1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson. Hey. So, 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: this is just part two of our Emmett and Costello episode. 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: So if you haven't listened to part one, you should 6 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: probably do that before listening to this one. Otherwise you'll 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: miss the groundwork and we'll just jump in the middle 8 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: and it won't all make sense. We'll also send us 9 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: an email saying I can't believe you didn't talk about 10 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: who's on first, because that's in part one. Talked about 11 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: it back then. Uh So, when we left off in 12 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 1: that last episode, Abbott and Costello had finally signed a 13 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: movie deal with Universal Studios, making the move from burlesque 14 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: and vaudeville and then radio to the big screen. We're 15 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: gonna pick right up with their lives in Hollywood. The 16 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: first project, which was also a screen test, was a 17 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: short film called Daylight Saving that explained the daylight Saving plan. 18 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: The first feature film was One Night in the Tropics, 19 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: but and Luke played less than stellar detectives in that movie. 20 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: The movie was already in pre production and there was 21 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,320 Speaker 1: some fancy footwork required in the writing departments to wedge 22 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: Abbott and Costello into what was already a finished script 23 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: that was like not their movie. Yeah yeah, it did 24 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: not have like And then two comedians enter, but they 25 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: so they had to write all that in. And once 26 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: that was worked out and shooting began, a new problem 27 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: quickly emerged. The comedians were so funny that the crew 28 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: couldn't keep from laughing and ruining take after take, which 29 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,199 Speaker 1: apparently became somewhat frustrating but also very fun because everyone 30 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: was giggling. But even once they managed to get through 31 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: that and the filming was completed, there was a new problem, 32 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: which was editing. There was so much good material from 33 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: the comedians that it was hard to edit the film 34 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: down to its required ninety minutes. That ended up costing 35 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: some of the stars their screen time. The decision was 36 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: made to include as much of the comedy that lew 37 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: and Bud brought to the film as possible, but that 38 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: meant that other elements of the plot had to be cut, 39 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: which is funny considering that they had to be wedged 40 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: in in the first place. This picture was ultimately considered 41 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: a flop, but Abbott and Costello were a hit with 42 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: the audiences and the critics. Costello was apparently bothered at 43 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: the time, though their success came at the expense of 44 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: the film's star, Alan Jones. Their second film, which was 45 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: hugely popular, was Buck Privates, which came out in one 46 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: and it was made during a time of upheaval at 47 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: Universal when in fighting among executives was really common as 48 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: the company struggled financially, and at the same time, lu 49 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: Costello recognized that he and his partner were in a 50 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: position to negotiate for more money, which they did. At 51 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: the time they agreed to do Buck Privates, they had 52 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: signed on to a four picture deal at fifty dollars 53 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,639 Speaker 1: a movie plus ten percent of the profits. It was 54 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: an arrangement that was unheard of at the time. The 55 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: studio thought they'd never have to pay out on the 56 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: percentage part of the deal on B pictures, but Abbott 57 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: and Costello were still doing radio in addition to their 58 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,679 Speaker 1: other work, and they had a huge following. By the 59 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, those listeners were really ready for a movie 60 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:18,079 Speaker 1: starring their favorite entertainers in The studio allegedly went through 61 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: more than two dozen writer producers before finding one even 62 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: willing to throw in their lot that start a comedy 63 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: duo that had come up from the burlesque circuit. But 64 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: when Alex Gottlieb got the call, he was allegedly the 65 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: seven person that they talked to. Uh, he had the 66 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: opposite reaction. He was a fan. He knew who Abbott 67 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: and Costello were because they still weren't really well known 68 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: quantities in Hollywood, even though in many other places they were. Uh. 69 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: And he was super happy to helm this project. He 70 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: actually told the executive head of the studio, within a year, 71 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: I'll make Abbott and Costello stars. Gottlieb was a hundred 72 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: percent correct, but Privates cost a hundred and eighty thousand 73 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: dollars to make it's ax office records and grossed millions. 74 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: It also made Abbott and Costello household names. It was 75 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: in theaters the same time as Gone with the Wind, 76 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: and while the drama retained the number one spot, Universal's 77 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: little be movie still managed to attract an audience consistently. 78 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: The studio, wanting to capitalize on this moment, started shooting 79 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: a new picture with Abbott and Costello just weeks after 80 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: buck Privates open, and they just kept working from that 81 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: point on Throughout World War Two, Abbott and Costello made 82 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: more than a dozen films with Universal, but as time 83 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: wore on, there was a growing friction between the two men. 84 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: There were times when they could be heard arguing in 85 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: their trailers, clearly irate with one another. But despite whatever 86 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: personal problems they were having, they were always entirely professional 87 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: on the set, and some of that friction was financial. Bud, 88 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: as we mentioned in the previous episode, got sixty percent 89 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: of the take while Lou got forty in their initial bookings. 90 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: That had been, as we said, standard practice for a 91 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,599 Speaker 1: straight man in a comic on the burlesque circuit, and 92 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,040 Speaker 1: at one point though their management agency, which was William 93 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: Morris at the time, had shifted that split to fifty fifty. 