The Abbott and Costello Show: Difference between revisions

The show, which was put into production soon after Abbott and Costello joined the roster of rotating hosts of ''[[The Colgate Comedy Hour]]'',<ref name=":0">Lewis, Jon E.; Stempel, Penny (1998). ''Cult TV: The Comedies: The Ultimate Critical Guide''. Great Eastern Ward Parkgate Road, London: Pavilion Books Limited. p.12 {{ISBN|1-86205-245-X}}.</ref> was conceived as a vehicle to bring the duo's tried-and-true [[American burlesque|burlesque]] routines to television in a format that the team could control. There were cnonenone of the musical interludes or love stories that marked most of their feature films. Basically, if a situation or gag was funny, the team filmed it with little regard to plot, character or continuity. As a result, the show became a valuable record of classic burlesque scenes performed by the duo.

Abbott and Costello portrayed unemployed actors sharing an apartment in a [[rooming house]] in Los Angeles. The supporting cast included [[Sidney Fields]] as Sidney Fields, their landlord; [[Hillary Brooke]] as Hillary Brooke, their neighbor and sometime love interest for Costello; [[Gordon Jones (actor)|Gordon Jones]] as Mike the Cop, a dimwitted foil for the boys; [[Joe Besser]] as Stinky, a "little boy" dressed in a [[Little Lord Fauntleroy]] suit, played by the clearly adult Besser; and [[Joe Kirk]] (Costello's brother-in-law) as Mr. Bacciagalupe, an Italian immigrant caricature who held a variety of jobs depending upon the requirements of the script. [[Bobby Barber]] and [[Joan Shawlee]] also appeared frequently. Several episodes featured a pet chimp named "Bingo", who was dressed exactly the same as Costello; she was later "fired" from the show after biting Costello. Brooke, Besser and Kirk also left the cast after the first season.