Lou Costello Net Worth
Lou Costello Net Worth is
$11 Million
Lou Costello Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), known by the stage name Lou Costello, was an American actor and comedian best remembered for the comedy double act of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott. Costello played a chubby, bumbling character. He was known for the catchphrases "Heeeeyyy, Abbott!" and "I'm a baaaaad boy!" | Full Name | Lou Costello |
| Date Of Birth | March 6, 1906, Paterson, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | March 3, 1959, Beverly Hills, California, United States |
| Place Of Birth | Paterson, New Jersey, USA |
| Height | 5' 5" (1.65 m) |
| Profession | Actor, Soundtrack, Producer |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Anne Battler (m. 1934–1959) |
| Children | Carole Costello, Chris Costello, Patricia Costello, Lou Costello Jr. |
| Parents | Sebastiano Cristillo, Helen Rege |
| Siblings | Pat Costello, Marie Katherine Cristillo |
| Partner | Bud Abbott |
| Movies | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Buck Privates, Hold That Ghost, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, Africa Screams, Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, One Night in the Tropics, The Time of Their Lives, In the Navy, The Naughty Ninetie... |
| TV Shows | The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Abbott and Costello Show |
| Star Sign | Pisces |
| # | Trademark |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jersey accent |
| 2 | Plaid jacket that was always unbuttoned |
| 3 | Half of his tie reached down below his belt |
| 4 | One of his most frequent gestures was to place a fist on his cheek when frustrated occasionally he would smack his fist away with his other hand |
| 5 | His girth |
| 6 | Master of early pratfall techniques |
| 7 | Bowler hat |
| 8 | Would always yell "Hey Abbott!" |
| 9 | Mentioned his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, in virtually every episode of his TV show and in many of his films. |
| Title | Salary |
|---|---|
| Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952) | $250,000 |
| The Abbott and Costello Show (1952) | $15,000 /episode |
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) | $75,000 |
| In Society (1944) | $40,000 +% |
| 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 |
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | After pouring a bottle of beer over Bud Abbots head. Now you look as wet as your act! |
| 2 | Comics are a dime a dozen - good straight men are hard to find! |
| 3 | [his last words] I think I'll be more comfortable. |
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | He and Bud Abbott are known in France as "Les Deux Nigauds" ("The Two Simpletons"). |
| 2 | Lou Costello was chosen for the lead role in the Broadway musical "Fiorello!" (1959), lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock. Due to Costello's illness, the role was filled by a young Tom Bosley ("Howard Cunningham" of TV's "Happy Days"). Harnick and Bock became famous for the long-running Broadway smash hit "Fiddler on the Roof". |
| 3 | He broke the "fourth wall" in most of his films and TV appearances. |
| 4 | His father was of Italian descent. His maternal grandfather was of half Italian and half French ancestry, and his maternal grandmother was of Irish descent. |
| 5 | The performance of "Who's on First?" in the film The Naughty Nineties (1945) is considered the quintessential version of the routine, and the clip is enshrined in a looped video at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. If you listen carefully, you can hear laughter in the background. It was the crew, whom the director could not get to stop laughing during repeated takes of the routine. He finally gave up, shot the scene in one take and let the laughter stay in, hoping no one would notice it. |
| 6 | He invented the very first commercial automatic ice machine. He planned to market it but lost money on the deal. |
| 7 | He learned of son Lou Costello Jr.'s death in a swimming-pool accident just moments before going on the air to do his radio show with Bud Abbott. However, being the old-school professional who believed that "the show must go on", he went right out and did the show--including their famous "Who's on First" routine-- without a hitch. Once they were finished, Costello went over in a corner and passed out. |