94 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: But as their fame really started to grow and Costello 95 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: was being told by various admirers and hangers on that 96 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: he was really the star of the act, he began 97 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: to feel that he deserved a bigger portion of their 98 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: pay as a duo. Lou Costello was willing to take 99 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: a stand over this issue. He threatens to break up 100 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,679 Speaker 1: the act completely if he didn't get six He also 101 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,359 Speaker 1: wanted their name to be changed to Costello and Abbott, 102 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: and while but Abbott did give in on the money split, 103 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: Universal stepped in regarding the name change, as they had 104 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: bought the now recognized Abbott and Costello, not an act 105 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,679 Speaker 1: with any other name. That sixty forty split in favor 106 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 1: of Lou Costello remained the arrangement for the rest of 107 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: their time as partners. This also seemed to catalyze and 108 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:01,039 Speaker 1: on financial competitiveness in Costello. Wasn't enough that he was 109 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,919 Speaker 1: making more money. He had to show everyone that he was. 110 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: He had to have a bigger house than Bud, like 111 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: he kept expanding his own house to be bigger and bigger. Uh. 112 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: He had to have a bigger pool than Bud. And 113 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: he had to have a glitzier side business. So when 114 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 1: Bud Abbott bought a restaurant, Costello bought a nightclub. Additionally, 115 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: both of the men had a finess for gambling, and 116 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: so they wasted untoldsoms out doing one another and then 117 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 1: also playing cards. A singer who once toured with them 118 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: said that she saw them lose thirty five thousand dollars 119 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: in one game, an incredible amount of money in the 120 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,919 Speaker 1: nineteen forties. Yeah there are many tales of like people 121 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: who witnessed their games or were part of their games, 122 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: and we're just unable to really process how much cash 123 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 1: was being thrown around incredibly casually. And as all of 124 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: this was going on, though, they continued to work and 125 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:54,720 Speaker 1: they were launching additional projects. The Abbott and Costello Show 126 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: was a radio program that they started on October eighth 127 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: and that was successful right out of the gate and 128 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 1: it ran for years. They also entered into an agreement 129 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: with Universal and MGM that allowed the pair to appear 130 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: in films for MGM, although it was never the same 131 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: experience that they had had at Universal. On the Universal lot, 132 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: they were stars, but MGM never really embraced them with 133 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: quite the same enthusiasm, so the jobs just were not 134 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: as fun. Yeah, MGM was considered a more prestigious place 135 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: to work and to make a film, but they just 136 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: didn't seem to care as much about having Abbott and 137 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: Costello as as Universal did. And when the United States 138 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: entered World War two, uh there were, of course actors 139 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: who famously volunteered for military service, such as Jimmy Stewart 140 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: and Clark Gable. At this point, Abbott was too old 141 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: for service, and Costello had medical issues which kept him 142 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: from serving, but both men were wanted by the USO 143 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: and they were more than happy to perform for the troops. 144 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: In two lose wife Anne was pregnant with their third child, 145 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: a son named Lewis france Us, and he was born 146 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: on November six. He was nicknamed butch Leu was so 147 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: excited to have a son that it basically reinvigorated his 148 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: life and his work. That same year, but and Betty 149 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: adopted the son, Bud Jr. In February of three, but 150 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: and Lou toured the country selling more bonds. And this 151 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: was an interesting time because they were still being competitive. 152 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: But the competition between them came into play in what 153 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 1: ended up being a positive thing, as they both hustled 154 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: to outdo one another to see which of them could 155 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: raise more money, and as the tally in in any 156 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 1: given location where they were fundraising would add up, the 157 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: duo would perform sketches for the crowds, sort of like 158 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: a reward system, like if we get this much, we 159 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: will then do who's on first, If we get this much, 160 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: we'll do this other bit. So they were alternating between 161 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: sales pitches uh and comedy as the day went on, 162 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: and both men really were truly dedicated to the war 163 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: effort in this way, and at one point they even 164 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: agreed to perform in a kid's back yard when he 165 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: and his friends asked them to, and raised several hundred 166 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: dollars towards the war effort to book them. We're about 167 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: to get into a really difficult period in Lou Costello's life, 168 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: so I might want to grab a hanky, but before 169 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: we get to that, we will take a quick breather 170 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: and have a word from a sponsor. All of that 171 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: constant travel and performing eventually caught up to Lou. It 172 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: really took a toll on him. He developed rheumatic fever 173 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: and he was confined to bed rest for several months. 