Lou Costello's and Bud Abbott's paths to Hollywood began on the East Coast with Abbott growing up in Coney Island, N.Y., and Costello in Paterson, N.J.
After teaming up in 1936, with Abbott playing straight man to the portly Costello, they quickly became headliners on the vaudeville and burlesque circuit. Their success led them to radio, Broadway, film and TV, with their "Who's on First?" skit becoming a classic.
They became one of the biggest box-office draws at Universal during the 1940s, headlining such comedies as "Buck Privates," "Hold That Ghost," "The Time of Their Lives" and "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein."
As the quality of their movies began to slide, the duo turned to TV in 1952 with the CBS series "The Abbott & Costello Show," which aired for two seasons. The two split in 1957, a year after their last film together, "Dance With Me, Henry."
Two years later, Costello died of a heart attack. A funeral Mass was said at his parish, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Sherman Oaks, and he was placed in a crypt next to his son at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. He was 53. Abbott died in 1974 after several years of poor health.
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