Louis Francis Cristillo, better known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer.
36 Facts About Lou Costello
2.
Lou Costello's father was Italian, from Caserta in Campania, Italy, and his mother was an American of Italian, French and Irish ancestry.
3.
Lou Costello attended Public School 15 in Paterson and was considered a gifted athlete.
4.
Lou Costello excelled in basketball and reportedly was twice Paterson's free-throw champion.
5.
Lou Costello fought as a boxer under the name of Lou King.
6.
Lou Costello was a great admirer of silent-film comedian Charlie Chaplin.
7.
In 1927, Lou Costello hitchhiked to Hollywood to become an actor, but could only find work as a laborer or extra at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Hal Roach Studios.
8.
Lou Costello can be spotted sitting ringside in the Laurel and Hardy film The Battle of the Century.
9.
Lou Costello said that he took his professional name from actress Helene Costello, although by this time his brother Anthony had used the name in his career as a professional musician.
10.
In 1928, with the advent of talking pictures, Lou Costello headed back east intending to acquire theatrical experience.
11.
Lou Costello began working in burlesque on the Mutual Burlesque wheel the following year.
12.
Abbott and Lou Costello were signed by the William Morris talent agency, which landed them featured roles and national exposure on The Kate Smith Hour, a popular radio variety show, in 1938.
13.
Abbott and Lou Costello were hosting a summer replacement series for The Fred Allen Show in 1940 when they were signed by Universal Pictures for supporting roles in One Night in the Tropics.
14.
That year they became regulars on Edgar Bergen's The Chase and Sanborn Program, and in October 1942 launched their own series, The Abbott and Lou Costello Show on NBC.
15.
Abbott and Lou Costello appeared in 36 films from 1940 to 1956 and were among the most popular and highest-paid entertainers in the world during World War II.
16.
In March 1943, after completing a winter tour of army bases, Lou Costello suffered an attack of rheumatic fever and was unable to work for six months.
17.
Rather than cancel the broadcast, Lou Costello said, "Wherever he is tonight, I want him to hear me," and proceeded with the show.
18.
Lou Costello wanted to accept the gig, which was outside their usual burlesque venues, but Abbott was hesitant.
19.
Lou Costello offered Abbott a larger split of their salary, and Abbott agreed.
20.
In 1945, when Lou Costello fired a maid and Abbott hired her, Lou Costello announced that he would no longer work with Abbott.
21.
Lou Costello owned the half-hour series, with Abbott working on salary.
22.
Abbott and Lou Costello were forced to withdraw from Fireman Save My Child in 1954 after Lou Costello suffered a relapse of rheumatic fever.
23.
Lou Costello was surprised and honored by Ralph Edwards on NBC's This Is Your Life in 1956.
24.
Abbott and Lou Costello's final film together, Dance with Me, Henry, was a box-office disappointment and received mixed critical reviews.
25.
Abbott and Lou Costello dissolved their partnership amicably early in 1957.
26.
Lou Costello worked with other comedians, including Sidney Fields in Las Vegas, and sought film and television projects.
27.
Lou Costello appeared several times on Steve Allen's The Tonight Show, most often performing his old routines with Louis Nye or Tom Poston in the straight-man role.
28.
Shortly after completion of The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, his only film after the partnership with Abbott ended, Lou Costello suffered a heart attack.
29.
Lou Costello died at Doctors Hospital in Beverly Hills on March 3,1959, three days before his 53rd birthday.
30.
On January 30,1934, Lou Costello married Anne Battler, a burlesque chorus dancer.
31.
Costello's older brother Pat Costello was a musician who led his own band before moving to Hollywood, where he was enlisted to perform stunts in Lou's place in the first ten Abbott and Costello films.
32.
Lou Costello later appeared in a supporting role in Mexican Hayride.
33.
Carole's daughter Marki Lou Costello is an actress, director and producer in film and television.
34.
The centennial of Lou Costello's birth was celebrated in Paterson in March 2006.
35.
In 2009, Lou Costello was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
36.
Abbott and Lou Costello are among the few non-baseball personnel to be memorialized in the Baseball Hall of Fame, although they are not formal inductees.