One of the best things ever in baseball was when Taiwanese player, Chin-Lung Hu, played for a short time with the Dodgers big league club.....he hit a single and it was one of the greatest things to happen in baseball to be announced on air, and it was none other than Vin Scully who noticed the situation and said: "In shades of Abbot and Costello I can finally say Who is on first base.” Such a great moment with legendary Vin Scully!
I don't know if you understand the game of cricket, but a long time ago, there was a situation where the batsman from England was Peter Willey and the bowler (pitcher) was from West Indies, and his name was Michael Holding. The commentator blurted out "The batsman's Holding, the bowler's Willey". Priceless.
@@sopwithpuppy That was a classic. I also recall a time when Dennis Lillee was caught by Peter Willey off the bowling of Graham Dilley. Lillee - caught Willey - bowled Dilley.
@@sopwithpuppy Reminds me of a gym class I covered when I was substituting. The main teacher on the floor gave me the chart to do attendance for my class and assured me the other teachers would handle everything else. After all, it was a nice day and we were just going to go outside and play on the sport fields. After all the equipment was distributed she yelled, "Okay everybody, grab your balls and head outside!"
Yes it is, I've always said the comedians and actors back in the the day were the truly talented ones. Sing, dance, act, play instruments all in one package where as today you don't get anything near it without music tracks or lip syncing.
People will laugh at this until baseball ceases to be played at the professional level. Which it will, some day. Maybe in decades, maybe in centuries. Nothing is eternal.
@@janearkell5185 … I cherish the memories of spending time in my childhood with my mother who got me into watching the Abbott & Costello movies & comedy shows. She was absolutely in tears from laughter when we saw this routine for the first time 😂😂😂. We would always spend time on Saturdays watching their double features that were shown on our tv networks here 👍😁
"When you pay the first baseman off every month, who gets the money?" "Yes." "...." "Sometimes his wife comes and collects it." "Who's wife?" "Yes." "........"
I was once watching a game with a roommate and his girlfriend asked "who's on first?" Without saying a word to each other, we started doing the bit. His girlfriend, without knowing what we were doing, naturally started doing the Lou Costello part and we did the Bud Abbott lines. We had her going for several minutes. I'll never forget it.
Actually, they messed up all the time. In fact, in order to keep the routine fresh, they deliberately tried to fool each other. the genius is that they were each able to go with whatever curve the other threw them. That is why no two recorded versions of this routine are the same. For example, if you play the video again, you will notice that Bud tries to introduce paying Who before Lou is ready but it does not interrupt or slow the routine.
I learned this skit for a talent show. The easiest way to do is to forget the script. Learn the rules for how they respond and then just have a conversation with your partner.
I heard they estimated it was closer to 10,000 but who's counting. I've seen a few of these and I don't think they ever did it exactly the same way twice.
"Who's On First" plays constantly at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown , NY . I've heard it many times and still laugh . The timing and cadence of the skit is impeccable . Abbott and Costello did many movies and had a TV show .
This skit is timeless. It transcends time, cultures, age, generations... People will laugh at this hundreds of years from now. You really don't even need to understand much about baseball to get it. It's cool to see so many different people from different walks of life appreciate it.
My Mom was a huge baseball fan - and an Abbott and Costello fan. She and her dad introduced me to this skit when I was just a kid - and I still laugh so hard when I watch this. So happy to see that it still has an audience. Thank you!!!
When I first watched this. I didn’t know that Costello‘s son had just drowned in the pool, and he still came out and did the skit. He was a complete professional and went on stage as if nothing it happened. That is true professionalism. May they both rest in peace.
In my senior year of high school, I did this routine with a friend for the end of year variety show that the theater department put on. I played the funny man (Costello) part and my friend played the straight man (Abbot). It was so much fun to learn and rehearse. The hardest part was to avoid getting caught in loops of dialogue. We would get caught in a circular back and forth of “I’m not asking you who’s on second….No Who’s on first….” and so on. There were certain transitional lines that moved it from one section to the next. It is a brilliantly scripted piece. It’s almost like an announcer calling a play by play with the dialogue being the “ball” that goes from base to base. I would LOVE to perform this again somewhere!
A friend of mine and I performed this during a "talent show" when we were in junior high school. We discovered that we both knew and loved this sketch during lunch one day when someone in our group asked, "Who?", and I popped off with "Who's on first!", and my friend immediately responded with the next line, and we started the routine. I think by then we "might" have worn our teachers out with things like talking in "Pig Latin", and an old "round" my mom taught me called "What's Life", and a few other assorted oldies, so the teachers said, "Y'all might as well entertain the whole school!", snd insisted that we perform it for the show. It was actually a lot of fun to do! But we had to write it all down from a cassette tape to rehearse !
