That is absolutely incredible! Bud Abbot and Lou Costello are in the same group as Jack Benny, George and Gracie and the other greats of classic comedy. I can only imagine having one of them as a grandparent.
Bud Abbott spent much of his later years going to Louisville KY and reading (and recording of course) "talking books" for the blind. He was a great "straight man" and if you think (and listen) about it he had a great and clear voice. I believe this was all done free of any charges.
@@robhalabov5674 Thanks for thinking about my Grandfather. As I have gotten older I really have come to appreciate A&C. I used to bring in movies to school for everyone to enjoy. Thanks
This sketch is so well known in my generation in the US that the phrase "Who's on first?" can sometimes be used to indicate that a misunderstanding has occurred.
And randomly in public when someone says "I don't' know" someone not directly involved in the conversation but passing by yells out "third base!". Like a bartender I know who appears too young to know about these things.
I was sitting on the stairs at my high school 30 years ago with a friend. "Okay, let's try it again," I said. Just then an elderly teacher squeezed past to go down the stairs. Then my friend and I started on this. The teacher apparently reversed course and stuck his head around the corner to make sure he really had heard two teenage girls doing the old Who's On First routine. He looked a little in awe that it lived on. 🤣
Considering that it was 30 years ago, I assume the available recording machine would have to be the Camcorder. (I was born in '79). Please, tell me you have it on video?!!??!
This routine was old hat when it was filmed. It came from an old vaudeville skit from the 1920s. The comedy was all in the speed and timing of the banter. By the time this was filmed Lou and Bud had probably performed it 10,000 times. It was fun watching someone who has never seen it before enjoy it.
@Michael Seaver In 1956, a gold record of "Who's on First?" was placed in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. A video (taken from The Naughty Nineties) now plays continuously on screens at the Hall. -Wikipedia
Hands down one of the funniest bits ever! Clean no foul language. Now might I suggest Abbott & Costello's 7x13 =28..... I promise it will make you laugh
Bud and Lou are the only non-baseball players, commentators, managers ....ever inducted in the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown. They did movies and a Comedy Hour! This was done Live on tv and in front of a studio audience! They were masters of timing! Makes me laugh every time!!!
Eighty-five years later, this routine is still making people laugh, incredibly, not just people like Courtney who had never seen it before, but also people like me who have seen it dozens of times. The very definition of classic comedy done to perfection by two legends.
not 85 years for me but a long time,i turned 49 a week ago so its been a long time.When i was really young this was the first comedy routine i remember my father showing me.still funny.Other people have done it or some form of it but its never as good as them.People will be watching this forever and kids will being showed this by their fathers for the first time till the end of time. 500 years from now it will still be funny.
Abbott & Costello were Vaudeville performers together, on stage before movies. “Who’s On First” was their trademark routine. When they transitioned to film they worked a number of their Vaudeville routines into their movies- which apart from being genuinely funny in their own right, became historically significant because a lot of classic Vaudeville routines were never documented, let alone recorded.
I learned this routine with a friend for a charity theater group we were in about 20 years ago and we performed it in front of 2200 people. It was an amazing experience and every bit as hard as it looks to do. Having that many people responding so well to the effort we put into it is something I will never forget. One 80-ish year old lady came up at the end of the performance and told us we did it better than Abbott and Costello did and we thanked her but told her no, they were the masters. She then scolded us and said she had seen them do it live and we were better. We decided not to argue any further.
They perfected the timing and tone to such an extent that it has become a comedy classic. Every turn of phrase and abridgment 'I'll break your arm you say who's on First' (instead of 'I'll break your arm IF you say who's on first') is just perfection. They run through the dialog with the three bases several times, creating a rhythm and then break it with the bit about the paycheck and WHO coming down to pick it up or signing for it. They return to the three bases and then break again with the pitcher and outfield 'We got a couple of days on the team'... Then the long stretch of Lou describing the play and Bud congratulating him 'That's the first thing you've said right' with Lou's exaggerated 'I don't even know what I'm talking about'. The whole routine wouldn't work without Bud's patience and Lou's exasperation. The fine line between dumb and confused. It's comedy perfection.
One of the tightest comedic bits in history, there wasn’t a single hiccup, and bud playing it so straight is just incredible performance. They don’t make em like that no more...
There were a couple hiccups - they trip over each other a few times, and that's despite having been doing the skit for almost 2 decades at this point - but it was also a deliberate choice. They didn't work from a script, so they could respond to each other and the audience and tailor each performance to the occasion. It's said that they did the sketch over 10 000 times, and never exactly the same way twice.
It is said that they performed this skit 10,000 times over the course of their career. It is on continuous loop at the US Baseball Hall of Fame. I have seen it hundreds of times and still laugh so hard my eyes water.
I watched this as a kid in the 50's and 60's and still laugh like hell when I see it. They were very talented and all of this was done live. Great clean entertainment.
Hi Courtney. This is actually played at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. You should check out Abbott and Costello's skit 7 x 13 equals 28. Keep up the great reactions. Stay safe and well.
Lou Costello really subscribed to the saying "The show must go on". Just hours after his son drowned in their pool he did a radio show and when it finished he left the stage with tears running down his face.
The real impact of this routine comes from Lou Costello's lightning quick reactions, the Oops! gestures, the double-takes, etc. The material sounds simple, but it's the ACTING, and Lou's brassy voice and befuddled expressions, that puts life into it and renders it truly into a classic bit.
