Bud Abbott – An American Actor and Comedian
Bud Abbott was born in New Jersey on 1895. His parents were in the Barnum and Bailey Circus. At the age of 16, he started working in the box office of Casino Theatre in Brooklyn. Abbott married a burlesque dancer, Betty Smith and later they together produced a tab show called Broadway Flashes. Later he started working with Harry Steppe and Harry Evanson, who were veteran comedians of that time.
Minsky’s Burlesque was an American burlesque brand and Abbott produced that show. Later Costello joined the show and they teamed together to perform many other shows. He got national attention through his performance in Kate Smith Hour radio show. This show gave them chance in a Broadway musical, ‘The Streets of Paris’. In 1940, Abbott and Costello were signed by the Universal Studios for the film, ‘One Night in the Tropics’. At the time of Second World War, this duo became the highest paid stars in the world. During the period from 1940-1960, they produced 36 films and earned good profits. ‘The Colgate Comedy Hour’ was brought to the audience by this duo in 1950 and later they started ‘The Abbott and Costello Show’ which was a half an hour series.
Bud Abbott – An American Actor and Comedian
Due to the division in the profit money and the demand of Costello to change the show’s name to ‘Costello and Abbott’, a permanent separation happened in their relationship and they formally parted in 1957. In 1961, Abbott performed in a television drama episode, ‘The Jokes On Me’.
In his personal life, he adopted two children. In the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Abbott has three stars: the radio star, the motion pictures star and the TV star. In 2006, the Garden State Film Festival honored him with Lifetime Achievement Award for acting (posthumously). During his last days, he suffered from epilepsy, stroke and prostate cancer. In 1974, he died at the age of 78 in California.
