Abbott and Costello

Greetings, Readers.

I've always known there was this famous comedy pair out there named "Abbott and Costello". Their skits and movies have apparently impressed enough of America that many know their names, even though they may not have heard or seen a single one of their works. (i.e.: Someone like me.)

Yesterday evening, while staying at my grandparents' house, I had the pleasure of watching their production of Jack and the Beanstalk on DVD. In this production, Lou Costello plays Jack - a "professional babysitter" - who falls asleep while the child he is watching reads him the classic story of Jack and the Beanstalk. The rest of the movie is a dream sequence in which the story is played out with Lou Costello as Jack (of course), and Bud Abbott (who plays Jack's "manager", Mr Dinkel, outside of the dream sequence) as Mr. Dinkelpuss, the butcher to whom Jack sells his cow. Although the picture quality (even after being put on DVD) leaves much to be desired by today's standards, the story is nevertheless still timeless and well played out by all the actors involved.

Then, this morning after breakfast, my grandfather introduced me to one of the radio shows done by Abbot and Costello, called "Who's on First". If the rest of their productions have near the quality of humor as this one, then I can definitely see why their names are now so commonly heard of. The web link above has a text script, and audio and video files of the comedy skit. It may be a bit tricky to follow by audio or video, as there's a lot of quick talking, but those are definitely the best ways to enjoy the production. Go ahead and download one, then sit back and laugh a few minutes today. It's good for your blood pressure. :-)

- Iszi