My friend and I did this routine back in 1978 in the high school cafeteria. We got into a shouting match about half way through the routine. Everyone who was within earshot was laughing, then the principle stormed in saying *What is going on here?* We turn and say in unison: *"What's on Second!"* Sit down and eat our lunch as if nothing was out of place. The principle just stood there for at least twenty seconds with his finger still in the air trying to process what just happened, then walked away. The entire cafeteria *EXPLODED* into laughter. (Yeah, we were both known as the " Class Clowns " of the high school.) Good times
By the time this was filmed, Abbott & Costello had been performing this skit for decades for live audiences, on the radio, on TV, and in movies. They totally had it down perfectly!
This is, of course, the funniest comedy skit of all time throughout all of human history. Over 65 years later and it still holds up and makes people laugh, even those like me that have seen it over thousands of times. Honorable mentions- 2000 Year Old Man - Mel Brooks/Carl Reiner Elephant Story on Carol Burnett - Tim Conway Dead Parrot - Monty Python Doritos Superbowl Commercial Ultrasound
I'm 47 years old, was raised on Abbott & Costello. I hadn't seen this routine in well over 25 years & this brought back so many memories of watching it as a kid with my dad. So many happy memories.
I'm sure this is at least the 200th time I've watched this routine, and each and every time, it generates the same laughs. I always enjoy watching someone who hasn't seen it before, and you didn't disappoint love. Your cheeks start to hurt after a bit don't they? A true classic, without a single profanity or sexual overtone.
I've seen this a thousand times and done it on stage myself, but I still laugh every time. There's something magic about their presentation that no one else can duplicate.
The skit was originally performed on radio around 1936, and the first film version was an abridged version in their film One NIght in the Tropics, 1940. The most famous version was in the film The Naughty Nineties (1945), and Bud Abbott plays the role of the manager of the fictional St. Louis (MIssouri) Wolves baseball team. This is homage of the fact the the St. Louis Cardinals had a team that was, in 1934, known as the Gashouse Gang with players having nicknames such as Dizzy Dean, Daffy Dean, Ducky Medwick, Pepper Martin, Dazzy Vance, Frankie "The Fordham Flash" Frisch and others. In addition, The other St. Louis team, the Brown [todays Baltimore (Maryland) Orioles] had 'Gorgeous George' Sisler. While other teams had players with nicknames, St. Louis, in the 1934 World Series of Baseball, had some of the most colorful and headline grabbing.
In 1944 the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns met in that season's World Series. The Cardinals defeated the Browns in six games to win the World Series. It was the Browns' only World Series appearance.
Thats why this is a classic and God willing will Never be forgotten. As you said Courtney, clean comedy and the timing, for the speed of the routine is amazing.
Greatest comedy routine ever, and it is still great almost 100 years later. This routine has been copied so many times, but these guys are the originals.
Back when I was a child in the 1960's, I saw this bit for the first time. And now, over half a century later, it still makes me laugh 😂. A & B had incredible timing and on stage chemistry to make Who's on First work.
They began developing this baseball version of the skit in the late thirties, though the basic idea is older than that; but Abbot and Costello performed it so many times that they perfected it. By the time this performance was filmed in the fifties, they had all the timing and delivery tuned to perfection.
I love the look on your face while watching this. That's how humored I am every time I see it. The first time as a kid in the 80's. I love how things like this can transcend generations and even cultures.
>> I love the look on your face Agreed. I've seen a number of reaction videos to Who's on First? -- but Courtney is the only one who displayed wonder and amazement on her face.
In their time, these two were some of the most famous comedians in the US. They influenced the future of the industry quite a bit. You'll even see cartoon characters from the decade after based on them. One of the earliest Tweetie Bird cartoons featured these two as cats.
It reminds me of when I was stationed at Camp Smith in Hawaii. A person came to the guard shack and handed me a wallet. It belonged to one of our Marines. I asked where she found it. I found it on the bus, she replied. I said which bus? She said the bus. This kept on for a few minutes until I realized the name of the bus was The Bus. Reminded of this video.
A first reaction to this, finally! It's wonderful to see your reaction to this, it's been a very long time since my first time hearing or seeing it. Seeing in your eyes when you finally "got it" was such a treat! These guys are the roots of modern comedy. It's tough to work well with a partner. Bud and Lou made it look easy. Please be sure and pass this on to your own children some day. It's timeless.
Courtney: Abbot & Costello started this routine during their time in American vaudeville and performed it time and time again for years -- hundreds of times? thousands? -- and never did it exactly the same way twice. They truly were masters of their art, as you've noticed. "The classics" hold up extremely well over generations.
These guys worked several shows several nights a week before becoming TV comedians. By 1953, this must have been their 100th thousandth time doing the routine. Hard work and talent
That type of comedy in America was called "vaudeville"--- using a variety of acting, singing, and dancing to make audiences laugh. In the early 1900s, this was one of the main forms of entertainment in America. They had to practice a lot to make their performances good because there was so much competition.
@@JakkFrost1 Yes and no? They did rehearse. But, yeah, they didn't have the advantages of a recorded performance. Vaudeville was also known for being looser in its performances. You can see it here, where A&C stumble over each other a few times, despite having done the routine for 17 or so years at that point. It was expected that performers would work from a general framework but not a specific script, so as to allow them to play to each other and the audience and thereby to tailor each telling to the occasion.
