Comedy / variety · NBC / ABC
Abbott and Costello
October 8, 1942 – June 18, 1949 · 339 broadcasts
The Abbott and Costello Program brought America's top comedy team to the air throughout the 1940s. Bud Abbott, the fast-talking straight man, and Lou Costello, the round innocent with the panicked 'Heyyy Abbott!,' had already made 'Who's on First?' a national catchphrase on the Kate Smith Hour before launching their own weekly half-hour -- on NBC from 1942 to 1947, then ABC from 1947 to 1949. The early seasons were a parade of marquee movie guests -- Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Charles Laughton and dozens more -- each dropped into the boys' latest scheme; later seasons leaned on a stock company (announcer Ken Niles, utility man Mr. Kitzel, sound-effects wizard Mel Blanc) and running gags built around Lou's money, his relatives, his hopeless romances, and the job-of-the-week. Fast, broad, and built on verbal crosstalk, it remains one of radio comedy's defining variety shows. The catalog carries a broad run of surviving broadcasts, most with a plot drawn from the canonical OTR log.
Collection status:
167 of 339 held (49% complete)
◆ ◆ ◆
Episode Spine
Grouped by year. Jump to the full list below, or open a season on its own page.
- 1940 (13 episodes)
- 1942 (13 episodes)
- 1943 (19 episodes)
- 1944 (36 episodes)
- 1945 (37 episodes)
- 1946 (37 episodes)
- 1947 (44 episodes)
- 1948 (104 episodes)
- 1949 (36 episodes)
1940
July 3, 1940
The Tunatype
Inventor Alexander Rose shows off the Tunatype, a musical typewriter that plays a tune for anyone who can type.
July 10, 1940
The Robot
Lou turns up with a do-everything robot built by one Homer Thucydides Tuckahoe III, whom he claims to have found on the subway.
July 17, 1940
Whiskey Bottle Songs
A guest musician who tunes whiskey bottles to perfect pitch performs a medley on them.
July 24, 1940
The Wacky Motion Picture Company
Bud and Lou go into the movie business, founding the Wacky Motion Picture Company.
At a dance school where lessons run three for a dollar, Bud tries in vain to teach a hopeless Lou to dance.
August 7, 1940
The Wackyville Volunteer Fire Department.
Bud and Lou sign up with the Wackyville Volunteer Fire Department.
August 14, 1940
Heading West
In the last New York broadcast, the boys argue their way toward California -- Bud for hitchhiking, Lou for a freight train -- as they head west to make a movie.
August 21, 1940
Guests: Virginia Bruce, Robert Cummings, Allan Jones
The first West Coast broadcast finds the boys hunting for a hotel, with guests Virginia Bruce, Robert Cummings and Allan Jones.
August 28, 1940
Hollywood Westerns
Bud and Lou pay tribute to Hollywood westerns and tour a 75-room mansion.
September 4, 1940
Mutiny on the Mainsail
Lou buys a car and takes Bud for a ride, and the two stage a seafaring skit, 'Mutiny on the Mainsail.'
September 11, 1940
(untitled)
September 18, 1940
Scoop Costello
The boys launch a newspaper -- publisher Bud and star reporter 'Scoop' Costello.
September 25, 1940
Who's on First?
Bud and Lou perform their signature routine, 'Who's on First?'
1942
October 8, 1942
Guest: Veronica Lake
Lou showers the cast with gifts and woos guest Veronica Lake -- until her jealous boyfriend challenges him to a duel.
Costello lands in the middle of a bank robbery, so the boys head to Dead Pan Gulch to catch the real bandits and clear his name; guest Marlene Dietrich.
October 22, 1942
Guest: John Garfield
Bud trains Lou for a charity boxing match against announcer Ken Niles; guest John Garfield.
October 29, 1942
Guest: Diana Barrymore
Lou writes a play and scrambles to cast it, with guest Diana Barrymore as his leading lady.
