User:Paleface Jack/Lou Costello (revision draft)

Lou Costello
Born	Louis Francis Cristillo (1906-03-06)March 6, 1906 Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	March 3, 1959(1959-03-03) (aged 52) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, comedian
Years active	Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles)
Spouse	Anne Battler ​ (m. 1934)​
Children	4

Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), better known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine "Who's on First?".

Early life and film career (1906-1927)

Louis Francis Cristillo was born on March 6, 1906, in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Helen Rege and Sebastiano Cristillo, a silk weaver and insurance sales agent. His father was Italian, from Caserta, while his mother was an American of Italian, French, and Irish ancestry, with her grandfather Francesco Rege being a native of Piedmont, Italy.

Burlesque, marriage, and Vaudeville years (1928-1934))

On January 30, 1934, Costello married Anne Battler, a burlesque chorus dancer.

Abbott and Costello

Initial team up (1935-1936)

By the end of 1936, Anne gave birth to their daughter Patricia "Paddy" Costello.

Continued success (1937-1941)

Costello would achieve continued success through his partnership with Abbott, with the duo annually listed in the top ten box office draws.

Tragedy and struggles (1942-1954)

In the summer of 1942, Costello embarked on a 35-day cross-country tour with Abbott to promote and sell war bonds. Their reputation and promotion led to the sale of $85 million ($1.25 billion in 2024) in bonds according to the United States Department of the Treasury.

Selected filmography

Main article: Lou Costello filmography

Features

• The Trail of '98 (1928) as Extra/Stunt Double for Harry Karrey
• One Night in the Tropics (1940) as Costello
• Buck Privates (1941) as Herbie Brown
• In the Navy (1941) as Pomeroy Watson
• Hold That Ghost (1941) as Ferdinand Jones
• Keep 'Em Flying (1941) as Heathcliffe
• Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942) as Willoughby
• Rio Rita (1942) as "Wishy" Dunn
• Pardon My Sarong (1942) as Wellington Phlug
• Who Done It? (1942) as Mervyn Milgrim
• It Ain't Hay (1943) as Wilbur Hoolihan
• Hit The Ice (1943) as Tubby McCoy
• In Society (1944) as Albert Mansfield
• Lost in a Harem (1944) as Harvey Garvey
• Here Come the Co-Eds (1945) as Oliver Quackenbush
• The Naughty Nineties (1945) as Sebastian Dinwiddie
• Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945) as Abercrombie
• Little Giant (1946) as Benny Miller
• The Time of Their Lives (1946) as Horatio Prim
• Buck Privates Come Home (1947) as Herbie Brown
• The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947) as Chester Wooley
• The Noose Hangs High (1948) as Tommy Hinchcliffe
• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) as Wilbur Grey
• Mexican Hayride (1948) as Joe Bascom/Humphrey Fish
• Africa Screams (1949) as Stanley Livingston
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949) as Freddie Phillips
• Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) as Lou Hotchkiss
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) as Lou Francis
• Comin' Round the Mountain (1951) as Wilbert Smith
• Jack and the Beanstalk (1952) as Jack Strong
• Lost in Alaska (1952) as George Bell
• Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952) as Oliver "Puddin' Head" Johnson
• Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) as Orville
• Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) as Tubby
• Fireman Save My Child (1954) as Man in Long Shots (uncredited)
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955) as Willie Piper
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) as Freddie Franklin
• Dance with Me, Henry (1956) as Lou Henry
• The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959) as Artie Pinsetter

Works cited

Books

• Anobile, Richard (January 1, 1973). Who's on First?: Verbal and Visual Gems from the Films of Abbott & Costello (2nd ed.). Studio Vista. ISBN 978-0-2897-0335-9.
• Coniam, Matthew; Santa Maria, Nick (January 11, 2023). The Annotated Abbott and Costello: A Complete Viewer's Guide to the Comedy Team and Their 38 Films. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-4776-0.
• Costello, Chris; Strait, Raymond (January 1, 1981). Lou's on First (1st ed.). Crossroad Press. ISBN 978-0-3124-9913-6.
• Cox, Stephen (October 1, 1997). The Abbott & Costello Story: Sixty Years of "Who's on First?" (2nd ed.). [Turner Publishing Company]]. ISBN 978-1-6204-5207-3.
• Dunning, John (May 7, 1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1950-7678-3.
• Furmanek, Bob; Palumbo, Ron (May 31, 1991). Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (Illustrated ed.). Perigee Books. ISBN 978-0-3995-1605-4.
• Koppes, Clayton; Black, Gregory (August 16, 1990). Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies (2nd ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-5200-7161-2.
• Lang, Rocky; Hall, Barbara, eds. (September 10, 2019). Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking. Abrams Books. ISBN 978-1-6833-5666-0.
• Miller, Jeffrey (March 22, 2004). The Horror Spoofs of Abbott and Costello: A Critical Assessment of the Comedy Team's Monster Films (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-1922-7.
• Nollen, Scott (June 8, 2009). Abbott and Costello on the Home Front: A Critical Study of the Wartime Films (Illustrated ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-5325-2.
• Schatz, Thomas (Jun 2, 2015). The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era (2nd ed.). Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-1-6277-9645-3.
• Sies, Luther (April 29, 2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-9563-4.
• Smith Jr., E.W. (December 6, 2010). Athletes Once: 100 Famous People Who Were Once Notable Athletes. Fireship Press. ISBN 978-1-6117-9068-9.
• Thomas, Bob (January 1, 1977). Bud & Lou: The Abbott & Costello Story (Illustrated ed.). Lippincott. ISBN 978-0-3970-1195-7.

Periodicals

• "Filmdom Ranks Its Money-Spinning Stars Best At Box-Office". The Sydney Morning Herald. March 30, 1950. p. 12. Retrieved October 4, 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
• "Box Office Draw". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, New South Wales: National Library of Australia. December 29, 1952. p. 3. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
• Graham, Sheilah (March 31, 1951). "Last of the Great Comedy Teams". The World's News. New South Wales, Australia. p. 20 – via National Library of Australia.
• Jones, Lon (March 24, 1945). "Bing Crosby America's Screen Favourite". The Argus. Melbourne, Australia. p. 8. Retrieved October 5, 2014 – via National Library of Australia.

External links

• Paleface Jack/Lou Costello at IMDb
• Paleface Jack/Lou Costello at the TCM Movie Database