A great deal of vaudeville came out of burlesque shows, which had quite an element of pantomime to them. Some examples would be lots of audience participation, some pieces that were meant to be comfortably-predictable in their narratives (like fables), "groaner" ("dad") jokes that were meant to get everyone on-side in laughing at how cheesy they were, etc. Midnight-movie screenings of cult hits like Rocky Horror or The Room have a similar vibe today, as does the actual traditional pantomime that's still a Christmas tradition in much of Britain. There's a similar feel to parts of the Jewish celebration of Purim, which is a festival about yet another time some ruler decided to kill all the Jews and failed (there's some Jewish black humor about how every religious holiday in Judaism is basically "They tried to kill all of us, they only killed some of us, let's celebrate!"). During the telling of the tale of the attempted genocide, every mention of the ruler's name is met with the playing of noisemakers by the audience, to drown it out.
@@michaelccozens yeah, I could tell the stumbles, especially compared to the version of the routine from a radio show, the one that was released on audio cassettes. That version is also available on youtube.
When doing the Carol Burnett show in front of an audience, Tim Conway was known for departing from the script and going off into some inspired lunacy. He wanted to make the cast and especially guest stars crack up on camera no matter how hard they tried not to.
I have seen this skit, thousands of times over the years, and the more I see it, the funnier it gets. Seeing it over and over, you pick up and understand more and move. This skit is the KING of comedy.
There is farce in plays and movies and even opera but in a 10 minute comedy skit to play it so perfectly and convincingly after 1000 performances is incredible. I was like Courtney, smiling all the way even though I've seen it dozens of times.
You’d never guess it by his appearance, but Lou Costello was consider a gifted athlete in high school. He competed in baseball, track, football and excelled at basketball. He once held the New Jersey state record for free throws percentage. Later, he boxed professionally under the name “Lou King,” compiling an 11-1 record.
Those two loonies were the icons of the 1940's, 50's & 60's! Costello was the fast talker! And, yes! It was hard for us to keep up with him! Not only because of his fast-talk! But his New England accent poured into it, too! They don't make folks like that anymore! Thanks for sharing some wonderful memories of mine with us!
These 2 are iconic comedians that will never die,they're forever embedded in the hearts and souls of virtually anyone who have seen them. Be sure to watch the movies they've in.
hello, just wanted to thank you for all the support and al the channels dedicated to abbot and costello. thats my grrandfather. it means alot to me, that younger generations can enjoy his comedy and watch his content! makes me overjoyed that my grandfather is still heald in such high regards after all these years
@@jeffcarroll6553 Baseball is pretty much "rounders", isn't it? Interestingly, rounders was long a favourite game of British school-girls, which is a little odd considering how "macho" the baseball culture is in America.
@@biggirlbathingsuits8210 Baseball is especially popular in Japan. It's similar to pro wrestling, in that Japan sort of serves as a "feeder" market to America. It's often where developing American players or older players go when they can't quite make the Big Show, though in the last years there's been an increasing number of Japanese players also getting the call to the Majors in both sports (or "sports entertainment", if you will). Probably some roots in the post-WW2 American domination of Japanese society.
Fair question, but baseball came from/is basically the same as a British sport called "rounders" that's been around since the 1700s, so it's not too surprising that baseball wouldn't be overly alien to the Commonwealth.
Back in the 1940s and '50s Abbot and Costello made a LOT of movies, three or four (or more!) every year, including Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein, which I still consider the best horror/comedy ever made.
Yes, that is one of my favorites. But, also "Buck Privates" with the shooting craps scene and the Andrews sisters singing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Came out in 1941, just before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Lou Costello was a childhood friend of my grandfather. They played basketball together in high school as well. Lou was actually a very good player. My grandfather (who died in 1970) used to say that if you were in a room with Lou you were laughing.
Many years ago When I moved to live in the US and I was just learning English this was the first routine I ever saw -and understood. I couldn't stop laughing. I thought that it was the smartest and funniest routine. Today, many years later I still enjoyed it.
I've seen this a million times since I first saw it in the 60's, and seeing it again today, my stomach is hurting from laughing so hard. These 2 were great in their deliveries, never missing a beat, and making the listeners laugh, and all with clean language, which I don't hear anymore. BRAVO! For posting this great comedy routine, which is timeless.
Courtney, your video of you watching Abbott & Costello doing their most famous comedy routine, "Who's On First," is a marvelous splender to watch. Your beautiful face displays the most gorgeous contortions whenever you smile and laugh at Bud[Abbott] and Lou[Costello] execute "Who's On First," which placed a beautiful smile in my heart. Your video was the most enjoyable 12 minutes and 21 seconds I've ever had on TH-cam. Bless you, dear girl. 😘😘😘😘😘 💖💖💖💖💖 😀😀😀😀😀
When I saw this coming over my youtube feed this evening, I was like, "How is she going to know how to react?!" You're enthusiasm was terrific. You react to so many different types of things. Some are my cup of tea; some are not (and that's OK!). I loved your reaction to this bit. There are several variations of it out there, and this is a great one. My dad, who is 59, and both of my grandfathers have told me in the past that this is the best comedy bit of all time. I agree. The fact that you react to a 50-60 year old comedy bit puts you well above the rest.
The earliest iterations of it started as a turn of the 20th century vaudeville bit but it was not baseball themed. By 1938, Abbott & Costello had been performing the schtick for a couple of years. By 1944, with the help from a team of writers, they turned it into what you watched here and had it copy written. I'm 54 and remember watching that bit with my dad over 45 years ago and laughing at him laughing at the bit, even though he'd seen it dozens of times. All these years later, it still makes me laugh my butt off. It makes me happy to see somebody as young as you appreciating this work of comedic art.