November 5, 1942
Guest: Basil Rathbone
Working off a debt in a pet shop, Lou loses a dog -- so detective Basil Rathbone helps track it down.
November 12, 1942
Guest: Carmen Miranda
Broadcasting from Fort MacArthur, Lou shows the troops how to make a picture and guest Carmen Miranda teaches him to dance.
From the Air Transport Command at Long Beach, the boys trade patter about Lou going up in a plane; guest Merle Oberon.
November 26, 1942
Guest: Herbert Marshall
It is Thanksgiving and no one will host the boys, so they set out to bag a wild turkey; guest Herbert Marshall.
December 3, 1942
Guest: Billie Burke
Apartment-hunting to escape his houseful of relatives, Lou ends up at a decorating shop run by guest Billie Burke.
December 10, 1942
Guest: Adolphe Menjou
After a good deed goes wrong, Lou is rescued from trouble by guest Adolphe Menjou.
The boys land Lou a department-store job playing Santa in a store play; guest Lucille Ball.
December 24, 1942
Guest: Andy Devine
On Christmas Eve nobody comes to Lou's party and he dozes into a childhood dream; guest Andy Devine plays Santa.
December 31, 1942
Guest: Charles Laughton
On New Year's Eve Lou resolves to become a dramatic actor and stages a play; guest Charles Laughton joins the cast.
1943
January 7, 1943
Guest: George Raft
Lou loses a Rose Bowl bet and owes everyone a night on the town; guest George Raft steers them to his club.
Facing the wartime meat shortage, the boys go hunting with guide Claire Trevor -- and Lou shoots the game warden.
January 28, 1943
Guest: Monty Wooley
The boys' first broadcast from New York, with guest Monty Woolley.
February 4, 1943
Guest: Constance Bennett
Home from the President's Birthday Ball, Bud's date with guest Constance Bennett is scuttled by her Navy-auxiliary duty.
February 11, 1943
Guest: Peter Lorre
Seeking quiet from their noisy hotel, the boys take guest Peter Lorre up on his invitation to his spooky house.
February 18, 1943
Guest: Elsa Maxwell
Planning their next picture, Lou sets out to write it until guest Elsa Maxwell arrives with a play of her own.
February 25, 1943
Guest: Mary Boland
Lou pitches the play he wrote on the train home, and guest Mary Boland counters with her own -- Helen of Troy and Atlas.
March 4, 1943
Guest: Carmen Miranda
Universal sends over guest Carmen Miranda as a leading lady, and the boys' next picture becomes a version of Romeo and Juliet.
March 11, 1943
Guest: Janet Blair
With Lou out, Bert Lahr fills in opposite Bud as they hunt for a picture, and guest Janet Blair mistakes Bert for Costello.
March 18, 1943
Guest: Veronica Lake
Lou absent again, Bud's piano-practice with Matilda draws a noise complaint from neighbor Gildersleeve and guest Veronica Lake.
The season returns after Costello's long illness; having learned only hours before airtime of his infant son's accidental drowning, Lou went on with the show. Guest Lana Turner.
November 11, 1943
Guest: Akim Tamiroff
Bud lands a big name for the program -- Russian star Akim Tamiroff -- as Lou's mind wanders to romance.
Lou can win a date with Connie Haines if he finds her nylon stockings, but guest Lucille Ball beats him to the last pair.
On Thanksgiving the boys plot the fate of Lou's turkey, with next-door neighbor and guest Jane Wyman.
Off to Palm Springs, the boys try to sign guest Veronica Lake for their picture.
Lou wants a butler for his party and finds guest Arthur Treacher already serving Lynn Bari.
Suit-hunting for his big show with guest Lynn Bari, Lou ends up pitching her a Buffalo Bill play in a butcher shop.
On Christmas Eve nobody comes to Lou's party and he dreams a Santa-less childhood; guest Edward Arnold plays Santa.
