"The Abbott and Costello Show" (1952) TV series 1952-1953

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

14 September 1957 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields' boarding house. Lou's girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall...

Plot Keywords:

Slapstick | Wisecrack Comedy | Gag Humor | Performer Name In Title | Actor Name In Title

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Bud Abbott (52 episodes, 1952-1954)
Lou Costello	...	Lou Costello (52 episodes, 1952-1954)
Sid Fields	...	Sid Fields / ... (50 episodes, 1952-1954)
Gordon Jones	...	Mike Kelly / ... (34 episodes, 1952-1953)
Bobby Barber	...	Hercules / ... (25 episodes, 1952-1954)
Hillary Brooke	...	Hillary Brooke / ... (23 episodes, 1952-1953)

Series Directed by
Jean Yarbrough		(52 episodes, 1952-1954)

Series Writing credits
Sid Fields		(25 episodes, 1952-1954)
Clyde Bruckman		(15 episodes, 1953)
Jack Townley		(10 episodes, 1953)
Eddie Forman		(6 episodes, 1952-1953)

Series Produced by
Pat Costello	....	executive producer (50 episodes, 1952-1954)
Jean Yarbrough	....	producer (50 episodes, 1952-1954)
Alex Gottlieb	....	producer (2 episodes, 1952-1953)

Series Original Music by
Raoul Kraushaar		(25 episodes, 1952-1953)
Mort Glickman		(2 episodes, 1952-1953)

Series Cinematography by
George Robinson		(26 episodes, 1952-1953)
Jack MacKenzie		(26 episodes, 1953-1954)

Series Film Editing by
Gene Fowler Jr.		(22 episodes, 1952-1953)
Otho Lovering		(19 episodes, 1953-1954)
William Austin		(9 episodes, 1953)
Fred R. Feitshans Jr.		(2 episodes, 1952-1953)

Series Art Direction by
Dave Milton		(13 episodes, 1953)

Series Set Decoration by
Eugene S. Kelley		(21 episodes, 1953)

Series Makeup Department
Abe Haberman	....	makeup artist (26 episodes, 1953-1954)

Series Production Management
Clarence Eurist	....	production supervisor (26 episodes, 1952-1953)
Joe Wonder	....	production manager (13 episodes, 1953-1954)
Rex Bailey	....	production manager (13 episodes, 1953)

Series Art Department
Lou Asher	....	property master / master of properties (27 episodes, 1953-1954)
Eugene S. Kelley	....	set supervisor (2 episodes, 1953)

Series Sound Department
Robert Pritchard	....	sound recordist / sound (15 episodes, 1953-1954)

Series Special Effects by
Ira Anderson Jr.	....	special effects (26 episodes, 1953-1954)
Jack R. Glass	....	special photographic effects / photographic effects (21 episodes, 1952-1953)
Bob Overbeck	....	special effects (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Albert Deano	....	wardrobe (48 episodes, 1952-1954)

Series Editorial Department
Otho Lovering	....	supervising editor (22 episodes, 1952-1953)

Series Music Department
Grace Merrick	....	composer: theme music (20 episodes, 1953-1954)
Mahlon Merrick	....	composer: theme music (20 episodes, 1953-1954)

Series Other crew
Milt Bronson	....	dialogue director (14 episodes, 1953-1954)
Eugene S. Kelley	....	set supervisor (4 episodes, 1953-1954)

Production Companies

• Television Corporation of America

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1952) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1953) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (season 2)
• Alan Enterprises
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• DFS Program Exchange
• Koch Vision (????) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA-TV (1957) (USA) (TV)
• Shanachie (1999) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

25 min (52 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-G | New Zealand:PG (season 1) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Television Corporation of America

Trivia:

Even though he was a middle-aged man of 46 when the show began, Lou Costello did most of his own stunts on the show. An athlete in his youth, he was actually a stuntman in Hollywood for a time back in the silent era before he teamed up with partner Bud Abbott, and was renowned for taking spectacular pratfalls in his films and on stage. Stuntmen were used for the more potentially dangerous stunts - being knocked through walls, getting hit by cars, etc. - but most of the falls you see Costello take were actually done by him.

Quotes:

Lou Costello:[after answering a question correctly on a TV quiz program then looking directly at the camera] I'm smart!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Men Behaving Badly: Testing, Testing (#1.20)" (1997)

Great TV show.

The A & C show is one of the funniest comedy shows in the history of television. All of the skits that made this comedy team American comedy icons are in this series. And what adds to the shenanigans is the cast of those inimical characters that we still talk about - Mike the Cop, Mr. Fields the landlord, Hillary Brooks (Lou adored her. And how could anyone not react with a smile when she would condescendingly refer to Costello as "Louis?"), Mr. Bacigalupe and Lou's "friend" Stinky. Every episode is funny; every character is funny, and this show is proof that humor does not have to be dirty to be funny. Bud Abbott's sneer, Lou's whining, Mike's indignation, all that and more is what is to be found in this treasure chest of comedy, brought to you by one of the greatest comedy teams of all times - Abbott and Costello.