L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano Paddy and Chris Costello reminisce about dad and heritage LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS L ong before Netflix, YouTube and the dig- ital signals of fiber optics dominated the entertainment indus- try, Abbott and Costello was a regular fixture heard on the radio waves and, then, on the old tele- vision sets of US households. During the pre-cable era, in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s, Ameri- cans would adjust their "bunny ears" (TV antennas), to tune in on one of their six or seven free television channels, where the movies starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello created from the late 1940s to 1950s were routine- ly re-broadcast. Lou was one of the most beloved comedians in American entertainment along with his partner Bud Abbott. During World War II, the hilarious duo gave America and the world a special gift, laughter. In 1959, Lou Costello died suddenly and six-months later in the same year, his wife Anne Battler unex- pectedly passed away. Since the death of their par- ents sixty-years ago, the eldest daughter, Patricia Anne Costello Humphreys, nicknamed Paddy, and Christine Chris Costello, (the youngest of the four children) continue to memorialize their father's memory. Lou and Anne's second daughter Carole married singer Dean Martin's oldest son Craig, and died pre- maturely in 1987 at the age of forty-eight. The couple also had a son, Lou Jr., nicknamed Butch, who died tragically in a pool accident at eleven-months old in 1943. "After my brother died my parents established the Lou Costello Jr. Recreational Center in East Los Angeles that serves underprivileged kids," said Paddy. "My sister Chrissy and I are still involved with the center, and my oldest son Lou and I were just down there a couple of months ago. It is a fantastic facility that is run by a wonder- ful group of people." The Costello family has certainly endured its share of sadness but as Paddy explained, "We got through all the difficult times." Paddy married young while her parents were alive. After their death, she divorced, became a registered nurse and raised three sons and a daughter with her sec- ond husband of forty-eight years, until he passed away in 2011. As for her younger sister, Chris wrote Lou's on First in 1981 (recently released on ebooks) to set the record straight about Bud and her dad's friend- ship and financial woes. Now seventy, Chris was eleven-years old when her parents died. After a brief stint in showbiz, Christine followed her passion and started her own travel business that spe- cializes in cruises and she is often invited across the country to talk about Abbott and Costel- lo. "I'm juggling a million-and- one travel requests," said Chris- tine. Despite her busy schedule, Chris did offer some insight into what made the Hollywood duo special. "It was dad and Bud together that created the magic," she averred. Some critics have suggested that Bud Abbott's act has always lived in her father's shadows, for audiences are drawn to the come- dian more than the straight man. "But remember," said Christine, "The comic is only as good as the straight man. A good straight man will make the comic look brilliant. The straight man is the set-up person. He sets up the timing. If he fails, so does the routine, and the team." Paddy and Chris Costello are still very close with Bud's family. "The families were always close. He was Uncle Bud to us," said Paddy. Lou's short and corpulent physique, and trademark derby hat, complimented Abbott's taller build and serious expressions. Undoubtedly, their most popular skit often performed was Who's on First, a classic example of wordplay and monikers. The two performed the skit during their early days at burlesque and vaudeville theaters in New York City. After several years on the road, Kate Smith hired Bud and Lou for her radio show and later the slapstick pair moved to Hol- lywood, California in 1939 to make movies. The comedic actor was born in Paterson, NJ in 1906 to an immigrant father, Sebastian Cristillo, from Caserta, Italy and an Irish/Italian mother, Helen Rege. "I remember my grandfa- ther loved Italian opera and he was an excellent cook. I can still hear him say in his accent, dinor," remembered Paddy. "Sometimes when we ate togeth- er he offered us wine. I think I was about eight-years old when I had wine." The Costello house- hold was not short of Italian tra- ditions. Lou's wife Anne, who was Scottish, learned many of the Italian dishes from her father-in- law. "My father loved sausage and pepper sandwiches, and I miss my mother's pasta fagioli and braciole," recalled Paddy fondly. The admiration for Abbott and Costello's comedy routines, extended to Italian American households, and in Italy they were Gianni & Pinotto. "We went to Italy in 1950 and 1953. On one of those trips we stopped in Scotland first to visit my mother's family and then went to visit our cousins in Caserta. My grandchildren are still in commu- nication with the Cristillo family in Caserta," said the proud eighty-two year old. Lou's real name was Louis Francis Cristillo. One day when Paddy was a teenager, she asked her father, "Why the name change? My dad replied there were two reasons for why I changed my last name. First, there was the name recognition of the popular silent movie actress Dolores Costello and the other reason was if I failed in Hollywood I did not want to fail using my own name." The sur- name Costello derives from an Anglo-Norman Knight Hostillo d'Angulo and is sometimes con- fused with the Italian last name Castello (castle). With dwindling box-office appeal in the late 1940s, the duo's careers were resurrected with their seamless transition to television. In the 1950's the Abbott and Costello Show was created and one of the greatest fictional characters to appear and gain an unforeseen popularity, albeit retrospectively stereotypi- cal, was actor Joe Kirk's portray- al of Mr. Bacciagalupe. Joe Kirk was married to Lou Costello's sister Marie Cristillo. "My uncle decided on the name Kirk, it was a shortened version of his real name Curcuruto," recalled Paddy. The television program was one of the few in the 1950's to create a likeable Italian character with an accent. Mr. Baccia- galupe, was a hot tempered man who often had outbursts in Neapolitan. He is remembered, however, in large part because of his silly sounding last name. "I don't know how they thought of that name, I guess it was my father and the producers' idea," said Paddy. A whole new legion of fans continues to follow Abbott and Costello's legendary skits and "That is," as Paddy concluded, "A testament to their talent." Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, had been a fixture on American radio before hitting TV screens Christine Chris Costello, the youngest daughter of Lou Costello, the comedic side of the Abbott and Costello duo ALFONSO GUERRIERO JR.

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