Carol Olson: Old comedy acts as funny as ever

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 28, 2009 | by Carol Olson

We seniors had so many comedians to entertain us, and none of the good ones used X-rated language. Granted, some of them were just too silly to be funny to me, but I guess our parents and grandparents liked them. I never did understand what was so funny about Charlie Chaplin, but he was adored by many.

I know that I had no appreciation for the Three Stooges until after I turned 25. Only then did I see the humor in any of their routines. The Three Stooges started their career in 1925 in a vaudeville act called "Ted Healy and his Stooges," which was one of the four titles they performed under.

One of the old comedy teams that I always found funny was William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello, who was born as Louis Francis Cristillo. Just to hear someone say "Abbott & Costello" would bring a smile to your lips as you remembered the wacky routines they made famous.

"Who's on First?" is their most popular skit. It was performed in the 1945 film "The Naughty Nineties." It was first performed on stage as part of their performance, and later incorporated into the film.

Abbott & Costello first teamed up in 1936, according to one of the most believable stories. Lou was doing a show at a burlesque house in Brooklyn, and his regular straight man got sick. Bud was also appearing on the same stage, so Lou asked him to fill in. The rest is history, and their career spanned 21 years.

Their last film together was "Dance With Me Henry," which was released in 1957. Steve Allen invited them in 1956 to be guests on his show. It was then that Allen announced that their "Who's on First?" gold record was placed in the baseball hall of fame.

Probably the best-known comedian of all time was Bob Hope, who was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England, on May 29, 1903. He was the fifth of seven sons born to William and Avis Hope. It's hard not to think of Bob Hope as American as apple pie, no matter where he was born.

Bob worked most of his life, starting out by selling newspapers, then in high school working as a delivery boy, soda jerk, pool hustler and a shoe salesman. Once out of school, he took dancing lessons, worked as a newspaper reporter, and was an amateur boxer under the name of Packy East.

He talked his then-girlfriend into dancing with him for $8 a night in vaudeville shows. After that, he teamed up with Lloyd Durbin, a friend of his. They made the rounds with their act and later, Bob became a single performer.

Bob entertained our service men and women for almost 60 years, whether we were at peace or at war.

W.C. Fields was born William Claude Dukenfield on Jan. 29, 1880. He's another comedian that I didn't enjoy as much as others, but one of his lines did crack me up. "A woman drove me to drink, and I didn't even have the decency to thank her."

Reach Carol Olson at carolleeolson@aol.com.