174 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: It actually took him close to a year to fully recover, 175 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 1: and while there were films already shot that were released 176 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 1: while he convalesced, the weekly radio show had to go 177 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 1: on hiatus without him. Lou eventually was upgraded from the 178 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 1: bed to using a wheelchair, and while he loved spending 179 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:51,079 Speaker 1: time with the kids, this downtime was really making him restless. Finally, 180 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:56,439 Speaker 1: in November, Costello was cleared to return to work. Unfortunately, 181 00:09:57,160 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: the same day that Lou returned to work on the 182 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: Abbott and Costello d DEO show, the family experienced a 183 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: terrible tragedy when there instant sun butched drowned in the 184 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,839 Speaker 1: family pool. Lou and Bud's manager, Eddie Sherman, drove Lou home. 185 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: He had been asked to bring him home. Nobody wanted 186 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: to tell Lou the news over the phone, and despite 187 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: being utterly heartbroken, though, Lou insisted on performing on the 188 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: radio that night, and at the end of that show, 189 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: Bud Abbott gave a statement. Here's Bud at Abbott's statement, 190 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, Now that our program is over and 191 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: we have done our best to entertain you, I would 192 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: like to take a moment to pay a tribute to 193 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: my best friend and to a man who had more 194 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 1: courage than I have ever seen displayed in the theater. Tonight, 195 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: the old expression the show must go on was brought 196 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: home to all of us on this program more clearly 197 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: than ever before. Just a short time before our broadcast started, 198 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: Lou Costello was told that his baby son, who would 199 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:52,959 Speaker 1: have been one year old and a couple of days, 200 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: had died in the face of the greatest tragedy which 201 00:10:56,679 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: can come to any man. Lou Costello went on tonight 202 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,200 Speaker 1: so that you, the radio audience, would not be disappointed. 203 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 1: There's nothing more that I can say except that I 204 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: know you all joined me in expressing our deepest sympathy 205 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 1: to a great trooper. Good Night. There was really significant 206 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 1: fallout in the Costello family, understandably after Butch's death. The 207 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: baby had been left unattended in his playpen near the 208 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:26,040 Speaker 1: pool due to some confusion over which of the many 209 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 1: adults in the house was watching him, and as the 210 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,439 Speaker 1: baby's mother was blamed by many of the members of 211 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 1: the Crystillo family, and this was not to be clear 212 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: a long distance hostility. When Lou had moved to California 213 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: to be in movies, he had moved his entire family 214 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:45,560 Speaker 1: with him, so Anne, who was grieving, had to endure 215 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: their judgment daily. Lou himself changed significantly after the tragedy. 216 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,720 Speaker 1: He had always been a happy, go lucky, outgoing and 217 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: friendly person with everyone in his life, but after the 218 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: loss of his son, he developed a temper and became 219 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: very quick to anger. It was apparent to everyone that 220 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,040 Speaker 1: Lou was not the same man They had known before. 221 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,440 Speaker 1: Lou had a bracelet engrave with Butch's name that was 222 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: welded shut on the wrist and he removed He refused 223 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: to remove it, and he and Anne were never able 224 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: to truly recover as a couple. Lu did harbor feelings 225 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: that Anne had been negligent, and she developed a drinking 226 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: problem after this tragedy, and it seemed that people were 227 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: so swept up in lose loss as a father and 228 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: suspicion about whether Anne had contributed to the accident that 229 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: Anne's loss as a mother was eclipsed and it was 230 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: never fully acknowledged. In ninety four, things started to pick 231 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: back up again. Lu started raising funds for a youth 232 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: foundation that he wanted to set up in Busch's name. 233 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: Abbott and Costello starred in a film called In Society, 234 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 1: which was hailed as one of their best projects. In 235 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: ninety five, Who's On First became part of a movie 236 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: titled The Naughty Nineties, and it became cemented by that 237 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: point as one of the era's comedy touchstones. While it 238 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: had already been popular on the radio, it's use in 239 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 1: film brought it to an even wider audience, and in 240 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 1: that new format. It was just one more way that 241 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 1: it was part of the sort of pop culture of 242 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:18,560 Speaker 1: the time, and as they worked, their partnership did continue 243 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: to work. Lou was fantastic at ad libbing, and Bud 244 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 1: was so smart and so quick that he could not 245 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: only follow him but also bring him back around to 246 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,320 Speaker 1: the needed elements of the script. They tended to not 247 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: be very strict to their script at all, and to 248 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 1: anyone who had never seen any given scene as it 249 00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: was written, it was so smooth the way that the 250 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: two transitioned in and out of scripted elements versus ad 251 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 1: libbed that most people weren't even aware that there was 252 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: improvisation or where it started or ended. That professional tension 253 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,719 Speaker 1: between Abbott and Costello had started to slip away as 254 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: the Abbott family had rallied around Lou and An in 255 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: their grief, but that started to return between the two 256 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: of them. Both Lou and Bud had become rougher with 257 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: one another, and the jokes they traded sometimes took on 258 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: a dark, hurtful tone. Yeah, there are some instances where 259 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: people talk about how some of the like comedy, physical 260 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 1: comedy bits like slaps started to see him a little 261 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 1: more like real slaps and not so much like clowning around, UH, 262 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: which I can imagine would probably be very awkward for 263 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 1: someone watching it play out. UH. They did split up 264 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 1: a few times, but only temporarily. Neither was ever as 265 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: good without the other. At one point they just stopped 266 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:40,360 Speaker 1: speaking entirely outside of work situations, so they would do 267 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 1: their routines or whatever the script called for. But when 268 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 1: the jokes were over, they didn't act interact at all. 269 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: They just walked separate ways off set, and that was that. 270 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: Just the same. Neither ever said a bad word about 271 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:54,720 Speaker 1: the other to the press, although the movie studios and 272 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: the radio producers were certainly always worried there would be 273 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: some big blow up in the press, but it never happen, 274 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: and and neither would ever seem to tolerate anyone speaking 275 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: ill of the other either. When Bud offered to help 276 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 1: raise money for the Youth Foundation, that rift was healed 277 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: for a while. The Lou Costello Junior Youth Foundation opened 278 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 1: on May third, ninety seven. It was a massive complex 279 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: with all manner of sports on activities for under underprivileged kids. 280 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: Lou was his hands on as he could manage at 281 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: the foundation, and he stopped by to see the kids 282 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,640 Speaker 1: and play ball with them as often as as his 283 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: schedule would allow. Lou and Anne had a fourth child, Christine, 284 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 1: on August fourteenth of nineteen forty seven, and the combination 285 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 1: of being the baby of the family and being born 286 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: after the loss of Butch really made her a treasured 287 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: and by her own admission, very spoiled child. After the war, 288 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: the Abbot and Costello material started to get a little 289 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 1: stale for movie audiences. They were still making movies at 290 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: are rapid, NonStop pace, but they were using some of 291 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,000 Speaker 1: the same jokes over and over. There was also a 292 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: turnover in the leadership at Universal, and while there was 293 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: still interest in Abbott and Costello because of their money 294 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 1: making potential, the entertainers weren't particularly happy. And to make 295 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 1: matters worse, the film's Universal was making with the pair 296 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 1: got more and more ridiculous. They started Abbott and Costello 297 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: Meet Frankenstein, followed by a flurry of other monster movies. 298 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: As you'll recall, Universal owns most of the big classic 299 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 1: horror monsters, so they put them in lots of things. Uh. 300 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,960 Speaker 1: These all actually did relatively well at the box office, 301 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: despite a number of arguments in the production process with 302 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: the directors on set over like what bits should or 303 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: shouldn't be him. It was basically just not a fun 304 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 1: time making movies in nineteen forty nine. But in Betty, 305 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 1: once again their family got bigger. This time they adopted 306 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: a baby girl named Vicky. The first half of the 307 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties were full of new projects for Rabbit and Costello. 308 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: They traveled to the United Kingdom on a comedy tour, 309 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:00,240 Speaker 1: each bringing their families and an assortment of assistance and helpers. 310 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,399 Speaker 1: They had some battle with Universal over the rights to 311 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,680 Speaker 1: the sixteen millimeter copies of their films, which the studio 312 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 1: started selling without their permission. The comedians filed a five 313 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,359 Speaker 1: million dollar lawsuit, and Universal, wanting to avoid a court 314 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: battle of the publicity that would follow it, settled by 315 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 1: paying out more than two million dollars to have it 316 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 1: in Costello. And though they were at this point recovering 317 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:27,719 Speaker 1: from the pain and the tragedy of lose loss, and 318 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: had seemed like they had had, you know, about six 319 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 1: years this point to bounce back, and they had managed 320 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: their settlement with Universal, there were more financial problems ahead, 321 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 1: and we're going to talk about those after we take 322 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: a quick sponsor break. So as the fifties stretched on, 323 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,640 Speaker 1: there were money troubles for both men. The gambling had 324 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: really gotten out of hand for Lew and Bud, and 325 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:58,439 Speaker 1: then uh Lou stopped all payments to their manager, Eddie Sherman, 326 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 1: believing that Eddie had cheated him and various deals and 327 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:05,880 Speaker 1: taking a bigger cut than agreed upon. Sherman sued both 328 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,560 Speaker 1: of the comedians and he won the suit. So not 329 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: only did they have to pay out four hundred thousand 330 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: dollars to Sherman, but their bookings and consequently their incomes 331 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:19,240 Speaker 1: suffered significantly without Sherman making deals for them. So finally, 332 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 1: with Abbott's sign off, Costello approached Sherman and asked him back, 333 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 1: but he also made it very clear that he didn't 334 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:30,720 Speaker 1: like him. There was also the problem of oversaturation. Director 335 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: Charles Lamont said of their flailing film efforts, quote, I 336 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: believe their popularity at the box office declined because their 337 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: pictures are being mass produced one right after the other 338 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:44,199 Speaker 1: and then rereleased along with their new ones. Universal was 339 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: desperate to get out of the red and they thought 340 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:48,960 Speaker 1: they could quickly make money by banking on Abbot and Costello, 341 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: but in doing so they really damaged the team's longevity 342 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: within Hollywood. Uh. Lou did himself and by extension, Bud 343 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: no favors when he supported sen Or Joseph McCarthy in 344 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 1: his search for potential communist propagandists within the entertainment industry. 345 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: And they got to the point where Costello would carry 346 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: petitions around asking fellow performers to sign them and swear 347 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: they had no ties to communism. So this irritated some 348 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 1: colleagues an outright offended others, and longtime writer and friend 349 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: John Grant actually never worked with Abbott and Costello again 350 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: after they quarreled over the petition. You'll remember that John 351 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,280 Speaker 1: Grant helped them write Who's On First and worked with 352 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:31,400 Speaker 1: them pretty much throughout their careers up to this point. 