Bud Abbott

Bud Abbott
Abbott in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948
Born	William Alexander Abbott October 2, 1897 Asbury Park, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	April 24, 1974(1974-04-24) (aged 76) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Cancer
Resting place	Scattered over the Pacific Ocean
Occupation	Actor, comedian, producer
Years active	1924–1967
Spouse(s)	Betty Smith (1902-1981) (m. 1918; his death 1974)
Partner(s)	Lou Costello

William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) was an American actor, producer, and comedian. He is best remembered as the straight man of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Lou Costello.

Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey on October 2, 1897, into a show business family. His parents, Rae Fisher and Harry Abbott, had worked for the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Several years after the family relocated to Brooklyn, Abbott dropped out of grammar school to begin working with his father at Dreamland Park on Coney Island. When he was 15, Abbott signed on as a cabin boy on a Norwegian steamer, but was soon forced to shovel coal. He eventually worked his way back to the United States after a year.

By then his father was an employee of the Columbia Burlesque Wheel, and installed Bud in the box office of the Casino Theater in Brooklyn. Bud spent the next few years in burlesque box offices. In 1918, working in Washington D.C., he met and married Jenny Mae Pratt, a burlesque dancer and comedian who performed as Betty Smith. They remained together until his death 55 years later. In 1923 Abbott produced a cut-rate vaudeville tab show called Broadway Flashes, which toured on the Gus Sun circuit. Abbott began performing as a in the show when he could no longer afford to pay one. He continued producing and performing in burlesque shows on the Mutual Burlesque wheel, and as his reputation grew, he began working with veteran comedians like Harry Steppe and Harry Evanson. Abbott suffered from epilepsy starting from about 1926. In 1964, he suffered the first in a series of strokes.

Abbott crossed paths with Lou Costello in burlesque a few times in the early 1930s when Abbott was producing and performing in Minsky's Burlesque shows and Costello was a rising comic. They first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge Theatre on 42nd Street, after an illness sidelined Costello's regular partner. They formally teamed up in 1936, and went on to perform together in burlesque, vaudeville, minstrel shows, and stage shows.