Given a dog for Christmas, Lou lands in a legal jam and fights his case against lawyer Bert Gordon, the Mad Russian.
1944
It is Leap Year and marriage is on everyone's mind as Lou is pushed to wed a girl from Skunk Hollow -- guest Judy Canova.
Lou catches a cold, and guest Peter Lorre offers him the run of his sanitarium.
Babysitting the troublesome Hector, Lou keeps breaking neighbor Gildersleeve's windows; guest Hal Peary.
Roped into entertaining at Mrs. Niles's party, Bud emcees while Lou takes a disastrous piano lesson; guest Janet Blair.
February 3, 1944
Guest: Carmen Miranda
Bud wants to stage the opera Carmen with guest Carmen Miranda while Lou pushes his own play -- and ends up fighting a bull.
Mrs. Niles's Valentine play 'Robinson Caruso' goes haywire as the sound man drops in effects at all the wrong moments; guest Charles Laughton.
Sherman Oaks's new mayor Bud and Lou hunt a leading lady for their picture, and guest Dorothy Lamour rides in on a horse.
February 24, 1944
Guest: Sydney Greenstreet
Mayor Bud makes Lou the sheriff, and guest Sydney Greenstreet reports the Maltese Falcon loose in his house.
Mayor Bud starts the Sherman Oaks Gazette and offers guest Hedda Hopper the gossip column.
Blondie and Dagwood (Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake) pitch in on Bud's wastepaper drive -- and the case of the missing script.
The boys run off to the circus, where manager Sally Eilers wants Lou as a lion tamer; guest Alan Hale.
A strangely ailing Lou is packed off to a rest home by nurse Linda Darnell.
Lou inherits money from Uncle Oscar, buys a radio station, and holds a contest for an announcer; guest Alan Ladd.
Guest Cary Grant turns up at Lou's radio station with a juggling act and a writer as Lou runs an all-night record show.
April 13, 1944
Guest: George Brent
Bud and Lou squabble over who gets the love scene in their next picture; guest George Brent.
April 20, 1944
Guest: George Raft
Driven out by 93 relatives, Lou hunts a house and ends up sharing the rental with guest George Raft.
April 27, 1944
Guest: Henny Youngman
Bud auditions new talent for the program and guest Henny Youngman pitches an audience-participation format.
Lou's pursuit of Connie Haines runs into her beau, guest John Garfield, who warns him off.
With Mother's Day near, the boys take department-store jobs and wait on customer Claire Trevor.
Sleepless Lou is sent to psychiatrist Kitzel -- his first appearance -- and beds down in an empty studio; guest Laird Cregar.
May 25, 1944
Guest: Robert Young
Out of gas and short on ration coupons, the boys join a car pool to MGM and get lost in Pomona; guest Robert Young.
June 1, 1944
Guest: Adolphe Menjou
The boys plan a Hollywood Bowl benefit and rehearse a mind-reading act; guest Adolphe Menjou directs.
The last show before summer, closing with 'Who's on First?'
Back for the fall, Lou plans to invest his $75 in war bonds and dozes into a dream ten years on -- 'Who's on First?' as old men.
Bud talks Lou into sinking his $75 into a gold mine in Gold Tooth, and the shaft caves in.
On the way to bank his $75, Lou is pulled over, hauled into court, and sentenced to 90 days.
The boys open a matrimonial agency and try to marry off Mr. Niles's wealthy niece.
Lou finds a dog named Hector, tries to auction him, then takes a pet-shop job to keep him.
Lou enters his ailing horse, Peanut Butter, at the Hollywood track and hunts for a jockey.
Lou returns to his old grade school, P.S. 15 in Paterson, for the annual school play.
Thanksgiving at Bud's turns into a whodunit when Lady Jennifer's pearls are stolen; Kitzel is the chef.
