William Alexander “Bud” Abbott (Actors)

born on October 2, 1897 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, was an American actor, producer and comedian. 

American comedian Bud Abbott was the tall, bullying member of the popular comedy team Abbott and Costello. The son of circus employees, Abbott entered show business as a burlesque show producer, then took to the stage himself as straight man for a number of comedians.

Abbott worked in carnivals while still a child and dropped out of school in 1909. He worked as assistant treasurer for the Casino Theater in Brooklyn, then as treasurer or manager of various theaters around the country. He worked as straight man to vaudeville performers such as Harry Steepe and Harry Evanson while managing the National Theater in Detroit.

After working in burlesque, in radio, and on Broadway, Abbott and Costello made their movie debut in One Night in the Tropics (1940). Their first starring picture was Buck Privates (1941), a box-office bonanza which catapulted the team to “top moneymaker” status for the next 15 years; in all, Abbott and Costello made 36 feature films.

In the 1950s they brought their comedy to live television on the Colgate Comedy Hour, and launched their own half-hour series, The Abbott and Costello Show. The team’s popularity waned in the 1950s, and Abbott and Costello parted ways in 1957. Lou Costello died in 1959.

Abbott attempted to begin performing again in 1960, with a new partner, Candy Candido, and received good reviews. But Abbott called it quits, remarking that “No one could ever live up to Lou.” On TV, he performed in a dramatic episode of General Electric Theater titled “The Joke’s On Me” in 1961. A few years later Bud provided his own voice for the Hanna-Barbera animated series Abbott and Costello, with Stan Irwin providing the voice of Lou Costello. Bud and Betty were married for 55 years. The couple adopted two children: Bud, Jr. in 1942, and Vickie in 1949. Bud Jr. died in 1997.

Bud Abbott has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: radio star, motion pictures star, and TV star. Bud Abbott suffered from epilepsy and died of cancer at the age of 76 (reported as 78) on April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean