Nov 21 1956 saw this broadcast as one of the very last appearances together of Abbott and Costello, the latter a poignant subject, shocked but not displeased at being surprised. We learn about his sports crazy youth in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey (I wonder if Paterson's Bert Wheeler was watching?), where he earned his status as free throwing champ of the entire state, his short lived boxing career, followed by an unsuccessful stint in 1920s Hollywood as no better than a stuntman/extra, changing his last name from Cristillo to Costello in honor of actress Helene Costello. Bud Abbott warmly talks of their partnership, especially the 1945 rift in which they 'magnified a difference of opinion.' By far the most riveting story is told by the team's longtime manager Eddie Sherman (the main subject of the Bob Thomas book BUD AND LOU), discussing the tragic death of Costello's beloved son Lou Jr., who drowned in the family swimming pool after getting loose from his playpen. His father had only just recovered from a year long bout with rheumatic fever, heroically going on to perform that same night on his radio show to keep his promise to his little boy. Lou's look of sorrow is quickly replaced by joy at meeting some of the other children he had met and/or taken care of, such as a young girl known as 'Goldilocks,' and a once paralyzed young man now able to greet his benefactor by running onto the stage. The show closes with his receiving a wristwatch as a gift from orphans living at the youth foundation he began in honor of his late son, and a scene gathering together his wife, three daughters, two grandchildren, and even his mother. A wonderful tribute to an often underrated performer whose aching heart led him to strive that much harder to bring happiness to others. The saddest postscript to this 1956 broadcast is that both Lou and wife Anne were deceased by the end of 1959, just three years later.
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