I worked with a theater group in Southern Maryland and a friend of mine wanted to do this sketch together. I told him he was crazy, but we did it anyway. It was SOOOO hard to get it, but even more rewarding when we pulled it off. We did it about a dozen times over the course of a couple of months. We were asked to do it for fund raisers for several charities (including our County Arts Council) and we did every request. The smallest crowd was about 80 people but the biggest crowd was over 2,000! WHAT A RUSH! I never had so much fun on stage in my life. After one performance a little old lady of about 80 or so years came up to us and said 'You guys were great!' so we thanked her and she continued 'You were better than Abbott and Costello' to which we replied, 'Thank you so much, but no... they were the masters.' She scowled at us and said 'I saw then do it live and you guys were better!' I still don't believe her but all we could say was 'OK.... thank you again.' Later we did the one about the race horse...
Not only did they get through this skit flawlessly, it is comic gold! And I have heard it my whole life (and I’m not longer young), and I laugh every time! It’s got infinite comedy power. Amazing. Blows my mind.
This is probably the greatest comedy sketch ever written from the Golden Age of Vaudeville before TV was even a thing. It wasn't before baseball, obviously, but it's still sobering to note that such a classic routine could stand the test of time. There is truly nothing new under the sun. 😄
I first heard this skit as a kid more than 50 years ago (and it was several decades old then), and it still never fails to crack me up. It's a masterclass in speed and timing.
Can you even imagine not only doing that whole *long* skit so incredibly clean but doing it on the spot with a live audience? Abbot and Costello were freakin' legend, man.
I love this sort of clever work play humour. Do smuttiness, no crudeness, no swearing, just good, clean, wholesome fun. Sadly, there is lacking in most modern comedy shows.
Ah! That brings back so many memories. Abbott and Costello was the duo we were always allowed to stay up late to watch! What an incredible duo; and always left us in tears of laughter.
Costello's absolutely tremendous, but one should be careful not to overlook the difficult role of the "straight" man. You need that "normal" character up there pretending there's nothing out of the ordinary going on to give you the contrast with the wacky dude. It also makes Costello's character more relatable, as we've all been in situations where everyone else seemed to take in-stride things that seemed absolutely insane to us. A lot of absurdist comedy relies on having someone who's able to seem completely sincere about ridiculous things, because if there was even a hint of a wink from them to say that they're aware of or in on the joke, the situation stops being absurd.
The greatest comedy routine of all time in my opinion. The simplicity of it, the speed and the timing. It's a perfect bit that anyone can listen to and get it.
My field is the English Language and I have to say, while the delivery of this profoundly speaks of two lives lived in Vaudeville, the composition of this dialogue is nothing short of phenomenal. If you parse all this out, it maps out into what Music calls Baroque Variations. There is a precise, progressive evolution in the interplay of the swapping of descriptive phrases and nicknames. It really is a thing of beauty and logic, like a fractal branch.
I think that at this point this skit has pretty much become part of our cultural DNA. Bless you Jamel, for sharing it forward, as you do with so many great recordings. It's such a delight watching a young lad see this for the first time, and be whelmed by the sheer zanyness of it all.
Yeah, when you really stop and think about it, it's a silly skit, but it's delivered so quickly and perfectly that it's hilarious. You really buy into the idea that he doesn't get it and the ability to pull that off so effortlessly is what makes this skit so incredible. imo
A friend of mine, and me got sent to the principal's office for doing this in class. This was back when they still gave swats in school. We were supposed to get swats, but the principal was laughing so hard, he sent us to detention instead.
My dad and I used to watch reruns of their shows and movies every weekend when I was a kid. So much of their stuff is just perfectly timed, absolute hilarity. So much rehearsal had to go into all of these bits. So damn funny.
I don't know how many times i've watched this skit , i still love it ! And it really warms my heart to see young people watching it and have a good laugh and understanding how good these two men were at what they did !
When Abbott and Costello's time as an act nearing its end, it was announced by a spokesman for the comedians on May 29, 1956, that a gold recording of the pair's “Who's on First?” routine would be placed on permanent display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
This skit of theirs is so timeless and one of, if not THE best crafted comedy skits ever written. It plays on a continuous loop playing in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Thanks very much for sharing this, very funny! By the way, it's in The Baseball Hall of Fame. Abbott & Costello never repeated the bit exactly the same because in order to keep it fresh, each tried to trip the other up so each time was a new battle of wits/fun. The best version of this, all time, is in the Abbott and Costello film "The Naughty 90's", which otherwise wasn't that good. After a whole day of shooting the bit for the movie, the director/editors wove together a final version that astounded Bud and Lou as it kept the very best bits of their improv/variations. By the way, Lou Costello, the short dumpy one here, was an All State basketball player at Patterson High School and often picked up chump money when he was a struggling unknown by challenging local yokels on town courts when he was on the road. If anyone isn't familiar with the boys, you have cheated yourself as they made the funniest horror flick of all time, "Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein". With the Werewolf and Dracula and at the end in an unbilled cameo, Vincent Price as The Invisible Man. It works because they keep the comedy and the horror separate, the monsters are truly scary. Thank you again James AKA Jamal for sharing this video from the boy's TV show, which huge fan Seinfeld says inspired how his show was structured, with the crazy neighbors, and the look of it.