353 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: And it started to become a known thing that if 354 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: actors wanted to work on a project with Lou Costello, 355 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: they were going to have to sign this petition. Meanwhile, 356 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: on January seven, ninety one, they had started hosting the 357 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 1: Colgate Comedy Hour on television. Since it was once again 358 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: a new media with potentially a new audience. Uh, they 359 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: went on with the classic bits and sketches for their 360 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,159 Speaker 1: first show. It went so well they hosted it for 361 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:00,920 Speaker 1: the next three years. Then in nineteen fifty two, they 362 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,880 Speaker 1: began their TV show, The Abbott and Costello Show, which 363 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 1: ran on Friday nights. In October of nineteen fifty two, 364 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,919 Speaker 1: Abbott and Costello signed a contract with Universal that covered 365 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: eleven of their earliest films, and it established a participatory 366 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 1: interest in the profits of those films. So according to 367 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,720 Speaker 1: the contract, Edward Sherman got ten percent, but Abbott got 368 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 1: forty one point five percent and Lou Costello got forty 369 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,600 Speaker 1: nine point five percent. In nineteen fifty three, they made 370 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: Abbott and Costello go to Mars. That same year, both 371 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: Bud and Lou were turned into the Internal Revenue Services 372 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:38,879 Speaker 1: tax evaders, was devastating for both of them. Costello had 373 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 1: been far, far too loose with money and truth he 374 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: probably thought he had more than he really did, but 375 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,640 Speaker 1: Abbott had to account for literally every item he owned 376 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,920 Speaker 1: as an asset. A complete audit revealed that taxes had 377 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: been found improperly by sloppy or maybe unscrupulous accountants, and 378 00:20:57,080 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: each man owed about three quarters of a million dollars 379 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:03,919 Speaker 1: in taxes and penalties. Yeah, there are a lot of 380 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: accounts of how particularly Lou Costello would spend money in 381 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: ways that just didn't create a paper trail. Uh. Possibly 382 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,879 Speaker 1: on purpose, but more likely than not, just because he 383 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:20,960 Speaker 1: liked to spend money like crazy. Uh. There's one story 384 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: where somebody brought him a check for ten thousand dollars 385 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 1: to a set and then he placed a phone call 386 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,399 Speaker 1: right there on the set and said he was going 387 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,720 Speaker 1: to buy the yacht and basically sent that check directly 388 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:34,840 Speaker 1: to the people he was purchasing the yacht from. So 389 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:39,640 Speaker 1: there was no real trail of him having ever received 390 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,160 Speaker 1: that money, which created a problem. And there were lots 391 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 1: of issues like that that just weren't documented. But people 392 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:47,159 Speaker 1: were saying, no, I paid them that money, yet it 393 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: was not showing up on their tax returns. Uh. While 394 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 1: there was small salvation, however, and that it was determined 395 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 1: that fraud was never intended uh, which would have resulted 396 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:01,040 Speaker 1: in steeper penalties, there were still low of deductions on 397 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,520 Speaker 1: tax forms that were completely unsubstantiated by any records, and 398 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,920 Speaker 1: things like unreported income like I just talked about. Tax 399 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,120 Speaker 1: attorney Arthur Manila managed to negotiate the amount that each 400 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 1: man owed down to seventy thousand dollars uh, and there 401 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: was additional back and forth over income from gambling, which 402 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 1: was eventually settled through a legal team. So after years 403 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,440 Speaker 1: of extravagant living, it was all catching up to both 404 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 1: of them. But Abbott once commented that he didn't get 405 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 1: rich until he was in his forties and that after 406 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:33,679 Speaker 1: having been poor for so long, it felt like he 407 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,080 Speaker 1: had to live it up. Both men still indulged their 408 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: gap gambling habits after all this, and Lou, who had 409 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,440 Speaker 1: a number of relapses in his rheumatic fever, was having 410 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 1: more and more frequent attacks. And of course, that film 411 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:49,360 Speaker 1: that they had been working on at the same time 412 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 1: Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, was considered the worst 413 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:57,080 Speaker 1: movie that the duo ever made. Lou Costello sold his 414 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: lavish home to help with a tax bill, and he 415 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: moved his family, who are ranch he owned in the 416 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: San Fernando Valley. This move was rough on the whole family, 417 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,679 Speaker 1: and Anne developed a nervous rash and her drinking continued. 418 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: Yeah In many ways, the kids liked it, like the 419 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:13,840 Speaker 1: ranch had horses, low bottom bunch of race horses, and 420 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,560 Speaker 1: their livestock and over the years, and so they got 421 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:18,920 Speaker 1: to kind of have this fun ranch experience, but they 422 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,919 Speaker 1: also missed their incredible house that had been really the 423 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,120 Speaker 1: seat of their lives as long as the kids could remember, 424 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,439 Speaker 1: so it was very stressful. Just the same, the comedy 425 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,160 Speaker 1: team made two films with Universal and nineteen fifty five 426 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:35,159 Speaker 1: Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Cops and Abbott and 427 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 1: Costello Meet the Mummy, And by that point they were 428 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:41,119 Speaker 1: once again in a state where they didn't talk except 429 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,400 Speaker 1: during their scenes. And in nineteen fifty six, Button Loose 430 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: started their last picture together titled Dance with Me Henry. 431 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,879 Speaker 1: They did a last stage booking together in Las Vegas 432 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 1: at the end of nineteen fifty six and it did 433 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: not go well, but was off with its timing and 434 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:00,439 Speaker 1: it made the act really laggy. Yeah, that's we'll talk 435 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:02,120 Speaker 1: about it a little bit more at the very end. 436 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 1: But that's one of the few times that most people 437 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:08,479 Speaker 1: will say that there was a problem with Bud's drinking 438 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 1: that had actually caused an issue on stage, because normally 439 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: they were very professional. Who's On First was added to 440 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,600 Speaker 1: the Baseball Hall of Fame in nineteen fifty six, and 441 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:22,760 Speaker 1: it's often reported that Bud Abbott and Luke Costello are 442 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 1: the only non baseball players to be inducted into the 443 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:27,679 Speaker 1: Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. But that is 444 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 1: not accurate. So when you see that statement, it's it's 445 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: a little bit misunderstood. A gold record of that bit 446 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:35,879 Speaker 1: of the sketch Who's On First was added to the 447 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 1: museum's collection, as well as a framed copy of the 448 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,400 Speaker 1: dialogue of the sketch, but Bud and Lou were not inducted. 