| 8 | At the beginning of their career he insisted that any joint earnings with Bud Abbott were split 60-40 in Abbott's favor because of Bud's skill as a straight man. |
| 9 | He was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6438 Hollywood Boulevard, for Radio at 6780 Hollywood Boulevard, and for Television at 6276 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. |
| 10 | He and partner Bud Abbott were inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2008 for their services and contributions to arts and entertainment. |
| 11 | Interred at Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA (Main Mausoleum, Block 354, Crypt B-1). |
| 12 | He had always suspected Universal Pictures of cheating him and partner Bud Abbott out of some of the profits of their pictures, but he could never prove it (that was one reason he didn't feel guilty about taking home expensive props from the sets of films he was shooting at Universal). One day his manager stopped into a photo supply store in Hollywood to buy some film for his camera and noticed a display that was selling 8mm film clips from films featuring Abbott & Costello that he had never heard of. Upon further investigation, he discovered that Universal was lifting scenes from A&C's early films, retitling them, selling them for the then burgeoning home 8mm market and not paying Abbott & Costello anything, which was in clear violation of its contracts with them. The team sued Universal and received a hefty out-of-court settlement. |
| 13 | 1942: His salary was $393,314, making him one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. |
| 14 | He and Bud Abbott are both nominees for the inaugural 2007 New Jersey Hall of Fame for their services to entertainment. |
| 15 | As an amateur boxer in Paterson, New Jersey, Costello--who used a fake name because he didn't want his mother to find out what he was doing--won 32 straight fights before being knocked out. The loss, combined with the fact that his mother finally found out what he was doing, ended his boxing career. |
| 16 | After the death of his son, Lou Costello Jr., he performed "Who's On First" routine as normal, but with tears streaming down his face as he did so. |
| 17 | Mentioned his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, at least once in every one of his films. |
| 18 | Costello was a great admirer of Charles Chaplin. He claimed to have seen Shoulder Arms (1918) 30 times and The Gold Rush (1925) 16 times, and attempted - without luck - to buy the screen rights to The Kid (1921) from Chaplin. |
| 19 | September 2003: Montclair State University in New Jersey dedicated a building in its new residence hall complex as "Abbott and Costello Center", after Lou and his partner Bud Abbott. |
| 20 | Along with partner Bud Abbott performed the "Who's on first" routine for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. |
| 21 | He and partner Bud Abbott made their debut as a comedy team in One Night in the Tropics (1940), although Costello had appeared in several silent films in the late 1920s as a stuntman and extra. |
| 22 | Grandfather of Marki Costello. |
| 23 | 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. |
| 24 | 1959: He was set to star in the comedy series "It Pays to Be Ignorant", but died before production began. |
| 25 | 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. |
| 26 | 1943: He was stricken with rheumatic fever, which halted the production of any new Abbott and Costello features for over a year until Lou fully recuperated. The disease, which normally strikes children, damaged his heart and led to the heart attack that ultimately killed him at such a young age. |
| 27 | Radio catchphrase: "I'm a bad boy." |
| 28 | Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith; pg. 1-3. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 |
| 29 | He had only one starring role in a feature film without Bud Abbott, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959). He died before it was released. |
| 30 | He and Bud Abbott are known in Italy as "Gianni and Pinotto", Abbott being Gianni and Costello being Pinotto. |
| 31 | 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, NJ. |
| 32 | 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. |
| 33 | 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. |