85 years old and young folk are STILL Listening. hat is Awesome is this Skit earned a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame! A lone Gold Record sitting there in with the greats like Babe Ruth.
Now 66, I grew up watching Abbott & Costello and this routine is such a classic, that it is in the Baseball Hall of Fame!. These brothers came out of the super old theater style of vaudeville, where the emphasis on the banter and squeezing out the storyline is as comparable to the echo, backbeat, call & response patter is as fluid as Eminem lyrics. 👍🏾😎👍🏾
This skit never gets old. I have seen it many times & it still is funny! This is what you call good clean comedy that has lasted for decades. That was real talent! What a difference compared to the garbage that gets passed off today as comedy full of swearing & dirty jokes.
To be fair, that has a place in comedy too. I love the old comedians and performers, but they are not the only kind out there. sometimes the world is kind of crude and comedy reflects that.
There was just as much swearing and dirty jokes back then. There are just as many clean comics now. Nothing changed except whether or not you were allowed to say it on television.
I'm GenX and very familiar with these because in the late 70s and 80s, Abbot and Costello were on TV on weekend afternoons along with Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Bros, the Three Stooges and The Little Rascals. I'm sure it's because they were cheap to run but I loved watching them. And it's kind of sad that they're forgotten now because they're material still stands up.
Yes! Same here--Gen X who grew up with all those shows and loved them--also the Ma and Pa Kettle movies. Just good, clean, silly fun. There were so few choices for viewing back then that everyone our age and older has a close common cultural history. Great memories.
I'm also watches a hundred times and I still laugh every time I see it. Even though I know it's coming. The skill involved and not missing a beat. Keeping the story going is incredible. Love your videos keep them up
You NAILED it and I was just telling my wife the same as I viewed this...how many times did they rehearse this to NEVER miss a beat?!?! Not one stutter, no editing...straight from the heart. Much like Stairway to Heaven...TIMELESS!!!
I used to work in a nursing home years ago and we put on a show for them with singers, piano players and skits. I and another aide did this one. I studied this and rehearsed it with my dad for 2 weeks every day and still messed up once but she covered and we were back on. I did the same for her. One of my favorite memories of working there. I also did a pillow dance to Turkey In The Straw. You should check to see if you can find a performance of someone doing that. Hilarious 😂
In my senior year of high school, I did this routine with a friend for the end of year variety show that the theater department put on. I played the funny man (Costello) part and my friend played the straight man (Abbot). It was so much fun to learn and rehearse. The hardest part was to avoid getting caught in loops of dialogue. We would get caught in a circular back and forth of “I’m not asking you who’s on second….No Who’s on first….” and so on. There were certain transitional lines that moved it from one section to the next. It is a brilliantly scripted piece. It’s almost like an announcer calling a play by play with the dialogue being the “ball” that goes from base to base. I would LOVE to perform this again somewhere!
Let me tell you, I grew up in the '50's watching this and it is still just as funny today as the first time I saw it. Truly great talent. And I could watch this with my grandmother.
when i was young i remember seeing this with him , and it was definitely a lifelong running joke between us , every chance we got to throw in a "who's on first" we did. Its amazing how long and how much of an impact comedy has on life.
What is monumentally fun is now you're IN on the joke, so it will forever be in the back of your brain, and someone goes "Wait, who's on first?" and you'll just go, "Naturally..." Or, "Who's on third?" and you'll automatically respond with, "No, Who's on first..." It's an IYKYK, and the shared smile of those in the know is really special (and if they don't know, you get to share it with them!).
You got it~ Genius!!! First (Who?) heard (on radio) this as a young kid and of course, didn't really get it. Then saw it on TV a few years later (prob around 8 or 9yrs old)~ I actually remember the moment the lightbulb went on, just like your friend. Have probably seen them do this 30 0r 40 times, and have never heard them mess it up. In fact, it just got better. It's cool that you shared it with your buddy because, from this day forward you'll have this "inside" joke I guarantee you'll be quoting it to each other from now on. So happy you both appreciated it!!
That was fun watching you two cracking up at what I think is one of the cleverest skits ever. Your right they were flawless in their very fast delivery of this complex skit.
There was a movie from 1963 called. "It's a mad, mad, mad world." An all start cast of some of the legends from times gone by. Might want to check it out.
That there are still people showing this to other people almost a century later is a testament to how good this is. Superman was first published in 1938. This comedy routine written and performed by Abbott and Costello predates that, and was based off burlesque show routines from the late 20s and early 30s. Abbott and Costello didn't invent the idea behind this famous sketch, but they honed and shaped this particular dialogue into absolute perfection. It never gets old. Well it is old but it feels just as fresh and fun and since weird names for baseball players is still a thing, so's this gag.
We've all done this to some extent. Ever try to explain something to someone and they just don't get it? This is it. Anything that can make all generations laugh is classic. There will never be another Abbott and Costello. They come around once in a lifetime. Glad you enjoyed it. They have other skits too. Look them up.