As I understand it, the comic Lou Costello insisted that his "straight man" Bud Abbott get 60% of the money as opposed to Lou's 40% . The reason being that Bud was a great "straight man" and Lou did not want to loose him .
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I saw how much you enjoyed Abbott and Costello. My Grandfather is Bud Abbott. I wanted to thank you for keeping Abbott and Costello out there.
Wow!! That's awesome!!
That is absolutely incredible! Bud Abbot and Lou Costello are in the same group as Jack Benny, George and Gracie and the other greats of classic comedy. I can only imagine having one of them as a grandparent.
Bud Abbott spent much of his later years going to Louisville KY and reading (and recording of course) "talking books" for the blind. He was a great "straight man" and if you think (and listen) about it he had a great and clear voice. I believe this was all done free of any charges.
I grew up on A&C, loving their movies on TV and their TV series. I'm 68 and their work still brings me joy after all these years.
@@robhalabov5674 Thanks for thinking about my Grandfather. As I have gotten older I really have come to appreciate A&C. I used to bring in movies to school for everyone to enjoy. Thanks
After all this time, it still holds up strong.
Try Ma and Pa Kettle's 14x5= 25. Priceless.
@@josephcox178 Ma and Pa Kettle, by far one of the best all time shows!
I believe it was Billy Crystal that did a different interpretation of the skit. Called: "Who's on stage."
Who's on stage? Yes
Greatest bit ever when you consider memorizing the dialogue in order, the pacing, etc.
Is IT the ball boy??!!
This sketch is so well known in my generation in the US that the phrase "Who's on first?" can sometimes be used to indicate that a misunderstanding has occurred.
And randomly in public when someone says "I don't' know" someone not directly involved in the conversation but passing by yells out "third base!". Like a bartender I know who appears too young to know about these things.
@@phillipsofthedriver "Who's on First" is like Santa Claus--everybody's heard of it but you have to see it to believe.
When I'm arguing with someone and they keep returning to the same disputed point over and over I'll often exclaim "Third base!"
Your granddad was great to me visited him three times wonderful man
They perfected it for more than twenty years, not repeating it.
I’ve heard this countess times and it never gets old.
Me too
so who's on first? whats on second who's on third thats what I'm asking
@@dje6719 I Don't Know
@@musicloverme3993 who's on first
@@dje6719 Yes and I Don't Know is on third.
This Routine is an American classic!!!👍🤷♂️
My grandpa showed it to me once every couple of years. It was his favorite skit.
Abbott and Costello are American Treasures
I actually saw it in school, in history class.
I know great comics.
Americans are proud of them, but with all due respect, this is a global historical all time classic.
This is a all time classic. Never gets old..
it got old, 5mins in tho
@@tyroneloki5131 Your attention span is pathetic.
@@HemlockRidge nah its normal. my psychiatrist told me so
@@tyroneloki5131 A 5 minute attention span IS quite normal for 4 and 5 year olds.
@@HemlockRidge but am not 4 nor 5 years old...so your wrong
I was sitting on the stairs at my high school 30 years ago with a friend. "Okay, let's try it again," I said. Just then an elderly teacher squeezed past to go down the stairs. Then my friend and I started on this. The teacher apparently reversed course and stuck his head around the corner to make sure he really had heard two teenage girls doing the old Who's On First routine. He looked a little in awe that it lived on. 🤣
Considering that it was 30 years ago, I assume the available recording machine would have to be the Camcorder. (I was born in '79). Please, tell me you have it on video?!!??!
@@philipknighton8493 ? We were performing it from memory, having seen it played as a classic movie on TV. 🤷♀️ if that's what you mean?
@DoggieFosters It was either from One Night in the Tropics or The Naughty Nineties, as in the 1890's. Those two movies featured this skit.
This routine was old hat when it was filmed. It came from an old vaudeville skit from the 1920s. The comedy was all in the speed and timing of the banter. By the time this was filmed Lou and Bud had probably performed it 10,000 times. It was fun watching someone who has never seen it before enjoy it.
I have read that they did perform this over 10,000 times.
@Ricks Americana I think who probably saw it...
@@izare3212 when?
And they never performed it exactly the same in those 10,000 times.
@@thomasb1889 Which I think is why it has such lasting appeal, that ability to keep it freshened up a bit.
They were the first two guys ever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame that had Nothing to do with the Sport
@Michael Seaver - maybe they were not "inducted" in, maybe they were "indicted". :D
WHAT?, WHO?
@@robertshields2066 I don't know?, Tomorrow?
@Michael Seaver All of the people inducted into the Hall are all from MLB.
@Michael Seaver
In 1956, a gold record of "Who's on First?" was placed in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. A video (taken from The Naughty Nineties) now plays continuously on screens at the Hall.
-Wikipedia
Hands down one of the funniest bits ever! Clean no foul language. Now might I suggest Abbott & Costello's 7x13 =28..... I promise it will make you laugh
" Yarp. "
YES!!! Funny as hell!
Hilarious. One of their funniest bits.
Absofuckinlutly! 7x13=28 is definitely one of my favorites.
This is a good version of it.
th-cam.com/video/lzxVyO6cpos/w-d-xo.html
This is so iconic that it got this duo inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame despite them not even being baseballers!
The skit (this specific performance, I think) is played on a continuous loop in part of the Hall.
Wait, who got inducted into the hall of fame?
@@WhysoSeriousSamual Exactly!!
@@WhysoSeriousSamual good one!