Lou witnesses a bank robbery and sets out to catch Rocky Crumbcake, winding up in a Chinese 'Who's on First.'
Determined to sing like Bing Crosby on the show, Lou is fitted with a vocal coach in Tin Pan Alley.
With eight shopping days left, the boys go Christmas shopping at a store managed by Kitzel.
Dressed as Santa, Lou throws a party nobody attends and dreams himself a child waiting up for St. Nick.
December 28, 1944
New Year's Resolutions
On the last night of 1944 Lou stays in for New Year's Eve as Kitzel turns up as the income-tax man.
1945
Nursing another cold, Lou is subjected to Bud's cures and physical instructor Kitzel.
Lou's new country ranch has no bathtub, so the boys haul one home from Kitzel's swap shop atop the car.
Now courting Tessie Tinfoil, Lou is spruced up for a dance at Kitzel's barbershop.
Lou tries to enlist in the Merchant Marine, and when no one will hire him he simply sails off with a ship.
Lou shoots at a crow and hits Mrs. Beanbag, who hauls him to court; lawyer Kitzel handles the appeal.
Professor Melonhead works on Lou's diction ahead of guest Rudy Vallee's appearance.
February 22, 1945
George Washington's Birthday
On Washington's birthday Lou readies to out-sing next week's guest, Frank Sinatra, at a singing school and a gym.
Guest Frank Sinatra reminisces with fellow New Jerseyan Lou, and the two duet on 'One Meat Ball.'
With income tax due in a week, the boys stage a desert play, 'The Two Dirty Bedouins.'
March 15, 1945
Guest: Turhan Bey
Guest Turhan Bey is enlisted to help improve Lou as the two rehearse a scene.
Broadcasting from Davis-Monthan Air Base in Tucson, Lou dreams of a desert house -- and of joining the Air Force.
March 29, 1945
Easter Suit
With Easter coming, Lou shops for a new suit at a movie studio.
Bound for the Andrews Sisters' ranch, the boys settle for the 'Andrews Brothers' -- Ken Niles, Mel Blanc and Will Osborne.
Engaged to Tessie Tinfoil, Lou is packed off to charm school and can't pay the bill.
The Andrews Sisters sue over the 'Andrews Brothers' stunt, offering to drop it if Lou appears in their picture.
Aspiring dramatic actor Lou enrolls at a school of Spanish acting.
May 10, 1945
The Lunch Wagon
The boys run a lunch wagon, with Lou waiting tables and hollering 'Banana!'
May 17, 1945
Aunt Mae Visits
Lou's Aunt Mae visits, and the boys hire a detective to recover the graduation ring she gave him.
May 24, 1945
Costello, the Jockey
Bud tips Lou at Santa Anita, and Lou trains to ride as a jockey in a real race.
May 31, 1945
Costello, the Golfer
Bud pushes Lou to join a country club and learn golf.
With women on his mind, Lou is taken to a dream analyst as the boys plan a beach outing.
The boys shop for Father's Day and outfit Lou with a men's-clothing authority.
Bound for a New York broadcast and a Roxy Theater booking, Lou takes acting lessons.
The season's final show from New York, where Paterson, New Jersey has declared a Lou Costello Day.
The new season opens with Lou wooing a starlet by claiming he owns the NBC network.
October 11, 1945
Fighting Over Costello
Double-booked at a fancy restaurant, Lou's girlfriend and Connie stage a fight over him.
October 18, 1945
Costello, the Human Canonball
Given 24 hours to make something of himself, Lou is talked into being shot from a human cannon by Professor Melonhead.
October 25, 1945
The $1,000 Engagement Ring
Lou's fiancee Lena demands a $1,000 ring, and his scheme to raise it lands him in jail with bank robbers.
At a Latin American Embassy party Lou eyes a pretty girl and is forced into a pistol duel with her boyfriend.
November 8, 1945
The Sanitarium
On a Universal film location Lou must ride a horse, and the boys' cabin turns out to be a moving trailer.