You should check out Niagra Falls, another old vaudeville bit Abbott and Costello did in a movie and on their 50s tv show. The Three Stooges also did a version in a film as well.
This has alway been one of my favorite skits ever. I don't care how many times I listen to this, it always cracks me up. Just like the Dentist scene with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman always has me on the floor laughing no matter how many times I have seen it. Another skit I like is the version of this that Johny Carson did with Ronald Regan back went we had Chinese Leader Wu and Reagan's cabinet member James Watts and some other names. The ran the skit saying Wu is on the line and Watt is outside or something like that. I have to find that skit again.
This particular clip is from their early 1950s TV show but the skit dates back to the late 1930s on radio. They performed it thousands of times but rarely the same way twice.
Genius is correct. One of the top comedy teams in human history and a perfect skit. It was fun to watch them watch Abbott & Costello and fully appreciate their genius.
Bud and Lou Oh my gawd brother thank you soooo much. They were SUCH a HUGE part of my childhood and they still make me hoot!!! Have you ever seen the one with them as ghosts, and Lou at the well trying to quench his thirst?🤣🤣😂😂😁💯🤣
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Classic comedic word play, this never gets old!🤣😂😅
Abbot and Costello are Kings of Comedy!!!!!!!
I HIGHLY suggest you watch some Burns and Allen.
Very good job guys! That Abbott and Costello with Who's on first will never be topped!🤣👍😂
I think you would like Red Skelton too
One of the best things ever in baseball was when Taiwanese player, Chin-Lung Hu, played for a short time with the Dodgers big league club.....he hit a single and it was one of the greatest things to happen in baseball to be announced on air, and it was none other than Vin Scully who noticed the situation and said: "In shades of Abbot and Costello I can finally say Who is on first base.” Such a great moment with legendary Vin Scully!
I don't know if you understand the game of cricket, but a long time ago, there was a situation where the batsman from England was Peter Willey and the bowler (pitcher) was from West Indies, and his name was Michael Holding. The commentator blurted out "The batsman's Holding, the bowler's Willey". Priceless.
@@sopwithpuppy That was a classic. I also recall a time when Dennis Lillee was caught by Peter Willey off the bowling of Graham Dilley.
Lillee - caught Willey - bowled Dilley.
@@sopwithpuppy Haha…that’s funny!
@@sopwithpuppy Reminds me of a gym class I covered when I was substituting. The main teacher on the floor gave me the chart to do attendance for my class and assured me the other teachers would handle everything else. After all, it was a nice day and we were just going to go outside and play on the sport fields. After all the equipment was distributed she yelled, "Okay everybody, grab your balls and head outside!"
Dear gawd!!! No he didn't!!!
Laughed so hard n tears!!!😂😆😅😜😁
Thanks for the Google search!!!
This skit is an absolute masterclass in delivery and comedic timing. It's utter perfection.
Its perfectly written and flawlessly executed. I don't know if its better written or performed.
@@averagegatsby, this delivery is widely considered as the definitive version.
Yes it is, I've always said the comedians and actors back in the the day were the truly talented ones. Sing, dance, act, play instruments all in one package where as today you don't get anything near it without music tracks or lip syncing.
AMEN!!!
Agreed
100 years from now, people will still be laughing at this. Abbott and Costello are eternal.
It is such a Gold Standard play on miscommunication.
I’m putting money on “in a thousand years” 👍😂💵💵💵
@@gerardroll6468 As long as there are folks who still understand 20th century English.
People will laugh at this until baseball ceases to be played at the professional level. Which it will, some day. Maybe in decades, maybe in centuries. Nothing is eternal.
@@Two4Brew … Oh there will be ✌️😁
THE greatest comedy sketch ever written (in my opinion)… NO ONE could possibly recreate the electricity generated by this classic duo ☝️😁⚾️⚾️⚾️
LOL...I'm actually exhausted just from watching it....awesome...sure brings back memories!
@@janearkell5185 … I cherish the memories of spending time in my childhood with my mother who got me into watching the Abbott & Costello movies & comedy shows. She was absolutely in tears from laughter when we saw this routine for the first time 😂😂😂. We would always spend time on Saturdays watching their double features that were shown on our tv networks here 👍😁
I seem to recall reading that it was actually an old vaudeville routine originally, but they certainly perfected it and brought it to the TV era.
@@jeremymull6138 … To quote an old saying, they well & truly “turned a lump of coal into a diamond” ✊️😄👍
The rhythm to it and that they could each keep ahead of the other is amazing even after all these years
My favorite part is when Lou gets all the positions right and then says: "I don't know what I'm talkin' about!"
_Third base!_
Who's on 1st. What's on 2nd. I don't knows on 3rd. I'm not sure shortstop.
@Louis Winterbower: I don't give a darn!
Mine too the delivery of that line is amazing!
"When you pay the first baseman off every month, who gets the money?"
"Yes."
"...."
"Sometimes his wife comes and collects it."
"Who's wife?"
"Yes."
"........"
