... the tragedy that nearly destroyed Lou, Bud's alcoholism and epilepsy, the compulsive gambling, and, above all, the overriding sense of competition that would eventually destroy their partnership and their careers. Although they had earned an income of as much as two million dollars annually and rescued Universal Pictures from bankruptcy during lean times, they died penniless. Yet they bequeathed the American public a rich inheritance -- remembrance of the splendidly vulgar, innocently raucous, sensible nonsense of burlesque. Profusely illustrated with photographs, Bud & Lou is written with the close cooperation of Eddie Sherman, their manager and lifelong friend, and with the help of colleagues and members of the Abbott and Costello families. It provides both an intimate glimpse of two complex and enduring personalities and an inside look at Hollywood during its heyday.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Robert Joseph "Bob" Thomas was an American Hollywood film industry biographer and reporter who worked for the Associated Press from 1944.

Born in San Diego, he grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a film publicist. He attended UCLA. He lived in Encino with his wife, Patricia. They have three daughters. Thomas, aged 92, died on March 14, 2014 at his home.

Thomas made his mark by engaging celebrities in activities that brought out their personalities, whether by measuring their waistline after childbirth (as he did with Betty Grable) or testing just how tall a leading lady needed to be by kissing her himself (as he did with June Haver). Acclaimed as the dean of Hollywood reporters, Bob Thomas wrote about the movie business for the Associated Press since the days when Hollywood was run by the men who founded it: Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Cohn and Louis B. Mayer.

During his long history of reporting for the AP, Thomas authored at least 30 books. Many in the film industry credit his 1969 biography of producer Irving G. Thalberg as sparking their interest in pursuing a career behind the scenes. Other Thomas biographies include Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, David O. Selznick, Walter Winchell, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Howard Hughes, Abbott & Costello, Walt Disney, and a children's book, Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Linnea Gelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I intend to read this book and "Lou's on first" back to back, to be able to compare them, and I have not yet read the other book, so I will stick to what I thought about this one standing on its own.

I particularly enjoyed the opening chapters of the book, since they described the milieu of the burlesque and vaudeville circuits of the time. It was easy to paint a picture in my mind of fast talking straight-men and prat-falling comics on a beer soaked stage with hot beaming lights and an audience who wasn't afraid to say if it didn't like the act. The sheer tempo of their life was enough to race my heart as I read it.

After a while, the writer seemed a bit too interested in recording A&C's salaries for every single performance. I'm personally not all that interested in the exact numbers, and would have preferred to know only enough of them to be able to see the change from one era to another.

A lot of the stories are difficult to say if they're actually true or not. In some cases I don't really care, since I prefer a good story to the absolute truth. But when it comes to the way the writer manages to put Lou Costello in a consistently bad light, I have my doubts. Those are occasions when it will be highly interesting to read "Lou's on first" for a comparison.

Not a lot is said about Bud Abbott either, and the fact that he and his sister were twins, is not even mentioned. He seem to have been a secretive person, so maybe this is as close as one can get to portraying him. I would have liked some more stories from his earlier years, though, seeing that he started out very young and was in the vaudeville business about a decade before Costello came along.

To conclude: not all that true, quite nasty in its depictions from time to time, but highly entertaining in spots. And to get a feel of the atmosphere, this book is terrific.

[Howard Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good engrossing book that I wish dug just a little deeper into the professional lives of this team of geniuses.

[Mike Kowis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, I watched black and white movies on TV starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They were hilarious and always made me smile, especially whenever Lou famously yelled, "I'm a baaaad boy!" Of course, their most famous act was the Who's on First routine, which they performed countless times over the years. These lovable goofballs were fun to watch and their silly acts were often filled with physical comedy. In that sense, they reminded me of The Three Stooges, who I also adored.

Reading this comedy duo's biography was a wild ride and just as entertaining as A&C routines. Both comedians got their start in burlesque shows during the 1920s. When they finally joined forces in 1936, they found their way onto radio shows and their careers took off. Soon, they starred in Hollywood movies, which was Lou Costello's life-long dream!

They enjoyed great success in movies around the time of World War II. As the comedy team's popularity and pocketbook grew, so did their egos (especially Lou). According to this book, Lou was a prima-donna who constantly demanded more money from the studios and often threatened to walk off the movie set if his demands were not met. Sometimes, he's steal things off the set if he liked what he saw (including furniture). Lou and Bud were extremely competitive with one another and spent their free time between takes backstage where they played cards for thousands of dollars at a time. Like a spoiled brat, Lou often refused to come back to the set when called by the directors and refused to do more than one take of any scene. After several successful movies were made, Lou demanded to get a bigger pay than Bud and insisted on changing the act's name to Costello and Abbott. If this book is accurate, it must've been a nightmare to work with him. Eventually, Lou broke up the team twice; once in 1945 and the final time in 1957. Outside of their comedy partnership, they were not able to reach the same level of success and popularity.

Both Lou and Bud both suffered serious health issues and personal tragedies that set them back professionally and personally. Both men used some of their riches to shower friends, family, and co-workers with lavish gifts and make generous charity donations. Rather than save or invest the rest of their earnings, they wasted it on gambling (cards and horse races), yachts, fancy houses, pools, etc. Later in their careers, an IRS audit revealed they weren't paying Uncle Sam their fair share, and they ended up selling all of their assets to pay the taxman. Despite making millions in movies, both men died nearly broke.

Despite the sad ending, this biography is well-worth the read. If you enjoyed watching Abbott and Costello movies, then you'll love this biography about their tumultuous careers and personal lives.

[Alyssa DeLeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin & Lewis reconciled, Stan and Ollie came together again, but Abbott and Costello were not to be so lucky. And it is sad, even now, to think about. I never realized what a driving force and controller Lou was. Part of me wanted to tell Bud to buck up and not take it, but I think he realized Lou was too crazy and bullheaded and the magic would have been cut off much earlier if Abbott had retaliated. Both men were very poor handlers of money, and between financial difficulties, Lou's temper, devastating loss, and the crumbling of their team, these guys had really tragic lives. Bud really seemed to care for Lou, and while we can never know for sure, Lou seemed to use him with little to no care for Bud's feelings or life at all. It was a really sweet moment when they reconciled the first time over Lou, Jr.'s name being used for their youth center. If only something could have saved them the second time around.

They gave us their all for entertainment. Almost literally. This was a really great read and full of interesting information.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read.

[Vincenzo Ridente · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books ever done on Abbott and Costello if you want to know the real story this is the biography to get

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fills in some gaps for those who are familiar with the Duo. But is suspect to bias and has been denounced by the families.