@@WhysoSeriousSamual 😆😆😆😆😆
Bud and Lou are the only non-baseball players, commentators, managers ....ever inducted in the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown. They did movies and a Comedy Hour! This was done Live on tv and in front of a studio audience! They were masters of timing! Makes me laugh every time!!!
Eighty-five years later, this routine is still making people laugh, incredibly, not just people like Courtney who had never seen it before, but also people like me who have seen it dozens of times. The very definition of classic comedy done to perfection by two legends.
It isn't just the concept of the skit. It's their timing as they perform it.
I was RAISED w/ this show and this skit, and I STILL laugh hard at it! XDDDDDD
You are right about that!
You should see the Limburger act: if you have ever had that cheese, you would get the bit.
not 85 years for me but a long time,i turned 49 a week ago so its been a long time.When i was really young this was the first comedy routine i remember my father showing me.still funny.Other people have done it or some form of it but its never as good as them.People will be watching this forever and kids will being showed this by their fathers for the first time till the end of time. 500 years from now it will still be funny.
Abbott & Costello were Vaudeville performers together, on stage before movies. “Who’s On First” was their trademark routine. When they transitioned to film they worked a number of their Vaudeville routines into their movies- which apart from being genuinely funny in their own right, became historically significant because a lot of classic Vaudeville routines were never documented, let alone recorded.
Nice share, thanks! ☺️👍
#NiceShareThanks 🛀🤺
🤭✌️
Because of this skit they are the only non-baseball players to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York
Actually it is an old skit many other comedians did long before them. Many people hated them for taking credit for writing it.
@Michael Seaver That is 100% false. It was a very old skit they did word for word.
@@StanSwan I would like to see that from those people
I learned this routine with a friend for a charity theater group we were in about 20 years ago and we performed it in front of 2200 people. It was an amazing experience and every bit as hard as it looks to do. Having that many people responding so well to the effort we put into it is something I will never forget. One 80-ish year old lady came up at the end of the performance and told us we did it better than Abbott and Costello did and we thanked her but told her no, they were the masters. She then scolded us and said she had seen them do it live and we were better. We decided not to argue any further.
Abbott and Costello were just amazing. Their comedy skits can't be beat 😊
Unless it's by this one Carol Burnett Show outtakes - Tim Conway's Elephant Story
They did that routine in vaudeville for years before they got into the movies.
They perfected the timing and tone to such an extent that it has become a comedy classic. Every turn of phrase and abridgment 'I'll break your arm you say who's on First' (instead of 'I'll break your arm IF you say who's on first') is just perfection. They run through the dialog with the three bases several times, creating a rhythm and then break it with the bit about the paycheck and WHO coming down to pick it up or signing for it. They return to the three bases and then break again with the pitcher and outfield 'We got a couple of days on the team'... Then the long stretch of Lou describing the play and Bud congratulating him 'That's the first thing you've said right' with Lou's exaggerated 'I don't even know what I'm talking about'.
The whole routine wouldn't work without Bud's patience and Lou's exasperation. The fine line between dumb and confused. It's comedy perfection.
One of the tightest comedic bits in history, there wasn’t a single hiccup, and bud playing it so straight is just incredible performance. They don’t make em like that no more...
There were a couple hiccups - they trip over each other a few times, and that's despite having been doing the skit for almost 2 decades at this point - but it was also a deliberate choice. They didn't work from a script, so they could respond to each other and the audience and tailor each performance to the occasion. It's said that they did the sketch over 10 000 times, and never exactly the same way twice.
It is said that they performed this skit 10,000 times over the course of their career.
It is on continuous loop at the US Baseball Hall of Fame.
I have seen it hundreds of times and still laugh so hard my eyes water.
I watched this as a kid in the 50's and 60's and still laugh like hell when I see it. They were very talented and all of this was done live. Great clean entertainment.
Hi Courtney. This is actually played at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. You should check out Abbott and Costello's skit 7 x 13 equals 28. Keep up the great reactions. Stay safe and well.
I agree, the 7 x 13 = 28 skit makes you think and believe it really does lol.
My 2nd favorite comedy routine right after who’s on first.
Darn it I wanted to be the first to mention the 7 X13 equals 8 routine.
Lou Costello teaches math. A classic.
Stay safe? From what?
Tim Conway's Elephant Story from the Carol Burnet Show
The dentist with harvey korman
Tim Conway period.
@@johncooper8537 Yes! Best Tim Conway skit!
Snerkel!
Tim Conway was a comedic god. Deadpan delivery of hysterical nonsense a specialty. And that's not even counting his physical work.
Seen it a million times and half a century later it still cracks me up....a true classic... never gets old....
Lou Costello really subscribed to the saying "The show must go on". Just hours after his son drowned in their pool he did a radio show and when it finished he left the stage with tears running down his face.
😢
I'm 88 and been laughing at this skit for years, last 30 years it's been on the web so I watch regularly \, Never seen a bad skit from these two/
Send this to your grandkids and great grandkids so they can learn what's funny
It was copyrighted in 1944--- you could have been enjoying it for 75 years!
@@kathydenbleyker-thomas1194 where did you get the 75 from?
@@ThyFoxSunny 2021-1944 is roughly 75 years. OP is 88. If they discovered it upon publication, they could have been enjoying it for 75 years
The real impact of this routine comes from Lou Costello's lightning quick reactions, the Oops! gestures, the double-takes, etc. The material sounds simple, but it's the ACTING, and Lou's brassy voice and befuddled expressions, that puts life into it and renders it truly into a classic bit.