I was once watching a game with a roommate and his girlfriend asked "who's on first?" Without saying a word to each other, we started doing the bit. His girlfriend, without knowing what we were doing, naturally started doing the Lou Costello part and we did the Bud Abbott lines. We had her going for several minutes. I'll never forget it.
I wish that was recorded-that was a magical few minutes it sounds like!
Would it be safe to say you all were laughing real hard at the end?😆😁
About 70 years later people still love it its so cool
These guys were among the best comedians of all time.
Nearly 80 years later and this sketch is still as funny now as it was then ,
Has to be the best written comedy bit ever
One of the best lineups ever... Jimmy Hu, Fred Watt, Victor Adunough, Tom Wye, Cesar Tamara, Haruto Tidei, and Eidon Givatarn. Heavy hitters all!
I am embarrassed. I'd been misspelling Victor's last name as "Idanough".
You forgot the 8 and 9 hitters, Koko B. Kuz and Ulysses Nobhady.
(The right fielder Nobody was only identified in a board game.)
It is said that they performed this routine over 1,000 times and never messed it up. Pure comic brilliance along with many other routines.
Actually, they messed up all the time. In fact, in order to keep the routine fresh, they deliberately tried to fool each other. the genius is that they were each able to go with whatever curve the other threw them. That is why no two recorded versions of this routine are the same. For example, if you play the video again, you will notice that Bud tries to introduce paying Who before Lou is ready but it does not interrupt or slow the routine.
I learned this skit for a talent show. The easiest way to do is to forget the script. Learn the rules for how they respond and then just have a conversation with your partner.
I heard they estimated it was closer to 10,000 but who's counting. I've seen a few of these and I don't think they ever did it exactly the same way twice.
@@GarthKlein this makes the routine even better
@@pierrelevasseur2701 Who's on first, he's not counting. 😂🤣😅
"Who's On First" plays constantly at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown , NY . I've heard it many times and still laugh . The timing and cadence of the skit is impeccable . Abbott and Costello did many movies and had a TV show .
Don't forget the radio show. You can find them on Internet Archives.
This skit is timeless. It transcends time, cultures, age, generations... People will laugh at this hundreds of years from now. You really don't even need to understand much about baseball to get it. It's cool to see so many different people from different walks of life appreciate it.
My Mom was a huge baseball fan - and an Abbott and Costello fan. She and her dad introduced me to this skit when I was just a kid - and I still laugh so hard when I watch this. So happy to see that it still has an audience. Thank you!!!
73 years old, and I still laugh every time I hear it
Same here. I have never been able to watch it or listen to it without laughing.
We just showed this to our 17 yo grandson (he had never heard before) All of us laughing😂
This routine NEVER gets old. The GOAT f them all.
When I first watched this. I didn’t know that Costello‘s son had just drowned in the pool, and he still came out and did the skit. He was a complete professional and went on stage as if nothing it happened. That is true professionalism. May they both rest in peace.
In my senior year of high school, I did this routine with a friend for the end of year variety show that the theater department put on. I played the funny man (Costello) part and my friend played the straight man (Abbot). It was so much fun to learn and rehearse. The hardest part was to avoid getting caught in loops of dialogue. We would get caught in a circular back and forth of “I’m not asking you who’s on second….No Who’s on first….” and so on. There were certain transitional lines that moved it from one section to the next. It is a brilliantly scripted piece. It’s almost like an announcer calling a play by play with the dialogue being the “ball” that goes from base to base. I would LOVE to perform this again somewhere!
A friend of mine and I performed this during a "talent show" when we were in junior high school. We discovered that we both knew and loved this sketch during lunch one day when someone in our group asked, "Who?", and I popped off with "Who's on first!", and my friend immediately responded with the next line, and we started the routine. I think by then we "might" have worn our teachers out with things like talking in "Pig Latin", and an old "round" my mom taught me called "What's Life", and a few other assorted oldies, so the teachers said, "Y'all might as well entertain the whole school!", snd insisted that we perform it for the show. It was actually a lot of fun to do! But we had to write it all down from a cassette tape to rehearse !
This is an all time classic. It never gets old.They did this entire skit from memory usually in front of a live audience.
it thrills me and warms my heart to see younger generations appreciating classic comedy gold like this! thank you for posting!
I worked with a theater group in Southern Maryland and a friend of mine wanted to do this sketch together. I told him he was crazy, but we did it anyway. It was SOOOO hard to get it, but even more rewarding when we pulled it off. We did it about a dozen times over the course of a couple of months. We were asked to do it for fund raisers for several charities (including our County Arts Council) and we did every request. The smallest crowd was about 80 people but the biggest crowd was over 2,000! WHAT A RUSH! I never had so much fun on stage in my life. After one performance a little old lady of about 80 or so years came up to us and said 'You guys were great!' so we thanked her and she continued 'You were better than Abbott and Costello' to which we replied, 'Thank you so much, but no... they were the masters.' She scowled at us and said 'I saw then do it live and you guys were better!' I still don't believe her but all we could say was 'OK.... thank you again.' Later we did the one about the race horse...
