Bud Abbott
William Alexander Abbott, (October 2, 1895 - April 24, 1974), known simply as Bud Abbott, was an actor, producer and American comedian. He was very popular as a comic actor in the 1940s, as part of the duo Abbott and Costello with Lou Costello.
Biography
William Alexander Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He spent his early years at the Ringling Brothers Circus, where his parents worked; From this experience came his vocation to act and he began to work.
In the 1920s, together with his brother Harry, he tried to organize a chain of theaters that was unsuccessful, so he dedicated himself to music hall, in which he played the serious character in comic duets.
In 1936 he teamed up with Lou Costello to form the comedy duo Abbott and Costello, having hits mostly on the radio. Buster Keaton went so far as to say that they were radio actors rather than film actors.
In June 1939 they also triumphed on Broadway, in the revue Streets of Paris, and the following year they went to the cinema. Their huge success led production company Universal to shoot a few movies about the couple's comedic skills. They stood out from the rest of the film and television duos for the peculiarities that differentiated them. The role of Bud Abbott, within the duo, was a serious character but who evidently took advantage of the naive Costello whom he used for everything, causing a healthy hilarity, since acting clumsily always spoiled the former's intentions.
The success they had motivated or inspired the birth of other duos that undoubtedly took much of the characteristics of these, such as the one formed by Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.
Their collaboration would last until 1956, when they resumed their artistic careers separately. At that time Abbott made a partnership again, this time with Candy Candido, acting in nightclubs, but the union was a total failure, due to the public's memory of her previous union.
In 1967 he was hired by Hanna-Barbera as a voice actor for the same character in a series of cartoons inspired by Abbott and Costello, after working on 156 chapters was once again forgotten.
He died of prostate cancer in 1974, at the age of 78.
Eponymy
- The asteroid (17023) Abbott bears this name in his memory.
Filmography
Cinema
| Year | Title | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | One Night in the Tropics | Abbott | Film debut / Support character |
| 1941 | Buck Privates | Slicker Smith | Main character |
| 1941 | In the Navy | Smoky Adams | |
| 1941 | Hold that Ghost | Chuck Murray | |
| 1941 | Keep 'Em Flying | Blackie Benson | |
| 1942 | Ride 'Em Cowboy | Duke | |
| 1942 | Rio Rita | Doc | |
| 1942 | Pardon My Sarong | Algy Shaw | |
| 1942 | Who Done It? | Chick Larkin | |
| 1943 | It Ain't Hay | Grover Mickridge | |
| 1943 | Hit the Ice | Flash Fulton | |
| 1944 | In Society | Eddie Harrington | |
| 1944 | Lost in a Harem | Peter Johnson | |
| 1945 | Here Come the Co-Eds | Slats McCarthy | |
| 1945 | The Naughty Nineties | Dexter Broadhurst | |
| 1945 | Abbott and Costello in Hollywood | Buzz Kurtis | |
| 1946 | Little Giant | John Morrison / Tom Chandler | |
| 1946 | The Time of Their Lives | Cuthbert/Dr. Greenway | |
| 1947 | Buck Privates Come Home | Slicker Smith | Sequel to "Buck Privates" |
| 1947 | The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap | Duke Egan | |
| 1948 | The Noose Hangs High | Ted Higgins | Not accredited. Also producer |
| 1948 | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | Chick Young | |
| 1948 | Mexican Hayride | Harry Lambert | |
| 1948 | 10,000 Kids and a Cop | Himself | Documentary Shortcut |
| 1949 | Africa Screams | Buzz Johnson | |
| 1949 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff | Casey Edwards | |
| 1950 | Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion | Bud Jones | |
| 1951 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man | Bud Alexander | |
| 1951 | Comin' Round the Mountain | Al Stewart | |
| 1952 | Jack and the Beanstalk | Mr. Dinklepuss | |
| 1952 | Lost in Alaska | Tom Watson | |
| 1952 | Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd | Rocky Stonebridge | Also executive producer |
| 1953 | Abbott and Costello Go to Mars | Lester | |
| 1953 | Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Slim | |
| 1955 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops | Harry Pierce | |
| 1955 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy | Peter Patterson | |
| 1956 | Dance with Me, Henry | Bud Flick | |
| 1965 | The World of Abbott and Costello | Compilation film |
Television
| Year | Title | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951–1954 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Host | Multiple Episode |
| 1952-1954 | The Abbott and Costello Show | Bud Abbott | 52 Episode |
| 1961 | General Electric Theater | Ernie Kauffman | Episode: "The Joke's On Me" (16/04/1961) |
| 1967-1968 | The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show | Abbott | Voice, 39 Episodes, 156 Segments |
Others
| Year | Title | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Meet the People | Himself |
| 1942 | Picture People No. 10: Hollywood at Home | Himself |
| 1949 | Screen Snapshots: Motion Picture Mothers, Inc. | Himself |
| 1952 | News of the Day | Himself |
| 1954 | Screen Snapshots Series 33, No. 10: Hollywood Grows Up | Himself |
| 1955 | Toast of the Town | Himself |
| 1956 | This Is Your Life | He himself; Episode: "Lou Costello" |
| 1999 | The Century: America's Time | File material |
| 1999 | ABC 2000: The Millennium | Voice, File material |