The boys visit Uncle Artie Stebbins's ranch, where Lou hides from Lena -- who tracks him down anyway.
November 22, 1945
The Butcher Shop
Working a butcher shop, Lou survives Bud's salesmanship test and angles for Thanksgiving dinner at Bud's.
The boys buy a gas station where Lou wrecks the Niles's car and flattens a pedestrian.
Working a firehouse, Lou feuds with Melonhead and answers a three-alarm blaze.
At Melonhead's department store, Lou is set the impossible task of selling an umbrella.
Lou throws another Christmas party nobody attends until his story ends -- then the guests all arrive.
Lou buys a beauty shop, Lena walks out on him, and the boys peddle house-to-house beauty treatments.
1946
January 10, 1946
Costello's Singing Lesson
Determined to sing on the program, Lou is marched to a music company for a lesson.
January 17, 1946
Costello Wins a Horse, Girdle
Lou wins a horse named Girdle and takes him to a trainer to run at Santa Anita.
Working Melonhead's restaurant, Lou waits tables and helps cater a party for Mrs. Niles.
January 31, 1946
Abbott and Costello Detective Agency
The boys open a detective agency and, with Officer Melonhead's help, run down a masked bank bandit.
Lou brings a pig home from the farm, the boys are evicted, and an apartment hunt begins.
Working Mrs. Niles's apartment hotel, the boys welcome tenants and battle a bee infestation.
Lou hunts a leading lady for his annual spring play, with Professor Melonhead directing.
Behind the counter of his drugstore and dodging the rent, Lou somehow manages to discover uranium.
With the tax deadline at hand and no money, Lou scrambles to borrow from everyone in sight.
March 21, 1946
Minding the Baby
Stuck minding a baby, the boys take it to their movie premiere and end up at the wrong theater -- a Laurel and Hardy picture.
Lou dislikes his sister's fiance, who orders his trousers shortened, and gets thrown out of the house.
April 4, 1946
Delicatessen Salesman
Working Bud's bakery-delicatessen, Lou waits on customers and must bake a cake for Mrs. Niles.
Lou shoots at a garden crow, hits Mrs. Niles, and lands in court with lawyer Melonhead.
Running a pet shop, Lou loses a dog he was minding and hunts for it -- by way of the marriage-license window.
Newly appointed Sheriff of North Hollywood, Lou rides Mrs. Niles's ranch after rustler Cactus Pete.
Lou fancies himself for a Napoleon role, and the boys enact the play with Melonhead directing.
Lou runs off to join the circus while Mrs. Niles tries to get him fired.
Asked to run for mayor of South Paterson, Lou trains east and gets stuck in a cattle car.
May 23, 1946
Costello Wants to Run for Mayor
In New York, Lou's mayoral ambitions continue as the team is named Magazine Digest's Outstanding Comedy Team of the Air.
From Radio City, the boys are invited to guest Elsa Maxwell's party and made to put on a play for her guests.
Back in Hollywood and short on rent, the boys are locked in by Mrs. Niles and sneak out to find a room.
June 13, 1946
A Date with Charles Boyers Girl
Lou lands a date with Charles Boyer's girl but can't find swim trunks for the beach.
Newly engaged Bud has Lou play butler for the dinner where he'll present his girl, with Melonhead coaching.
On the eve of summer vacation the boys plan a Mexico trip and take Spanish lessons from Melonhead.
The new season opens with Bud fed up and a remorseful Lou dreaming of his good and bad deeds; enter bandleader Skinnay Ennis and singer Marilyn Maxwell.
Lou hears a horn every time he lies, and Bud hauls him off to have the affliction examined.
October 17, 1946
Trying to Get Costello Married
Bud schemes to marry Lou off -- really a ploy to get twenty-eight dollars out of him.
October 24, 1946
To Fight or Not to Fight
Lou has promised to fight, and both men keep flip-flopping until Marilyn talks him out of it.