It will outlive all of us,for eons to come😅🤣😂🤣😂
Not only did they get through this skit flawlessly, it is comic gold! And I have heard it my whole life (and I’m not longer young), and I laugh every time! It’s got infinite comedy power. Amazing. Blows my mind.
This is probably the greatest comedy sketch ever written from the Golden Age of Vaudeville before TV was even a thing. It wasn't before baseball, obviously, but it's still sobering to note that such a classic routine could stand the test of time. There is truly nothing new under the sun. 😄
Best comedy skit ever...........timeless.
I first heard this skit as a kid more than 50 years ago (and it was several decades old then), and it still never fails to crack me up. It's a masterclass in speed and timing.
The chemistry between those two was incredible! That's why this routine has been passed down from generation to generation, because nobody can top it!
Although Tim Conway comes in a close 2nd
@@thesimwarlock Tim Conway was a natural for sure!
Can you even imagine not only doing that whole *long* skit so incredibly clean but doing it on the spot with a live audience? Abbot and Costello were freakin' legend, man.
I love this sort of clever work play humour. Do smuttiness, no crudeness, no swearing, just good, clean, wholesome fun. Sadly, there is lacking in most modern comedy shows.
Ah! That brings back so many memories. Abbott and Costello was the duo we were always allowed to stay up late to watch! What an incredible duo; and always left us in tears of laughter.
Besides the banter back and forth being funny on it's own, Lou Costello's mannerisms and reactions really make their comedy bits even funnier.
Costello's absolutely tremendous, but one should be careful not to overlook the difficult role of the "straight" man. You need that "normal" character up there pretending there's nothing out of the ordinary going on to give you the contrast with the wacky dude. It also makes Costello's character more relatable, as we've all been in situations where everyone else seemed to take in-stride things that seemed absolutely insane to us.
A lot of absurdist comedy relies on having someone who's able to seem completely sincere about ridiculous things, because if there was even a hint of a wink from them to say that they're aware of or in on the joke, the situation stops being absurd.
@@michaelccozens I agree
As a kid, I painstakingly transcribed this from a cassette, just so I could learn it and have it forever.
The greatest comedy routine of all time in my opinion. The simplicity of it, the speed and the timing. It's a perfect bit that anyone can listen to and get it.
My field is the English Language and I have to say, while the delivery of this profoundly speaks of two lives lived in Vaudeville, the composition of this dialogue is nothing short of phenomenal. If you parse all this out, it maps out into what Music calls Baroque Variations. There is a precise, progressive evolution in the interplay of the swapping of descriptive phrases and nicknames. It really is a thing of beauty and logic, like a fractal branch.
I think that at this point this skit has pretty much become part of our cultural DNA. Bless you Jamel, for sharing it forward, as you do with so many great recordings.
It's such a delight watching a young lad see this for the first time, and be whelmed by the sheer zanyness of it all.
Yeah, when you really stop and think about it, it's a silly skit, but it's delivered so quickly and perfectly that it's hilarious. You really buy into the idea that he doesn't get it and the ability to pull that off so effortlessly is what makes this skit so incredible. imo
Exactly this.
Seen this so many times but still enthralled by it. So clever, funny and timeless. One of THE greatest comedy sketches of all time!
A friend of mine, and me got sent to the principal's office for doing this in class. This was back when they still gave swats in school. We were supposed to get swats, but the principal was laughing so hard, he sent us to detention instead.
My dad and I used to watch reruns of their shows and movies every weekend when I was a kid. So much of their stuff is just perfectly timed, absolute hilarity. So much rehearsal had to go into all of these bits. So damn funny.
I don't know how many times i've watched this skit , i still love it ! And it really warms my heart to see young people watching it and have a good laugh and understanding how good these two men were at what they did !
A timeless classic! One of the very best comedy routines ever!
Abbott and Costello were some of the best!
I wish they would show their monster movies, those were good too!
I still watch Abbott and Costello reruns, soo funny
I remember my Dad watching this in the 70's. I'm 62 now and this never gets old. The more you listen to it, the funnier it gets. Absolute geniuses.
When Abbott and Costello's time as an act nearing its end, it was announced by a spokesman for the comedians on May 29, 1956, that a gold recording of the pair's “Who's on First?” routine would be placed on permanent display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Abbott and Costello remain one of my favorites to this day. Their monster movies are loads of fun.
This skit of theirs is so timeless and one of, if not THE best crafted comedy skits ever written. It plays on a continuous loop playing in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
SO glad to see a new generation enjoying this. These guys were fantastic.
I've seen this bit so many times and it never gets old and always makes me laugh.
Thanks very much for sharing this, very funny! By the way, it's in The Baseball Hall of Fame.
Abbott & Costello never repeated the bit exactly the same because in order to keep it fresh, each tried to trip the other up
so each time was a new battle of wits/fun.
The best version of this, all time, is in the Abbott and Costello film "The Naughty 90's", which otherwise wasn't that good.
