Known for:	Africa Screams, Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein, Buck Privates
Birth name:	William Alexander Abbott
Birthday:	2 October 1895, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
Height:	5' 8" (1.73 m)

He was cremated and his ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean His mother was a bareback rider for the Ringling Bothers Circus. Pictured on one of five 29¢ US commemorative postage stamps celebrating famous comedians, issued in booklet form 29 August 1991. He is shown with his partner Lou Costello. The stamp designs were drawn by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. The other comedians honored in the set are Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy; Edgar Bergen (with alter ego Charlie McCarthy); Jack Benny; and Fanny Brice. At Lou Costello's insistance, the monies earned from the their act were split 60/40, favoring Abbott. Costello's reasoning was that "comics are a dime a dozen. Good straight men are hard to find." He and Lou Costello are the only two non-sportsmen honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, for their "Who's On First" routine. Father of actor Bud Abbott Jr. Abbott and Costello are known in Italy as "Gianni and Pinotto", Abbott being Gianni and Costello being Pinotto. With Lou Costello, starred on ABC (1941-1946) and NBC (1946-1949) Radio's "The Abbott and Costello Show." A lifelong epileptic, he died of cancer following two strokes. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith; pg. 1-3. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 When Lou Costello died in March 1959, a nationally run news photo showed him reading a newspaper article covering his former partner's death. He wore a front toupee for many of his early films. Film acting debut, along with his comedic partner Lou Costello, came in 1940 in "One Night In The Tropics." His sister, Olive Victoria Abbott, was also in Vaudeville and lived to be 100 years old, dying on 8th August, 1997. His father, Harry, was a publicity advance man for Barnum and Bailey Circus. Very soon after Lou Costello's death the IRS demanded Bud pay over $750,000 in back taxes. Bud was forced (at a loss) to sell his estate in Encino, California as well as his 200 acre ranch. His wife sold her jewelry and furs and they relinquished their remaining share of profits from the old, lucrative Universal movies. He said he'd have to start all over and begged for donations, with little results. In September, 2003, Montclair State University in New Jersey dedicated a building in their new residence hall complex as "Abbott and Costello Center", after Bud and his partner Lou Costello

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