449 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,439 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty seven, Abbott and Costello broke up the 450 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,199 Speaker 1: act for good. There were a number of factors that 451 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,920 Speaker 1: went into the decision. Buds drinking had really worn on Lou, 452 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: who was stealing with you know, his wife having the 453 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:59,520 Speaker 1: same problem. Lou also wanted to pursue a serious acting career. 454 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,399 Speaker 1: According to Bud's wife, Betty Abbott was deeply saddened by 455 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:06,960 Speaker 1: the whole thing when they never gave one specific reason 456 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:08,920 Speaker 1: that it ended, but the people around them also were 457 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,120 Speaker 1: like there was never like one big blow up fight 458 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: or anything. It just kind of came to a point 459 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:18,000 Speaker 1: where things were not working anymore, and Lou started working 460 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: right away on Steve Allen Show, often doing old bits 461 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:24,280 Speaker 1: that he had done with UH with Bud Abbott, with 462 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:27,560 Speaker 1: different people subbing in for Bud's parts. And he traveled 463 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,439 Speaker 1: with the Steve Allen Show to Cuba in and he 464 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,000 Speaker 1: had crowds following him everywhere he went. He made a 465 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,439 Speaker 1: film in ninety eight titled The Thirty Foot Bride of 466 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: Candy Rock, which was, by all accounts terrible. You might 467 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:47,160 Speaker 1: not have suspected that from the name that the process 468 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,720 Speaker 1: I said. I'm sorry, the name just sounds absurd. The 469 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: process of making the movie was also terrifying. He had 470 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:57,879 Speaker 1: to act alone on a blank set so that his 471 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,920 Speaker 1: image could be super imposed. Were the scenes that had 472 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 1: already been filmed of this giant woman in the title. Yeah, 473 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,439 Speaker 1: he felt like he didn't really know what to do, 474 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 1: just standing there by himself. It was really really scary. 475 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 1: At least at least give the guy a tennis ball 476 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,720 Speaker 1: on a stick to look at. That's what that was 477 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:20,600 Speaker 1: before John Nolan Ilm started doing such things. Um After 478 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,000 Speaker 1: he appeared on television in an episode of General Electric Theater, 479 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 1: Lu got offered another role on Wagon Train, in which 480 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:30,160 Speaker 1: he played a drunk and while he struggled with staying 481 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:33,120 Speaker 1: on script, something that had never been an issue when 482 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:35,359 Speaker 1: he had Bud to corral him back to the right spot. 483 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,640 Speaker 1: He still gave a really strong performance, and that role 484 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:42,360 Speaker 1: led to a Broadway producer approaching him about another role 485 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: in an upcoming play. Lou had to sell the ranch 486 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: in eight while still working on a tax bill, and 487 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,679 Speaker 1: he moved his family to an apartment in Sherman Oaks 488 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 1: while also building a new home. He also appeared in 489 00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:59,040 Speaker 1: a burlesque style Vegas show very similar to the ones 490 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,399 Speaker 1: he and Bud had been playing at the start, and 491 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,919 Speaker 1: had a heart attack not long after they moved to 492 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,639 Speaker 1: the apartment. She was hospitalized for a time, but she 493 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: did recover the last week of February nine. Lou was 494 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:16,320 Speaker 1: taken to the hospital where he died on March three, 495 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: but Abbott didn't know about his former partner's illness until 496 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 1: after he had passed. He later told Lou's mother, Mom, 497 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,479 Speaker 1: I don't know why they didn't tell me. Maybe if 498 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:28,399 Speaker 1: I'd have known, I could have gone up there and 499 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: helped Lou. My heart is broken. I've lost the best, 500 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:36,920 Speaker 1: the best pal anyone could ever have. But was also 501 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,880 Speaker 1: one of the pallbearers at the funeral. The thirty foot 502 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:44,080 Speaker 1: Bride of Candy Rock came out after Lou died, and 503 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: his widow Am after seeing the bomb, told friends this 504 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,679 Speaker 1: would have killed Lou if he had seen it. Two 505 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,919 Speaker 1: years after Lose passing, but Abbott decided to make another 506 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:56,680 Speaker 1: go of it and show business. He paired with a 507 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,439 Speaker 1: Candy Candido, a multi talented comedian who had worked on 508 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: the nineteen fifty movie Abbott and Costello in The Foreign Legion. 509 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:10,160 Speaker 1: The magic that Abbot and Costello had just couldn't be replicated, though, 510 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 1: and the act fell flat. People were not particularly interested 511 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:17,639 Speaker 1: in seeing Bud without Lou. No one, he said, could 512 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,479 Speaker 1: ever live up to Lou. And after that, but Abbott 513 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,879 Speaker 1: retired permanently. He had a series of strokes beginning in 514 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:28,399 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty which made his health progressively worse, and he 515 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 1: died of cancer on April nineteen seventy four, with his 516 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,440 Speaker 1: wife of fifty five years and their two children at 517 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: his bedside. Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the humor 518 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: of Abbot and Costello was how clean it was, despite 519 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,520 Speaker 1: their early years as a burlesque act. Luke Costello's daughter 520 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: Chris wrote and Lose biography that there wasn't an Abbot 521 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:52,200 Speaker 1: and Costello routine. That quote couldn't be done in a 522 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,560 Speaker 1: minister's parlor. I never thought they had to be dirty 523 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:57,560 Speaker 1: to get laughs, and that's one of the reasons why 524 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,640 Speaker 1: their films were so popular. One other thing that may 525 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: surprise people, UH is that as good as Lou and 526 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,480 Speaker 1: Bud were as a team during the height of their fame, 527 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,680 Speaker 1: and as well as they got together they got along 528 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,680 Speaker 1: together on screen, they didn't hang out as friends really 529 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 1: outside of work. UH. Their wives were quite close, particularly 530 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: so after Anne and Lou lost their son. We mentioned 531 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: the financial strain on the Abbot and Costello relationship, but 532 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: even before they started quarreling on who deserved the most money, 533 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:31,320 Speaker 1: they didn't really socialize outside of the theaters they played 534 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:33,800 Speaker 1: in or the lots where they were filming. They were 535 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:38,160 Speaker 1: just very different men, both personally and professionally. Bud would 536 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,440 Speaker 1: have been happy to stay on the vaudeville comedy circuit, 537 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: but Lou wanted to be a Hollywood star When filming pictures, 538 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: Bud needed a lone time in his dressing room when 539 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: they weren't filming, but Lou hung out on the set 540 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:51,800 Speaker 1: and made friends with the crew. I would have been 541 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 1: in my dressing room. I know it well, and I 542 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,880 Speaker 1: think it's also, um, it becomes really sort of heartbreaking 543 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:01,400 Speaker 1: that there are so many quotes of Bud talking about 544 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,959 Speaker 1: how Lou was his best friend, when I think Lou 545 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:08,000 Speaker 1: felt like they weren't always that particularly close. Um. You know, 546 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:09,880 Speaker 1: it's just they just had a very different view of 547 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 1: how the whole relationship worked in some ways, and part 548 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:17,160 Speaker 1: of their social incompatibility is also sometimes chalked up to 549 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 1: the fact that Bud was more of a drinker than Lou. 550 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,600 Speaker 1: Bud had epilepsy from the time he was a young man. 551 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: Starting in the nineteen twenties, he started having epileptic attacks, 552 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:29,600 Speaker 1: and according to director Arthur Lubin, who worked with the 553 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,480 Speaker 1: comedians on many films, Bud told him at one point 554 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: that he drank to help him sleep because the epilepsy 555 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:38,040 Speaker 1: gave him such anxiety that he was otherwise never able 556 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 1: to rest. Abbott and Costello performed together for twenty two years, 557 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: and during that time they managed to transition from burlesque 558 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:48,160 Speaker 1: and vaudeville onto radio and then to both the small 559 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 1: and big screens. They're Smart Guy, Stupid Guy Act, which 560 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,480 Speaker 1: was a common format at the time when they started. 561 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 1: Had such a chemistry that even when they were recycling material, 562 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:04,560 Speaker 1: kept audiences laughing. Lu was generous. He would pay for 563 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:07,320 Speaker 1: groceries to be delivered to poor families at Thanksgiving, or 564 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,720 Speaker 1: he would hand There's a story of him handing money 565 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 1: to a kid that was a boxer and was not 566 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:13,440 Speaker 1: very good at it, and it turned out he was 567 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:15,400 Speaker 1: just doing it to help his parents make ends meet, 568 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,800 Speaker 1: so Lou gave him money to kind of tied him 569 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 1: over till he could find a more suitable way to 570 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:25,000 Speaker 1: earn money. Um. There is also the one thing that 571 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 1: people often say when the name lu Costello comes up 572 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:29,680 Speaker 1: is like, wasn't he a thief? Didn't he take stuff 573 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 1: off of sets all the time? He did? Uh? And 574 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:36,600 Speaker 1: they're differing thoughts on why he did that. Some people 575 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:38,800 Speaker 1: would say, well, he felt like he wasn't getting a 576 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 1: fair contract at Universal ever, so he would just take 577 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,240 Speaker 1: pieces from the set. Others just thought like he hated 578 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:45,960 Speaker 1: to see something go to waste, like to go into 579 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: storage right after a film got made, so he would 580 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: just take it home. We don't know why, but he 581 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:53,560 Speaker 1: did take some stuff from sets. Um. But he was 582 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 1: also this very generous person. But this blithe generosity and 583 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:02,200 Speaker 1: his gambling problem made for terrible money management, as evidenced 584 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:04,120 Speaker 1: by his run ins with the I R S and 585 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:06,240 Speaker 1: his inability to show what had happened to any of 586 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,040 Speaker 1: his money, and his subsequent financial hardships trying to get 587 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:14,200 Speaker 1: caught up. Lu Costello Junior's Youth foundation still operates as 588 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 1: the Lou Costello Junior Recreation Center in East Los Angeles, 589 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: although it's now run by the city. Yeah, they had 590 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:21,800 Speaker 1: to turn it over to the city to run at 591 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,080 Speaker 1: one point because they just couldn't afford to keep it 592 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 1: going on it on its on their own um. And 593 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:29,200 Speaker 1: because of the high level of fame that this duo 594 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:33,840 Speaker 1: achieved and Costello's big personality contrasted by Abbot's more private style, 595 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 1: there have been innumerable stories about them over the years 596 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:41,400 Speaker 1: that have been overblown or relayed without context. For example, 597 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:46,120 Speaker 1: tales of Lou Costello's explosive behavior, which there's one particular 598 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: biography of him that's written and it really makes him 599 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:50,960 Speaker 1: out to be a monster. But those stories are literally 600 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,160 Speaker 1: from the time right after he lost his son, when 601 00:32:54,160 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: he was still very deeply in grief and really not um, 602 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:04,320 Speaker 1: you know his normal self at all. Similarly, but Abbott's 603 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:08,440 Speaker 1: drinking problem was a very real thing. But uh, and 604 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 1: there were reports that said that he would appear on 605 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 1: stage so inebriated he could not perform, and most of 606 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: the people close to them have said that's patently false, 607 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 1: with the exception of that one final show that went 608 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:25,480 Speaker 1: so poorly. Um, however, that that may have been the 609 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:29,560 Speaker 1: last straw for Loo that particular incident. So it seems 610 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:33,560 Speaker 1: this clearly both men did have their demons, but they 611 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:37,600 