*Includes pictures. *Includes Abbott and Costello's own quotes about their lives and careers. *Includes a transcript of "Who's on First?" *Includes a bibliography for further reading. “You never heard of a comedy team that didn’t fight, did you? But for twenty years as a professional team, Lou and I were closer than man and wife.” - Bud Abbott “A husband is what's left of a sweetheart after the nerve has been killed.” – Lou Costello A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Ironically, one of America’s most famous comedy duos, and the performers of the country’s most famous skit, came together in part because Lou Costello had already failed to cut it in the film industry. In fact, Costello had appeared in a Laurel & Hardy film in 1927 before meeting his partner, Bud Abbott, on the burlesque circuit in New York City. In fact, the two first performed together in 1935 only because Abbott filled in for Costello’s usual partner, who happened to be ill one fateful day.