Born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey (a city he invariably mentioned in almost all his movies and TV shows), Lou Costello dropped out of high school and headed west to break into the movies. He got a job as a carpenter at MGM and Warners. He went from there to stuntman and then to vaudeville as a comic. In 1931, while working in Brooklyn, his straight man became ill and the theater cashier, Bud Abbott, filled in for him. The two formed their famous comedy team and, through the 1930s, they worked burlesque, minstrel shows, vaudeville and movie houses. In 1938 they got national exposure through the Kate Smith Hour radio show, and signed with Universal Pictures the next year. They debuted in One Night in the Tropics. Their scene-stealing performances in that film landed them their own picture the next year, Buck Privates, with The Andrews Sisters. It was a runaway hit, grossing what was then a company record $10 million on a $180,000 budget. In 1942 they topped a poll of Hollywood stars. They had their own radio show (ABC, 1941-46, NBC, 1946-49) and TV show (The Abbott and Costello Show). After the war their movies shifted formula to one in which they met various monsters or found themselves in exotic locations. The team split up in 1957, with both winding up completely out of money after troubles with the Internal Revenue Service. After that Lou appeared in a few television shows and the movie The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, released a few months after he died.
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952): $250,000
Who Done It? (1942): $25,000 + 5% of profits
Rio Rita (1942): $75,000
Hold That Ghost (1941): $25,000 + 5% of profits
In the Navy (1941): $25,000 + 5% of profits
Buck Privates (1941): $25,000 + 5% of profits
One Night in the Tropics (1940): $17,500

Founded the Television Corporation of America production company which produced The Abbott and Costello Show and I'm the Law. His only son, Lou Jr, tragically drowned just days before his first birthday [1942] Father of Carole Costello. Brother of actor Pat Costello. Brother-in-law of actor Joe Kirk. Son of associate producer Sebastian Cristillo. He had a habit of taking any prop or furniture item from a set that took his fancy. Once, when trying to re-shoot a scene, the director had to have Lou bring back a chair he had decided to take home. Pictured on one of five 29¢ US commemorative postage stamps celebrating famous comedians, issued in booklet form 29 August 1991. He is shown with partner Bud Abbott. 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 his own insistance, profits earned from the "Abbott and Costello" act were split 60-40, favoring his partner Bud Abbott. Costello stated "Comics are a dime a dozen. Good straight men are hard to find." He and Bud Abbott are the only two non-sportsmen honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, USA, for their "Who's On First" routine. However, they are not members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1994 a life-size bronze statue of Costello holding a bat and wearing his trademark derby was placed in a downtown park in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. Abbott and Costello are known in Italy as "Gianni and Pinotto", Abbott being Gianni and Costello being Pinotto. He had only one starring role in a feature film without Bud Abbott, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock. He died before it was released. With Bud Abbott, starred on ABC (1941-1946) and NBC (1946-1949) Radio's "The Abbott and Costello Show." Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith; pg. 1-3. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 Radio catchphrase: "I'm a bad boy." In 1943 he was stricken with rheumatic fever. This halted the production of any new Abbott and Costello features for over a year. The disease, which normally strikes children, damaged his heart and led to the heart attack that ultimately killed him at such a young age. He and Bud Abbott were so popular that there was an "Abbott and Costello" comic book that was published for about 10 years until their partnership ended in 1956. In 1959, he was set to star in the comedy series, "It Pays to Be Ignorant" until his untimely death. Former amateur boxer Was to have starred in a film based on the life of former New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. The project was still in the talking stages at the time of his death. Grandfather of Marki Costello. He and partner Bud Abbott made their debut as a comedy team in One Night in the Tropics, although Costello had appeared in several silent films in the late 1920s as a stuntman and extra. Along with partner Bud Abbott performed the "Who's on first" routine for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In September, 2003, Montclair State University in New Jersey dedicated a building in their new residence hall complex as "Abbott and Costello Center", after Lou and his partner Bud Abbott Costello was a great admirer of Charles Chaplin. He claimed to have seen Shoulder Arms 30 times and The Gold Rush 16 times, and attempted - without luck - to buy the screen rights to The Kid from Chaplin. Mentioned his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, at least once in every one of his films. After the death of his son, Lou Jr., he performed "Who's On First" routine as normal, but with tears streaming down his face as he did so.