| 34 | He had a habit of taking home any prop or furniture item from a set that took his fancy. During filming of Hit the Ice (1943), director Charles Lamont went back to reshoot some scenes that took place at an ice-skating rink only to discover that all the wrought-iron patio furniture at the rink was gone--Costello took it home with him when he finished shooting the scene the previous day. An arrangement was worked out whereby Costello brought back the furniture, the scene was reshot, and then Costello took the furniture back home with him. |
| 35 | Son of associate producer Sebastian Cristillo. |
| 36 | Brother-in-law of actor Joe Kirk. |
| 37 | Brother of actor Pat Costello. |
| 38 | Father of Carole Costello, Chris Costello, Paddy Costello-Humphreys, and Lou Costello Jr.. |
| 39 | November 1943: His only son, Lou Costello Jr., drowned in the swimming pool of the family home just days before his first birthday. Lou never got over it, blaming his wife -- who was home at the time and didn't see the boy wander out into the back yard and fall into the pool -- for the tragedy. Although they didn't divorce -- they were both Catholics, for whom divorce at the time was unthinkable -- it put a permanent damper on their marriage. |
| 40 | Founded the Television Corporation of America production company which produced The Abbott and Costello Show (1952) and I'm the Law (1953). |
Actor
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbott & Costello: Live & Hilarious! | 1989 | Video | |
| The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock | 1959 | Artie Pinsetter | |
| Wagon Train | 1958 | TV Series | Tobias Jones |
| General Electric Theater | 1958 | TV Series | Neal Andrews |
| The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | 1957-1958 | TV Series | Comedian-Drill Sergeant / Comedian-Charlie Carwash / Comedian-Con Artist / ... |
| Dance with Me, Henry | 1956 | Lou Henry | |
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy | 1955 | Freddie Franklin | |
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops | 1955 | Willie 'Tubby' Piper | |
| Fireman Save My Child | 1954 | Man in Long Shots (uncredited) | |
| The Abbott and Costello Show | 1952-1954 | TV Series | Lou Costello |
| Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | 1953 | Tubby | |
| Abbott and Costello Go to Mars | 1953 | Orville | |
| Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd | 1952 | Captain 'Puddin' head' Feathergill | |
| Lost in Alaska | 1952 | George Bell | |
| Jack and the Beanstalk | 1952 | Jack / Jack Strong (as Costello) | |
| Comin' Round the Mountain | 1951 | Wilbert Smith | |
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man | 1951 | Lou Francis | |
| Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion | 1950 | Lou Hotchkiss | |
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff | 1949 | Freddie Phillips | |
| Africa Screams | 1949 | Stanley Livington | |
| Mexican Hayride | 1948 | Joe Bascom | |
| 10,000 Kids and a Cop | 1948 | Short documentary | Lou Costello |
| Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | 1948 | Wilbur | |
| The Noose Hangs High | 1948 | Tommy Hinchcliffe | |
| The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap | 1947 | Chester Wooley | |
| Buck Privates Come Home | 1947 | Herbie Brown | |
| The Time of Their Lives | 1946 | Horatio Prim | |
| Little Giant | 1946 | Benny Miller | |
| Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood | 1945 | Abercrombie | |
| The Naughty Nineties | 1945 | Sebastian Dinwiddle | |
| Here Come the Co-eds | 1945 | Oliver Quackenbush | |
| Lost in a Harem | 1944 | Harvey Garvey | |
| In Society | 1944 | Albert | |
| Hit the Ice | 1943 | Weejie McCoy | |
| It Ain't Hay | 1943 | Wilbur Hoolihan | |
| Who Done It? | 1942 | Mervin Q. Milgrim / Voice of Himself on Radio | |
| Pardon My Sarong | 1942 | Wellington Pflug | |
| Rio Rita | 1942 | 'Wishy' | |
| Ride 'Em Cowboy | 1942 | Willoughby | |
| Keep 'Em Flying | 1941 | Heathcliff | |
| Hold That Ghost | 1941 | Ferdinand Jones | |
| In the Navy | 1941 | Pomeroy Watson | |
| Buck Privates | 1941 | Herbie Brown | |
| One Night in the Tropics | 1940 | Costello | |
| The Cossacks | 1928 | Extra (uncredited) | |
| Circus Rookies | 1928 | Extra (uncredited) | |
| Rose-Marie | 1928 | Extra (uncredited) | |
| The Battle of the Century | 1927 | Short | Boxing Hall extra (uncredited) |
| The Fair Co-Ed | 1927 | Extra (uncredited) | |
| The Taxi Dancer | 1927 | Extra (uncredited) | |
| Bardelys the Magnificent | 1926 | Extra (uncredited) |
Soundtrack
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dance with Me, Henry | 1956 | performer: "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" aka Drinking Song | |
| Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd | 1952 | performer: "Tonight We Sail" | |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1951-1952 | TV Series performer - 2 episodes | |
| Jack and the Beanstalk | 1952 | performer: "Jack and the Beanstalk", "I Fear Nothing", "Dreamer's Cloth", "He Never Looked Better In His Life" | |
| The Time of Their Lives | 1946 | performer: "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes" 1616 - uncredited | |
| The Naughty Nineties | 1945 | performer: "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" - uncredited | |
| Here Come the Co-eds | 1945 | performer: "Let's Play House" | |
| Pardon My Sarong | 1942 | performer: "Deep in the Heart of Texas" 1942 - uncredited | |
| Hold That Ghost | 1941 | performer: "The Blue Danube Waltz" 1867 - uncredited | |
| In the Navy | 1941 | performer: "You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith" 1941 uncredited, "A Sailor's Life for Me" 1941 | |
| Buck Privates | 1941 | "You're In The Army Now", uncredited / performer: "When Private Brown Becomes a Captain" |
Producer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| I'm the Law | 1953 | TV Series executive producer | |
| Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd | 1952 | executive producer - uncredited | |
| Jack and the Beanstalk | 1952 | producer | |
| 10,000 Kids and a Cop | 1948 | Short documentary producer | |
| The Noose Hangs High | 1948 | executive producer - uncredited | |
| A Wave, a WAC and a Marine | 1944 | executive producer - as Sebastian Cristillo |
Writer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Abbott and Costello Show | 1954 | TV Series writer - 1 episode |
Stunts
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Trail of '98 | 1928 | stunt double: Harry Carey, window-jumping scene - uncredited |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1955-1958 | TV Series | Comedian / Himself |
| The Lux Show | 1958 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | 1956-1958 | TV Series | Himself - Comedian / Himself - House of the Monster Sketch / Himself - "Who's On First?" |
| I've Got a Secret | 1957 | TV Series | Celebrity Guest |
| This Is Your Life | 1956 | TV Series | Himself |
| Unit One | 1956 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1951-1955 | TV Series | Himself - Host / Himself - Comic Actor / Himself - Comedian / ... |
| News of the Day | 1952 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Olympic Fund Telethon | 1952 | TV Special | Himself |
| Texaco Star Theatre | 1948-1949 | TV Series | Himself - Comedian |
| Erskine Johnson's Hollywood Reel | 1949 | TV Series | Himself |
| Mail Call | 1944 | Short | Himself (uncredited) |
| Picture People No. 10: Hollywood at Home | 1942 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Screen Snapshots Series 21, No. 6 | 1942 | Short | Himself |
| Picture People Vol. 2 No. 6: Hollywood War Efforts | 1942 | Short | Himself |
| Meet the Stars #4: Variety Reel #2 | 1941 | Documentary short | Himself |
| The Baer-Galento Bout | 1940 | Documentary short | Himself (interviewed in locker room) |
Archive Footage
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The O'Reilly Factor | 2008-2014 | TV Series | Himself / Wilbur Grey |
| Cinemassacre's Monster Madness | 2011 | TV Series documentary | Wilbur |
| Reagan | 2011 | Documentary | Himself |
| Eric & Ernie: Behind the Scenes | 2011 | TV Movie documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss | 2010 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Wilbur Grey |
| Behind the Burly Q | 2010 | Documentary | Himself |
| Muchachada nui | 2010 | TV Series segment "Mundo viejuno: Jack y las habas que hablan" - Episode #4.1 2010 ... segment "Mundo viejuno: Jack y las habas que hablan" | |
| Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America | 2009 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Morecambe and Wise: The Show What Paul Merton Did | 2009 | TV Movie documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| Shemp Cocktail: A Toast to the Original Stooge | 2008 | Video documentary | Himself |
| The Story of Light Entertainment | 2006 | TV Mini-Series documentary | |
| Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us | 2005 | TV Movie documentary | Orville |
| Back to the 1950s | 2004 | Video documentary | |
| The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster | 2002 | Video documentary | Lou (uncredited) |
| ABC 2000: The Millennium | 1999 | TV Movie documentary | |
| Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed | 1999 | Video documentary short | Freddie |
| The Century: America's Time | 1999 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself - selling war bonds |
| Classified X | 1998 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Universal Horror | 1998 | TV Movie documentary | |
| American Masters | 1997 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Bob Hope: Hollywood's Brightest Star | 1996 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Biography | 1996 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Ed Sullivan All-Star Comedy Special | 1995 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Television's Christmas Classics | 1994 | TV Special | Himself |
| Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld | 1994 | TV Movie documentary | |
| It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein | 1994 | TV Movie documentary | |
| Legends of Comedy | 1992 | TV Movie documentary | |
| Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook | 1991 | Documentary | Wilbur Grey / Tubby |
| When It Was a Game | 1991 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The Three Stooges 60th Anniversary Special | 1990 | TV Movie documentary | |
| Entertaining the Troops | 1988 | Documentary | Himself |
| Classic Comedy Teams | 1986 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Horrible Horror | 1986 | Video | Wilbur, In clips from 'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein' |
| Into the Night | 1985 | Wilbur Grey in 'Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein' | |
| Stooge Snapshots | 1984 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The Great Standups | 1984 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | 1983 | Documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| Showbiz Goes to War | 1982 | TV Movie | |
| Simon & Simon | 1982 | TV Series | Orville |
| Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter | 1982 | TV Movie documentary | Actor - 'In Society' (uncredited) |
| The Horror Show | 1979 | TV Movie documentary | |
| The Hollywood Clowns | 1979 | Video documentary | |
| Hey, Abbott! | 1978 | ||
| Funny Business | 1978 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Bob Hope's World of Comedy | 1976 | TV Movie | Tribute Montage |
| That's Entertainment, Part II | 1976 | Documentary | Clips from 'Rio Rita' (as Costello) |
| Hollywood My Home Town | 1965 | Documentary | Himself |
| The World of Abbott and Costello | 1965 | Character in Film Clips | |
| Wayne and Shuster Take an Affectionate Look At... | 1965 | TV Series documentary | |
| The Big Parade of Comedy | 1964 | Documentary | Wishy in 'Rio Rita' |
| Hollywood and the Stars | 1963 | TV Series | Himself |
| Project XX | 1960 | TV Series documentary | Himself - Comedian |
| The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | 1959 | TV Series | Himself - Clumsy Soldier |
| Screen Snapshots Series 33, No. 10: Hollywood Grows Up | 1954 | Documentary short | Film Clips Character |
| Champs of the Chase | 1954 | Short | Albert |
| Oh, My Achin' Tooth! | 1954 | Short | Lou |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1953 | TV Series | Himself |
| I'm the Law | 1953 | TV Series | Himself |
| Gobs in a Mess | 1953 | Short | Pomeroy |
| Screen Snapshots: Memories of Famous Hollywood Comedians | 1952 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Knights of the Bath | 1951 | Short | Albert |
| Fun on the Run | 1949 | Short | Oliver [Lou, in silent versions] |
| Kitchen Mechanics | 1949 | Short | Oliver [Lou, in silent versions] |
| Oysters and Muscles | 1948 | Short | Oliver [Lou, in silent versions] |
| Screen Snapshots Series 25, No. 8: Looking Back | 1946 | Short | Himself |
| Twenty Years After | 1944 | Short | |
| The Autobiography of a 'Jeep' | 1943 | Documentary short | Himself - in a Jeep in Parade (uncredited) |
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | On 8 February 1960. At 6438 Hollywood Blvd. |
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Television | Awarded February 8, 1960 at 6276 Hollywood Blvd. |
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Radio | Awarded February 8, 1960 at 6780 Hollywood Blvd. |
Known for movies
The Abbott and Costello Show (1952-1954)
as Lou Costello
Africa Screams (1949)
as Stanley Livington
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
as Wilbur
Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)
as Jack / Jack Strong