Abbott & Costello - Biography
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello never called their most famous routine “Who’s on First,” although that how it resides in the collective lexicon. To them it was simply referred to in shorthand, as “Baseball.” They were masters of this bit, an outrageously hilarious and deceptively brilliant touch of intellectual nimbleness that the comedy pair perfected in their Vaudeville act in the 1930s, before they even had a radio show. It followed them as technology advanced, from stage to radio to the movies to television, and fortunately, now CD, DVD and mp3. Evidently, Abbott and Costello had such a thorough mastery of the routine that they could ad-lib impromptu versions of any duration, depending on the situation, the audience, and the medium. Studying “Who’s on First” has pretty much been a perquisite for writing comedy since it was first performed on radio in 1938, and it continues to pop up, in baffling contexts ranging from The Simpsons to Rain Man. In 1999, Time magazine named the routine Best Comedy Sketch of the 20th century; a version lives in the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry; the line “Who’s on First” is on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Memorable Movie Quotes. If you want to know why Abbott and Costello were some of the most famous and biggest grossing entertainers of the 1930, 1940s, and 1950s, this a good place to start.
As with most high-concept comedy, a deconstruction is not going to incite laughs, but basically, the routine is about the confusion generated as Abbott and Costello discuss a baseball team. Lou wants to know the names of the players; Bud tells him again and again, but the gag is that the nicknames of the players are mostly a series of pronouns:
First Base: Who
Second Base: What
Third base: I Don't Know
Left field: Why
Center field: Because
Pitcher: Tomorrow
Catcher: Today
Accordingly, every question asked by Lou receives a non-response from Bud that merely heightens the former’s befuddlement and anxiety. “Who’s on first?” “That’s right, Who’s on first.” “What is the name of the guy on second?” “That’s right.” “What?” “Right.” “What’s on second.” “I don’t know.” “He’s on third.”
The humor relies on frenetic pacing, the intrinsic miscommunication between the pair, and the extent to which they refuse to break character. Bud (tall, bony, blasé and patronizing) is completely indifferent to Lou (short, pudgy, high-strung), and the latter becomes increasing frustrated at his own inability to understand. The wordplay reaches dizzyingly levels of verbal and conceptual facility, as Abbott and Costello never miss a beat in an amazingly dense, adroit display of mental gymnastics. Ultimately, Lou, apoplectic and exasperated, quits trying and throws up his hands in defeat, shrieking, “I Don't Give a Darn,” setting up the punch line for Bud, who calmly corrects him: “Oh, no. He’s our shortstop.”
Ironically, Abbott and Costello’s most famous routine contained within it the seeds of the duo’s demise. The two were performers not comedy writers, and while their original material made them the most popular stars of the 1940s, they simply wouldn’t or couldn’t incorporate new material into the act. Eventually, audiences got tired of seeing and hearing the same jokes incorporated again and again with different backdrops, and the pair’s popularity waned. They would be supplanted as the Kings of Comedy in the 1950s by another team that took the louche-straightman-versus-spastic-clown tandem to new heights: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Still, Abbott and Costello have been relentlessly documented on CD; dozens of hours of their radio performances are available from the Radio Library label. And there’s always the duo’s masterpiece: Who’s on First: A Collection of Classic Routines (2000 On the Air). The 1945 film The Naughty Nineties has an arguably superior performance, and it’s available on DVD, in The Best of Abbott & Costello, Vol. 2 (2004 Universal). It’s remarkable that an old Vaudeville bit from the 1920s still seems fresh and vibrant, but it does.