My friend and I did this routine back in 1978 in the high school cafeteria.
We got into a shouting match about half way through the routine. Everyone who was within earshot was laughing, then the principle stormed in saying *What is going on here?*
We turn and say in unison:
*"What's on Second!"*
Sit down and eat our lunch as if nothing was out of place.
The principle just stood there for at least twenty seconds with his finger still in the air trying to process what just happened, then walked away.
The entire cafeteria *EXPLODED* into laughter.
(Yeah, we were both known as the " Class Clowns " of the high school.)
Good times
It takes two to tango. Abbott is the Ying to Costello's Yang.
Costello was the boss; Abbot got 60% because he was the best straight man in the business.
By the time this was filmed, Abbott & Costello had been performing this skit for decades for live audiences, on the radio, on TV, and in movies. They totally had it down perfectly!
This is, of course, the funniest comedy skit of all time throughout all of human history. Over 65 years later and it still holds up and makes people laugh, even those like me that have seen it over thousands of times.
Honorable mentions-
2000 Year Old Man - Mel Brooks/Carl Reiner
Elephant Story on Carol Burnett - Tim Conway
Dead Parrot - Monty Python
Doritos Superbowl Commercial Ultrasound
The timing on this joke us so tight by two legends in comedy. Just a total classic.
They had been performing it for decades so they had it down pat.
I'm 47 years old, was raised on Abbott & Costello. I hadn't seen this routine in well over 25 years & this brought back so many memories of watching it as a kid with my dad. So many happy memories.
I'm _52_ years old, and _my father_ was raised on Abbot & Costello!
I'm sure this is at least the 200th time I've watched this routine, and each and every time, it generates the same laughs. I always enjoy watching someone who hasn't seen it before, and you didn't disappoint love. Your cheeks start to hurt after a bit don't they? A true classic, without a single profanity or sexual overtone.
An absolute masterclass in timing, and one of the greatest comedy sketches ever performed. Greetings from the South Island!
New Zeland? Sorry if i spelt it wrong, i,m ten shots in. you can't go wrong with Boubon
Even better: Joack Benny and Mel Blanc doing their "See/Cy/Sue" routine.
This skit is actually shown in the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, NY.
These guys were really ahead of there time!!!!! Total genius
I've seen this a thousand times and done it on stage myself, but I still laugh every time. There's something magic about their presentation that no one else can duplicate.
This one never gets old!!
The wonderful play on words, the seamless cadence, and the interaction; all timeless!
The skit was originally performed on radio around 1936, and the first film version was an abridged version in their film One NIght in the Tropics, 1940.
The most famous version was in the film The Naughty Nineties (1945), and Bud Abbott plays the role of the manager of the fictional St. Louis (MIssouri) Wolves baseball team. This is homage of the fact the the St. Louis Cardinals had a team that was, in 1934, known as the Gashouse Gang with players having nicknames such as Dizzy Dean, Daffy Dean, Ducky Medwick, Pepper Martin, Dazzy Vance, Frankie "The Fordham Flash" Frisch and others. In addition, The other St. Louis team, the Brown [todays Baltimore (Maryland) Orioles] had 'Gorgeous George' Sisler.
While other teams had players with nicknames, St. Louis, in the 1934 World Series of Baseball, had some of the most colorful and headline grabbing.
I grew up listening to Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese as radio commentators.
Dizzy Dean, Daffy Dean, and their French cousin....Goofay
In 1944 the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns met in that season's World Series. The Cardinals defeated the Browns in six games to win the World Series. It was the Browns' only World Series appearance.
They really were the kings of comedy
And they did it live without the advantage of editing and retakes. Such talent.
this is arguably the greatest skit ever made i love this
I’ve seen this at least a hundred times and still laugh every time I hear it.
🤣SUCH A CLASSIC BIT🤣 Such a comedic pair that has laid down the foundation to comedy today.
When l am down in the dumps l always watch this. Seen it a million times and it still cracks me up.
Thats why this is a classic and God willing will Never be forgotten. As you said Courtney, clean comedy and the timing, for the speed of the routine is amazing.
Greatest comedy routine ever, and it is still great almost 100 years later. This routine has been copied so many times, but these guys are the originals.
It`s an American classic! brings tears to my eyes everytime
Back when I was a child in the 1960's, I saw this bit for the first time. And now, over half a century later, it still makes me laugh 😂. A & B had incredible timing and on stage chemistry to make Who's on First work.
They began developing this baseball version of the skit in the late thirties, though the basic idea is older than that; but Abbot and Costello performed it so many times that they perfected it. By the time this performance was filmed in the fifties, they had all the timing and delivery tuned to perfection.
I love the look on your face while watching this. That's how humored I am every time I see it. The first time as a kid in the 80's.
I love how things like this can transcend generations and even cultures.
>> I love the look on your face
Agreed. I've seen a number of reaction videos to Who's on First? -- but Courtney is the only one who displayed wonder and amazement on her face.
The total absolute timing of these 2 legends is genius.
One legend and one straight man.
@@garyanddebwi2857 bud sets the tempo and punctuates the jokes. His timing is as critical as lou’s.
In their time, these two were some of the most famous comedians in the US. They influenced the future of the industry quite a bit. You'll even see cartoon characters from the decade after based on them. One of the earliest Tweetie Bird cartoons featured these two as cats.
Babbit and Catsello!
They performed this skit LIVE! They had to be perfect to pull it off, and they did.
That's a classic... I've seen it several times and still get a laugh out of it.