Speaker 1: remained professional in their career obligations. The reality is these 612 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: two comedians were complex people with lives and problems, and 613 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,880 Speaker 1: they were also celebrities, which invited a lot of gossip 614 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:48,360 Speaker 1: and speculation about their lives away from the public. In 615 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,360 Speaker 1: the foreword to the book Lose On First, which is 616 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 1: the one written by Costello's daughter that we've referenced several times, 617 00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:57,320 Speaker 1: comedian Steve Allen wrote, quote, no list of great comedy 618 00:33:57,320 --> 00:33:59,680 Speaker 1: teams would be complete without the names of Abbott and 619 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 1: cost Fello. They left a legacy. Unfortunately, we can still 620 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:06,800 Speaker 1: see their films on television today and I'm certain they've 621 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:11,680 Speaker 1: won a new generation of fans. So that's our very 622 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:17,759 Speaker 1: long to partner on Abbott and Costa because I love 623 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:22,319 Speaker 1: them and it's self indulgence. Well, and we also this 624 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:24,000 Speaker 1: is hitting in a time in our calendar where we 625 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:26,919 Speaker 1: just talked about something awful, So it's nice to have 626 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:31,000 Speaker 1: something that's about comedy. Yeah, even though there's some tragedy 627 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,120 Speaker 1: in there. You know, at the end of the day, 628 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:36,279 Speaker 1: there's a really lovely legacy of laughter that we we 629 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:39,759 Speaker 1: owe them for. So uh. And you know, I love 630 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:42,920 Speaker 1: to talk about comedians because I think they're usually incredibly 631 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:45,320 Speaker 1: complex and interesting and that's the kind of stuff I 632 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:48,719 Speaker 1: could just read for days. Do you want to do 633 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:53,120 Speaker 1: listener mail? Yes, let's do listener mail. Okay, this one 634 00:34:53,200 --> 00:34:55,440 Speaker 1: is also pretty light. It is from our listener Donovan. 635 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,280 Speaker 1: He says, Hello, Tracy and Holly. My name is Donovan, 636 00:34:58,320 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: and I've been listening to the show for a few 637 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:02,000 Speaker 1: year now and really appreciate the work you do. I'm 638 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,720 Speaker 1: a huge history nerd and I was introduced to podcast 639 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:07,480 Speaker 1: by my brother when he showed me Dan Carlin's Hardcore History. 640 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:09,359 Speaker 1: And as much as I love that show, the time 641 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:11,799 Speaker 1: between episodes kills me. But it leads me to looking 642 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:14,040 Speaker 1: for other history shows, and once I found stuff you 643 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 1: missed in history class, I was hooked. I do a 644 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:18,799 Speaker 1: lot of driving and I prefer podcast to music when 645 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:22,760 Speaker 1: doing so, so your show output rate is a lifesaver. Anyway, 646 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,360 Speaker 1: long winded intro aside, I was listening to the episode 647 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:27,880 Speaker 1: on Coodyne, which I loved as I'm very interested in 648 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,840 Speaker 1: the Mongols, and you mentioned the highly inaccurate portrayal of 649 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 1: her on the Marco Polo Netflix series and how the 650 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:35,440 Speaker 1: wrestling was not the type she would really have been doing. 651 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:37,680 Speaker 1: When you refer to the rolling on the ground as 652 00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:41,600 Speaker 1: Greco Roman, uh, that's not correct. In reality, Greco Roman 653 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:43,920 Speaker 1: style doesn't have a lot of groundwork. Most of it 654 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,239 Speaker 1: is done from the standing clinch, using throws, takedown, slams, 655 00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:50,200 Speaker 1: and subplexes, so it's actually closer to Mongolian wrestling than 656 00:35:50,239 --> 00:35:52,880 Speaker 1: you'd think. Most wrestling on the ground comes from styles 657 00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:56,760 Speaker 1: like amateur, collegiate freestyle or, depending on the gold jiu jitsu. 658 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:58,560 Speaker 1: I know it's a small thing, but I thought i'd 659 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:00,799 Speaker 1: mentioned it anyway, because in addition to being a nerd 660 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,760 Speaker 1: about history, I'm also a nerd about martial arts. Anyway, 661 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,560 Speaker 1: Sorry for the long and dumb email keep with a 662 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:08,239 Speaker 1: great work. That's not along and dumb email. It's great. Uh, 663 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:10,200 Speaker 1: and that's info. I I just said that off the 664 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,200 Speaker 1: cuff and I was Wronggo wrongo. You can tell I 665 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 1: don't know anything really about wrestling, um, except what history 666 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,480 Speaker 1: books have told me, which is not always accurate. Uh. 667 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:20,799 Speaker 1: We also got a similar correction from our listeners act. 668 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:22,759 Speaker 1: So thanks to both of you, because that is a 669 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,560 Speaker 1: fixer that's worth havin Uh. So now I will learn 670 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 1: more about wrestling and not make that mistake again. Uh. 671 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:31,520 Speaker 1: If you would like the right to us, you could 672 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,839 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at house to works dot com. 673 00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:36,320 Speaker 1: You can also find us across the spectrum of social 674 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:41,200 Speaker 1: media as at missed in History. That means on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumbler, 675 00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:44,520 Speaker 1: or Pinterest you can find us as a missed in History. Uh. 676 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:48,040 Speaker 1: You can also find our our website, which is missed 677 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,760 Speaker 1: in History dot com, where we have a back catalog 678 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,360 Speaker 1: of every episode of the podcast that has ever existed, 679 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,680 Speaker 1: going way way back, uh, long before you would be 680 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,759 Speaker 1: hearing my voice or Tracy's voice on it. And we 681 00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:02,520 Speaker 1: all so have show notes on some and now we 682 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:04,840 Speaker 1: have consolidated show notes so they're on the same page 683 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 1: as the show page. For any episodes in the recent 684 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:10,759 Speaker 1: past and going forward, you can go to our parents site, 685 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,400 Speaker 1: which is how stuff works dot com. Type down almost 686 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:16,040 Speaker 1: anything you're curious about into the search bar, and you're 687 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:19,160 Speaker 1: going to find a wealth of information and entertaining articles 688 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:22,040 Speaker 1: and videos and perhaps quizzes and all manner of things 689 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,239 Speaker 1: to keep you busy. So please come and visit us 690 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:26,680 Speaker 1: at missed in history dot com and how stuff works 691 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:33,640 Speaker 1: dot com for more on this and thousands of other topics. 692 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:47,560 Speaker 1: Is it how stuff works dot com.