After a whole day of shooting the bit for the movie, the director/editors wove together a final version that astounded Bud and Lou
as it kept the very best bits of their improv/variations. By the way, Lou Costello, the short dumpy one here, was an All State
basketball player at Patterson High School and often picked up chump money when he was a struggling unknown
by challenging local yokels on town courts when he was on the road.
If anyone isn't familiar with the boys, you have cheated yourself as they made the funniest horror flick of all time,
"Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein". With the Werewolf and Dracula and at the end in an unbilled cameo, Vincent
Price as The Invisible Man. It works because they keep the comedy and the horror separate, the monsters are truly scary.
Thank you again James AKA Jamal for sharing this video from the boy's TV show, which huge fan Seinfeld says inspired how
his show was structured, with the crazy neighbors, and the look of it.
85 years old and young folk are STILL Listening. hat is Awesome is this Skit earned a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame! A lone Gold Record sitting there in with the greats like Babe Ruth.
Now 66, I grew up watching Abbott & Costello and this routine is such a classic, that it is in the Baseball Hall of Fame!. These brothers came out of the super old theater style of vaudeville, where the emphasis on the banter and squeezing out the storyline is as comparable to the echo, backbeat, call & response patter is as fluid as Eminem lyrics. 👍🏾😎👍🏾
They weren't brothers, Bud Abbott & Lou Costello
@@thesimwarlock pretty sure he's using the term "brothers" to mean "mates".
Do not compare the low life garbage high speed trash talk chanting of Eminem’s singing “to” the high standard genius of Abbott & Costello.
No matter how many times I see this done by Abbott and Costello it still cracks me up !! This was pure Genius !! 😝👍👍
I first saw this about 50 years ago and it was over twenty years old then, pure genius! Never gets old, only better!!!
This skit never gets old. I have seen it many times & it still is funny! This is what you call good clean comedy that has lasted for decades. That was real talent! What a difference compared to the garbage that gets passed off today as comedy full of swearing & dirty jokes.
To be fair, that has a place in comedy too. I love the old comedians and performers, but they are not the only kind out there. sometimes the world is kind of crude and comedy reflects that.
There was just as much swearing and dirty jokes back then. There are just as many clean comics now. Nothing changed except whether or not you were allowed to say it on television.
@@Rystefn The first time I heard Redd Foxx's standup my jaw dropped. Then the uncontrollable laughter seized me.
I'm GenX and very familiar with these because in the late 70s and 80s, Abbot and Costello were on TV on weekend afternoons along with Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Bros, the Three Stooges and The Little Rascals. I'm sure it's because they were cheap to run but I loved watching them. And it's kind of sad that they're forgotten now because they're material still stands up.
Yes! Same here--Gen X who grew up with all those shows and loved them--also the Ma and Pa Kettle movies. Just good, clean, silly fun. There were so few choices for viewing back then that everyone our age and older has a close common cultural history. Great memories.
I'm also watches a hundred times and I still laugh every time I see it. Even though I know it's coming. The skill involved and not missing a beat. Keeping the story going is incredible. Love your videos keep them up
You NAILED it and I was just telling my wife the same as I viewed this...how many times did they rehearse this to NEVER miss a beat?!?! Not one stutter, no editing...straight from the heart. Much like Stairway to Heaven...TIMELESS!!!
It’s always great to see the reaction of those seeing this for the first time!
My kids and I watched this together for the first time a few years ago. Absolute brilliance.
I used to work in a nursing home years ago and we put on a show for them with singers, piano players and skits. I and another aide did this one. I studied this and rehearsed it with my dad for 2 weeks every day and still messed up once but she covered and we were back on. I did the same for her. One of my favorite memories of working there. I also did a pillow dance to Turkey In The Straw. You should check to see if you can find a performance of someone doing that. Hilarious 😂
👍😎 I’ve been listening to this for over 50 years and still cracks me up every time. Best comedy routine EVER
You said exactly what I was thinking. They've done this skit probably hundreds of times but they still do it flawlessly.
I've seen this a zillion times and it never fails to make me laugh out loud. Comedic genius.
Iconic.....nothing short of iconic. First heard this back in the 60's I think it was. It was sheer brilliance then and has grown with age !!
AS old as this skit is it never gets old for me!=D
I never get tired of hearing this routine,thanks for the memory
I always wondered how many hours of rehearsal they went through before the sketch aired?! It truly is an amazing sketch.
In my senior year of high school, I did this routine with a friend for the end of year variety show that the theater department put on. I played the funny man (Costello) part and my friend played the straight man (Abbot). It was so much fun to learn and rehearse. The hardest part was to avoid getting caught in loops of dialogue. We would get caught in a circular back and forth of “I’m not asking you who’s on second….No Who’s on first….” and so on. There were certain transitional lines that moved it from one section to the next. It is a brilliantly scripted piece. It’s almost like an announcer calling a play by play with the dialogue being the “ball” that goes from base to base. I would LOVE to perform this again somewhere!
When they did this one, they had about 17 years.
