History Creator / AbbottAndCostello

!!Trope namers:

* WhosOnFirst?

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were a ComedyDuo who worked together from 1935 to 1957, starting out in {{burlesque}} theatre and expanding into radio, television and films. They're best known for their signature routine, "Baseball", in which Abbott attempts to tell Costello about a baseball team whose players have confusing nicknames like "Who" and "What". ("WhosOnFirst?" "Yes.")

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were a ComedyDuo who worked together from 1935 to 1957, starting out in {{burlesque}} theatre and expanding into radio, television and films. They're best known for their signature routine, "Baseball", in which Abbott attempts to tell Costello about a baseball team whose players have confusing nicknames like "Who" and "What". ("Who's on first?" "Yes.")

* The {{Dragaera}} novel ''Five Hundred Years'' has a passing mention of a famous farce, ''Who Dropped Her First?'', set in a bedchamber laid out (reading between the lines) like a baseball diamond.

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* ''AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein''

* ''AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'' (1948)

** [[AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein Frankenstein's Monster]] plays [[JerkAss "Devil Dan" Winfield]] in "Comin' Round The Mountain".

* ItWasHereISwear: A standard bit, that appears in ''AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'' and ''Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer'' among others

* TheShowMustGoOn: On the radio show Lou and Bud worked on, one day around the time they were working on ''AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'' Lou came in for show late, very quiet, and went through his routines flawlessly but without speaking to anyone outside of the job, which was ''very'' unusual for him. Then at the end he said to his very young son, "That one's for you." He then explained to his fellow performers and the listeners at home that his son had drowned earlier that day, but not before Lou promised him that "Tonight you'll hear Dad on the radio." [[IGaveMyWord Lou kept his promise.]]

* If you didn't see some similarities between RenAndStimpy and AbbotAndCostello, you weren't paying close enough attention.

* AdultChild: Costello's primary schtick.

In 1940 they appeared together in a supporting role in the film ''One Night in the Tropics'', and stole the show. The following year, they had their first star vehicle, ''Buck Privates''. They went on to make over 30 films, remaining top-10 box office draws for the next decade. They also starred in ''The Abbott and Costello Show'', a half hour sketch comedy.

In 1940 they appeared together in a supporting role in the film ''One Night in the Tropics'', and stole the show. The following year, they had their first star vehicle, ''Buck Privates''. They went on to make over 30 films, remaining top-10 box office draws for the next decade. They also starred in ''The Abbott and Costello Show'' a half hour sketch comedy show.

In 1940 they appeared together in a supporting role in the film ''One Night in the Tropics'', and stole the show. The following year, they had their first star vehicle, ''Buck Privates''. They went on to make over 30 films, remaining top-10 box office draws for the next decade.

* WeakWilled: In one film, a psychologist tries to hypnotize Lou Costello. Lou proves to be completely immune, but the psychologist accidentally hypnotizes himself. Then Lou wakes him up, and managed to accidentally hypnotizes him again mere seconds later.

[[NamesTheSame Not to be confused]] with Tony Abbott and Peter Costello, a pair of [[AustralianPolitics Australian politicians]] who served as ministers under Prime Minister John Howard at the same time.

* [[WhosOnFirst Who's On First?]]

* AllAmazonsWantHercules: In ''Abbott and Costello Go To Mars'', Lou falls in love with the Amazonian Queen of Venus, a love she reciprocates... until his inability to keep his hands off of her subjects, and his cohorts' foolish attempt at staging a palace revolt, gets them all shipped back to Earth.

* ChainOfCorrections: Several of their routines fit this trope, none more famous than "WhosOnFirst." Played to perfection, the routine saw Abbott list the names of players on a baseball team to Costello, Costello constantly misinterpret the answers as non-responsive, Abbott correct him repeatedly and Costello becoming even more befuddled and confused to the point where, in the end he throws up his hands and says "I don't give a damn!" – unwittingly identifying the shortstop.

* HandyCuffs: One sketch involves one of them getting handcuffed with his hands in front when he points out that he can still swing his hands around. He then asks his captor to show where the cuffs need to go; the captor puts his hands behind his back, gets cuffed, and the good guy escapes.

* KitchenSinkIncluded: In ''Lost in Alaska'', while throwing things at the bad guys to keep them from advancing, Abbott says they've thrown everything but the kitchen sink. Guess what Costello does.

* ReachingBetweenTheLines: Lou keeps trying to make an important call but is obstructed by the operator who keeps telling him, "The line is busy". Eventually Lou gets so frustrated that he squirts a soda siphon down the mouthpiece and the operator gets squirted in the face.

* TongueTied: Several films have Costello needed to impart some important information, usually that the movie's villain is nearby. However, while he mimes speaking the words, he's so scared that he literally cannot make any kind of audible sound.

* WeakWilled: In one film, a psychologist tries to hypnotize Lou Costello. Lou proves to be completely immune, but the psychologist accidentally hypnotizes himself. Then Lou wakes him up, and managed to accidentally hypnotizes him again mere seconds later.

* LooneyTunes parodied them in three cartoons as "Babbit and Catstello". They also borrowed some of Lou's catch phrases and made them their own, like "I'm only three-and-a-half years old" and BugsBunny's "Gee, ain't I a stinker?"

* ''RobinHoodMenInTights'' has a scene where an abbot is greeted with Costello's catchphrase.

* AdultChild: Costello.

* InsaneTrollLogic: The basis of the sketch where [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa2dMnJ9Ov4 Costello proves that 7 x 13 = 28]].

* ShotgunWedding: In "Ride 'Em Cowboy", the Indians suggest forcing Costello into a "bow-and-arrow wedding".

* AdultChild: Costello generally acts as one.

* NotSoHarmless: Costello's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's not exactly stupid either, and DependingOnTheWriter he sometimes has scenes where he skillfully outwits people who only think he's just a moron - ''Whodunit'' in particular has him do this several times during the climax.