Abbott And Costello Give Live Crowd Their Comedic Version Of Jonah And The Whale

Jul 11, 2020 by apost team

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were a classic comedy duo that teamed up in the late 30s and left audiences of the 40s and 50s laughing and splitting sides. Together, they performed in vaudeville, on the radio and in several classic movies. In 1952, they conquered the new medium of television and started their own television show, which aired until 1957. After their first show aired in front of a live studio audience, they followed it up with a stand-up comedy act where no one could keep a straight face, not even Abbott and Costello.

Bud Abbott, known as the straight man of the duo, always gave Lou Costello a hard time. Costello is the goofy one who made the team so funny because their conversations always went back and forth in arguments. As soon as the two men walk out on stage after their show, Abbott tells the audience they have no jokes. Costello, in return, blurts out he has a joke to tell. Abbott does not want to waste the audience's time and picks on Lou by telling him it has to be funny. Costello reassures Abbott it will be a funny story, but Abbott has to keep his mouth shut and let him tell it.

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Fans of the team already knew Abbott was bound to give his on-stage partner a hard time. That is when the crowd starts chuckling. Bud Abbott starts butting in as soon as Costello begins the story about Jonah in the Whale. He asks questions throwing off Costello's story of how Jonah ended up in the whale. Costello's frustration begins weltering as Abbott continues to interrupt him with every line of the story. Most of their classic and memorable skits followed along these lines. It could only work by putting a serious person up against a goofy entertainer. That's what made them such a great team.

The facial expressions of both men are hilarious as the story continues. The audience gets into the build-up of the punch line when Abbott throws a curveball and completely throws off Costello. By then, the audience is left in tears from laughter as the two men can no longer hold their composure, either. The more the audience laughs, the harder it is for the two to keep a straight face as they chuckle a bit to relieve some of the pressure.

The recognition Bud Abbott and Lou Costello received was terrific as they owned two decades of comedy acts and were the highest-paid entertainers during the World War II era. When the world went through fear and longed for peace, the two entertainers brought the world a little closer together with laughter. It truly proves the old saying, "Laughter is the best medicine." The laughter continued throughout the 1950s. Sadly, at the end of the decade, on March 3, 1959, Lou Costello passed away. The team had performed for so many years. While their partnership had ended, with videos like these, even the younger generations of today can re-discover the inspired humor of their act.

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