Never gets old.. very funny each and every time.. even better to watch someone who has never seen it and the light comes on.. wonderful!
Let me tell you, I grew up in the '50's watching this and it is still just as funny today as the first time I saw it. Truly great talent. And I could watch this with my grandmother.
when i was young i remember seeing this with him , and it was definitely a lifelong running joke between us , every chance we got to throw in a "who's on first" we did. Its amazing how long and how much of an impact comedy has on life.
What is monumentally fun is now you're IN on the joke, so it will forever be in the back of your brain, and someone goes "Wait, who's on first?" and you'll just go, "Naturally..." Or, "Who's on third?" and you'll automatically respond with, "No, Who's on first..." It's an IYKYK, and the shared smile of those in the know is really special (and if they don't know, you get to share it with them!).
Im 70 and I love that skit! I been watching their baseball skit for 60 years when it on! Its still cracks me up!
My favorite part is seeing people discover the classics of Abbott & Costello and Burns & Allen, et al. So glad you found them!!
I used to know 3 different versions of this by memory when I was a kid…loved it!
I first saw this when I was about 6 or 7; my grandparents had me watch it. I was crying and laughing hysterically. Pure comedy.
You got it~ Genius!!! First (Who?) heard (on radio) this as a young kid and of course, didn't really get it. Then saw it on TV a few years later (prob around 8 or 9yrs old)~ I actually remember the moment the lightbulb went on, just like your friend. Have probably seen them do this 30 0r 40 times, and have never heard them mess it up. In fact, it just got better. It's cool that you shared it with your buddy because, from this day forward you'll have this "inside" joke I guarantee you'll be quoting it to each other from now on. So happy you both appreciated it!!
That was fun watching you two cracking up at what I think is one of the cleverest skits ever. Your right they were flawless in their very fast delivery of this complex skit.
There was a movie from 1963 called. "It's a mad, mad, mad world." An all start cast of some of the legends from times gone by. Might want to check it out.
Your smiles were awesome, this skit is so classic and eternal. Thanks for a great end to my day.
That there are still people showing this to other people almost a century later is a testament to how good this is. Superman was first published in 1938. This comedy routine written and performed by Abbott and Costello predates that, and was based off burlesque show routines from the late 20s and early 30s. Abbott and Costello didn't invent the idea behind this famous sketch, but they honed and shaped this particular dialogue into absolute perfection. It never gets old. Well it is old but it feels just as fresh and fun and since weird names for baseball players is still a thing, so's this gag.
I've seen this at least 10 times since I was little. We were the TV generation, so we saw it a lot. Lol!
Never gets old no matter how many times I watch it!
So glad you guys watched this! Comedy gold from a couple of the masters. Loved watching your reactions. Priceless.
I'm not sure what was more fun, watching the skit or watching the reactions!
We've all done this to some extent. Ever try to explain something to someone and they just don't get it? This is it. Anything that can make all generations laugh is classic. There will never be another Abbott and Costello. They come around once in a lifetime. Glad you enjoyed it. They have other skits too. Look them up.
You should check out Niagra Falls, another old vaudeville bit Abbott and Costello did in a movie and on their 50s tv show. The Three Stooges also did a version in a film as well.
This has always been my favorite skit of theirs since the first time I heard it.
This has alway been one of my favorite skits ever. I don't care how many times I listen to this, it always cracks me up. Just like the Dentist scene with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman always has me on the floor laughing no matter how many times I have seen it. Another skit I like is the version of this that Johny Carson did with Ronald Regan back went we had Chinese Leader Wu and Reagan's cabinet member James Watts and some other names. The ran the skit saying Wu is on the line and Watt is outside or something like that. I have to find that skit again.
There will NEVER be another comedy team as AWESOME as Abbot and Costello! They are one of a kind! UNBELIEVABLE!
Being from the u,k, and knowing nothing about baseball I still think it is great because it was well written
This particular clip is from their early 1950s TV show but the skit dates back to the late 1930s on radio. They performed it thousands of times but rarely the same way twice.
Genius is correct. One of the top comedy teams in human history and a perfect skit. It was fun to watch them watch Abbott & Costello and fully appreciate their genius.
I’m 63 yrs old and been laughing at this routine since the 1960’s when I a small child , love it hahaha
Perfectly well timed comedy routine , these guys were amazing
Loved the reactions. This bit is pure comedy gold, and it's even in the Baseball Hall Of Fame.
Abbott and Costello’s, Who’s on First, is in the baseball Hall of Fame runs continuously.
Bud and Lou
Oh my gawd brother thank you soooo much. They were SUCH a HUGE part of my childhood and they still make me hoot!!! Have you ever seen the one with them as ghosts, and Lou at the well trying to quench his thirst?🤣🤣😂😂😁💯🤣
Thank you so much for putting a gigantic smile and laughter! ❤
I love this!! I pull this on my grandkids all the time. This never ever get old
These two men are legends !!!! Their movies were some of the funniest of all time !!!! My childhood favorites, right there with three stooges.