Comedic geniuses!!! I still laugh every single time I see and hear this joke. Sad thing is that so many people have never known these two.
It reminds me of when I was stationed at Camp Smith in Hawaii. A person came to the guard shack and handed me a wallet. It belonged to one of our Marines. I asked where she found it. I found it on the bus, she replied. I said which bus? She said the bus. This kept on for a few minutes until I realized the name of the bus was The Bus. Reminded of this video.
A first reaction to this, finally! It's wonderful to see your reaction to this, it's been a very long time since my first time hearing or seeing it. Seeing in your eyes when you finally "got it" was such a treat! These guys are the roots of modern comedy. It's tough to work well with a partner. Bud and Lou made it look easy. Please be sure and pass this on to your own children some day. It's timeless.
This skit is timeless. People 100 years from now will be laughing at this.
Courtney: Abbot & Costello started this routine during their time in American vaudeville and performed it time and time again for years -- hundreds of times? thousands? -- and never did it exactly the same way twice. They truly were masters of their art, as you've noticed. "The classics" hold up extremely well over generations.
they did USO shows for troops in WWII and troops always liked it. I am sure it gave them a laugh before they had to go back to fighting.
Yeah, they honed this skit through the latter half of the 1930s. The 19-freakin'-30s. Amazing.
These guys worked several shows several nights a week before becoming TV comedians. By 1953, this must have been their 100th thousandth time doing the routine. Hard work and talent
That type of comedy in America was called "vaudeville"--- using a variety of acting, singing, and dancing to make audiences laugh. In the early 1900s, this was one of the main forms of entertainment in America. They had to practice a lot to make their performances good because there was so much competition.
Well, that, and they had to get it right the first time, they couldn't do multiple takes til they got it.
@@JakkFrost1 Yes and no? They did rehearse. But, yeah, they didn't have the advantages of a recorded performance.
Vaudeville was also known for being looser in its performances. You can see it here, where A&C stumble over each other a few times, despite having done the routine for 17 or so years at that point. It was expected that performers would work from a general framework but not a specific script, so as to allow them to play to each other and the audience and thereby to tailor each telling to the occasion.
A great deal of vaudeville came out of burlesque shows, which had quite an element of pantomime to them. Some examples would be lots of audience participation, some pieces that were meant to be comfortably-predictable in their narratives (like fables), "groaner" ("dad") jokes that were meant to get everyone on-side in laughing at how cheesy they were, etc. Midnight-movie screenings of cult hits like Rocky Horror or The Room have a similar vibe today, as does the actual traditional pantomime that's still a Christmas tradition in much of Britain. There's a similar feel to parts of the Jewish celebration of Purim, which is a festival about yet another time some ruler decided to kill all the Jews and failed (there's some Jewish black humor about how every religious holiday in Judaism is basically "They tried to kill all of us, they only killed some of us, let's celebrate!"). During the telling of the tale of the attempted genocide, every mention of the ruler's name is met with the playing of noisemakers by the audience, to drown it out.
@@michaelccozens yeah, I could tell the stumbles, especially compared to the version of the routine from a radio show, the one that was released on audio cassettes. That version is also available on youtube.
These guys are from my home state of New Jersey. Bud Abbott is from Asbury Park and Lou Costello is from Patterson.
I don't see your website listed in the video. If you want a great laugh, react to Tim Conway's elephant story on the Carol Burnett show!!!!!!!
Tim Conway was a blast to watch
And the dentist skit is great too. Tim Conway and Harvey Korman are comedy gold. Tim in the Dorf skits is hilarious also
Oh dear lord, YES! Dick Van Dyke didn't even TRY to say his lines in that sketch....he looked like he was trying to keep from peeing himself.
Pleaseee, the Elephant story made me peed my pant.
When doing the Carol Burnett show in front of an audience, Tim Conway was known for departing from the script and going off into some inspired lunacy. He wanted to make the cast and especially guest stars crack up on camera no matter how hard they tried not to.
I have seen this skit, thousands of times over the years, and the more I see it, the funnier it gets. Seeing it over and over, you pick up and understand more and move. This skit is the KING of comedy.
There is farce in plays and movies and even opera but in a 10 minute comedy skit to play it so perfectly and convincingly after 1000 performances is incredible. I was like Courtney, smiling all the way even though I've seen it dozens of times.
I've seen this skit a hundred times and still laugh as hard as the first time I saw it.
I grew up watching Abbott & Costello. These guys are true Jersey natives. I’m proud to be from NJ!
So awesome!!! 😊😊😊
Their facial expressions and inflections or their voices REALLY make this routine absolutely hilarious. My all-time favorite.
You’d never guess it by his appearance, but Lou Costello was consider a gifted athlete in high school. He competed in baseball, track, football and excelled at basketball. He once held the New Jersey state record for free throws percentage. Later, he boxed professionally under the name “Lou King,” compiling an 11-1 record.
The timing, the play on words, the physical comedy - ultimate triple threat.
Court,
This routine along with this comedy team are legend... Love it. I also enjoy your reactions. Get ready.
Those two loonies were the icons of the 1940's, 50's & 60's! Costello was the fast talker! And, yes! It was hard for us to keep up with him! Not only because of his fast-talk! But his New England accent poured into it, too! They don't make folks like that anymore! Thanks for sharing some wonderful memories of mine with us!
These 2 are iconic comedians that will never die,they're forever embedded in the hearts and souls of virtually anyone who have seen them.
