The Colgate Comedy Hour (TV Series) Hosts: Abbott & Costello; guest stars: Lon Chaney, Jr., Jarmilla Novotna (1951) User Reviews

"I Must Be in Love - I Feel Lousy."

[BaronBl00d · 7/10 · 25 November 2012]

If you are a horror fan, this episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour may hold interest for you as it does contain Lon Chaney in it dressed as the Frankenstein monster. However, I only glimpsed him in an opera parody of Carmen as he came out near the end. The version I saw was on Netflix(streaming) and promises the Haunted candle routine but does not have it in episode. This is unfortunate as I fear this is where Chaney gets to do his best as the monster hamming it up with Bud and Lou. notwithstanding that if you love Abbott and Costello then you will not be disappointed terribly as you get to see them really as themselves. Lou breaks up at least four or five times. Bud even cracks a few unintended smiles as the lunacy ensues. They do do their "Who's on First?" routine. Lou also does a very funny bit trying to get a phone number whilst a cast of characters have no problem reaching their exchanges. This is classic A & C all the way. The episode has Chaney but also along is Sid Fields and opera singer Jarmila Novotna. When I am able to find the "missing" piece, I will re-evaluate.

Lon Chaney as the Frankenstein Monster

[kevinolzak · 6/10 · 20 September 2022]

NBC's THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR alternated guest hosts each week to keep things fresh and conquer CBS' Ed Sullivan in the Sunday night ratings. This episode from Mar. 11, 1951 (six months after its debut) found Lon Chaney present and costumed as the Frankenstein Monster yet never speaks a word during his two scenes, shot at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. The theme has Bud and Lou putting on a show for the USO, with a trio of dancers working up a sweat and opera singer Jarmilla Novotna cracking up opposite Costello. Things kick off with the ever popular "Who's on First?" before a sketch in which Lou cannot connect on a local call while the obstinate operator has no trouble with long distance hookups to Barcelona and Moscow. Sid Fields as Uncle Charlie suggests raising money at a haunted house where a fabulous treasure is supposedly hidden behind a secret panel, from which Chaney's Monster bops both Abbott and Costello before vanishing. Lon also pops up during the finale for 'Don Juan Costello,' again kept silent though this time he displays a few steps of his own. Though he would never again grace a show with Bud and Lou, Lon would soon do a dramatic take on Frankenstein for a 1952 episode of TALES OF TOMORROW. His makeup closely resembles Jack Pierce but one would be hard pressed to identify the actor underneath, who first played The Monster in 1942's "The Ghost of Frankenstein."