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

Television

Others