Be sure to watch the movies they've in.
hello, just wanted to thank you for all the support and al the channels dedicated to abbot and costello. thats my grrandfather. it means alot to me, that younger generations can enjoy his comedy and watch his content! makes me overjoyed that my grandfather is still heald in such high regards after all these years
This is the funniest routine i have ever heard
My first thought when I saw this title was, would a New Zealand Girl even understand anything about baseball ?
We play baseball in NZ when we want a rest from cricket or softball or rounders
Baseball and softball are popular in Asia and Australia, so I would assume they know baseball in New Zealand.
@@jeffcarroll6553 Baseball is pretty much "rounders", isn't it?
Interestingly, rounders was long a favourite game of British school-girls, which is a little odd considering how "macho" the baseball culture is in America.
@@biggirlbathingsuits8210 Baseball is especially popular in Japan. It's similar to pro wrestling, in that Japan sort of serves as a "feeder" market to America. It's often where developing American players or older players go when they can't quite make the Big Show, though in the last years there's been an increasing number of Japanese players also getting the call to the Majors in both sports (or "sports entertainment", if you will).
Probably some roots in the post-WW2 American domination of Japanese society.
Fair question, but baseball came from/is basically the same as a British sport called "rounders" that's been around since the 1700s, so it's not too surprising that baseball wouldn't be overly alien to the Commonwealth.
In their heyday, they were masters of timing. This skit needs precise timing. Classic.
Back in the 1940s and '50s Abbot and Costello made a LOT of movies, three or four (or more!) every year, including Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein, which I still consider the best horror/comedy ever made.
Agreed.
Yes, that is one of my favorites. But, also "Buck Privates" with the shooting craps scene and the Andrews sisters singing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Came out in 1941, just before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
@@bartmansd71 Classic (ah, the Andrews Sisters).
@@alanfoster6589 Another movie, I don't remember the title, featured a young Ella Fitzgerald.
Lou Costello was a childhood friend of my grandfather. They played basketball together in high school as well. Lou was actually a very good player. My grandfather (who died in 1970) used to say that if you were in a room with Lou you were laughing.
Many years ago When I moved to live in the US and I was just learning English this was the first routine I ever saw -and understood. I couldn't stop laughing. I thought that it was the smartest and funniest routine. Today, many years later I still enjoyed it.
I've seen this skit off and on for at least 40 years now and it still cracks me up every time.
Lmfao! I learned about them in 7th grade and love them to this day, I have the DVD box set of all their movies and one of them has this skit in it!
(10:19) “Such a simple joke taken to the next level by flawless and well practiced execution.”
Exactly! 😊
Abbott & Costello were amazing! I grew up watching them and to this day I laugh at their skits. They were an incredibly agile comedy duo.
So fun to watch you discover this skit. It's nice to see the old stuff appreciated and not picked apart for being old.
I first heard "Who's on first" over fifty years ago, and it's still hilarious. It was even better seeing someone watching it for the first time!
This, and Monty Pythons argument clinic sketch, are two of the best word play sketches ever...
I've seen this a million times since I first saw it in the 60's, and seeing it again today, my stomach is hurting from laughing so hard. These 2 were great in their deliveries, never missing a beat, and making the listeners laugh, and all with clean language, which I don't hear anymore.
BRAVO! For posting this great comedy routine, which is timeless.
Courtney, your video of you watching Abbott & Costello doing their most famous comedy routine, "Who's On First," is a marvelous splender to watch. Your beautiful face displays the most gorgeous contortions whenever you smile and laugh at Bud[Abbott] and Lou[Costello] execute "Who's On First," which placed a beautiful smile in my heart. Your video was the most enjoyable 12 minutes and 21 seconds I've ever had on TH-cam. Bless you, dear girl. 😘😘😘😘😘 💖💖💖💖💖 😀😀😀😀😀
These guys invented the modern skit shows.
When I watch this it amazes me that they can perform this with a straight face.
It's amazing that people are still enjoying this routine!
When I saw this coming over my youtube feed this evening, I was like, "How is she going to know how to react?!" You're enthusiasm was terrific. You react to so many different types of things. Some are my cup of tea; some are not (and that's OK!). I loved your reaction to this bit.
There are several variations of it out there, and this is a great one. My dad, who is 59, and both of my grandfathers have told me in the past that this is the best comedy bit of all time. I agree. The fact that you react to a 50-60 year old comedy bit puts you well above the rest.
I had an instructor in college who actually used this routine to explain how people remember things
The poor right fielder knew how the professor and Mary Ann felt the 1st season
In some performances of this skit, the right fielder is named as Nobody.
'WHO'S on First' is one of the classics. Never fails to make me laugh & cry at their patter.
The earliest iterations of it started as a turn of the 20th century vaudeville bit but it was not baseball themed. By 1938, Abbott & Costello had been performing the schtick for a couple of years. By 1944, with the help from a team of writers, they turned it into what you watched here and had it copy written. I'm 54 and remember watching that bit with my dad over 45 years ago and laughing at him laughing at the bit, even though he'd seen it dozens of times. All these years later, it still makes me laugh my butt off. It makes me happy to see somebody as young as you appreciating this work of comedic art.
Comic geniuses at work! No profanity, no filth. Today's comics could learn a lot!
Still the greatest piece of comedy ever, Abbott & Costello are amazing :)
this comedy duo has 36 movies and i love them. 70 years and this sketch still holds up.
As I understand it, the comic Lou Costello insisted that his "straight man" Bud Abbott get 60% of the money as opposed to Lou's 40% . The reason being that Bud was a great "straight man" and Lou did not want to loose him .