October 31, 1946
Halloween Party
Nobody comes to Lou's Halloween party, and Bud goads him into tearing down a fence -- and getting arrested.
November 7, 1946
Marilyn Maxwell's Apartment
Smitten with Marilyn Maxwell, who's moving in upstairs, Lou snoops on the neighboring apartment.
November 14, 1946
The Undertaker's National Organization
Fitted for a suit and French lessons for the 'UNO,' Lou learns it's the Undertaker's National Organization, not the United Nations.
November 21, 1946
The Ucla Football Team
When Marilyn falls for a football player, Bud gets Lou onto the UCLA team -- as a vendor.
November 28, 1946
Thanksgiving Play
For Thanksgiving, Lou stages a holiday play.
On a mountain hunting trip the boys chase a $1,000 mountain lion, and Lou talks the beast out of its skin.
Bud's scheme to make $10,000 involves shooting Lou to the moon in a rocket -- which Lou flatly refuses to board.
December 19, 1946
Christmas Gifts
Christmas week finds the boys trading gift talk and one of Lou's ever-interrupted fairy tales.
December 26, 1946
Guest: Kay Kyser
Deep in installment debt from gift-buying, Lou visits guest Kay Kyser's College of Musical Knowledge.
1947
January 2, 1947
Happy New Year
The day after New Year's, the boys join Marilyn in Palm Springs for a picture and meet a double-talking director.
January 9, 1947
Cinderella
After a mangled 'Cinderella,' Lou heads to Washington to help the teachers, working from the Senate to the FBI.
January 16, 1947
Bud's Brother, Norman Visits
Bud's brother Norman comes to town and the boys scramble to find him a place to live.
January 23, 1947
Tryint to Marry Off Norman
With Norman camped at Lou's, the boys try to marry him off at Widow Wetwash's party -- but she falls for Lou instead.
January 30, 1947
Costello, the Stunt Man
From New York, Lou collects a Paterson award and lands a job as Skinnay Ennis's stunt double.
Still in New York, Lou frets as his visiting family writes a sketch for the boys to perform.
Back in California, Lou buys a boat, and a fishing trip leaves the two shipwrecked.
Mrs. Wetwash enters Lou in a ski jump at her Sun Valley lodge for Washington's Birthday.
Marilyn wants Lou to teach her to drive -- though he has neither car nor license, so the boys buy a $50 clunker.
A tax man tells Lou he owes nothing if he earns nothing -- just as old debts are repaid and he wins a bundle.
Racing to lose his winnings before tax day, Lou bets the track and can't stop winning.
With Bud out sick, Hanley Stafford fills in to help a spring-fevered Lou plant a garden -- and dig up buried bones.
To buy Marilyn a birthday gift, Lou plays the stock market and loses everything.
Pushed to find work, Lou is hired at a drugstore and promptly fired.
Job-hunting, Lou peddles spot remover and 'Indian water' door to door.
An ailing Joe DiMaggio wires Lou to take his place on the Yankees, cueing 'Who's on First?'
Bud decides Lou should own a home; they buy a lot and camp in a shack while a prefab house goes up.
May 1, 1947
'queen of the May' Contest
At Mrs. Wetwash's May festival, Lou campaigns for Marilyn in the Queen of the May contest -- and wins it himself.
Needing Mother's Day money, Lou spends a night in a haunted house whose 'ghost' is Mrs. Wetwash hunting a treasure map.
May 15, 1947
The Vocation Expert
A vocational expert tests Lou and finds him fit for exactly one job -- radio actor.
Marilyn refuses Lou's proposal, so a publicity man sends him flying around the world to win her back.
May 29, 1947
Costello, the Lifeguard
To impress Marilyn, Lou becomes a lifeguard, rescues a woman, and is told he must marry her -- Mrs. Wetwash.
June 5, 1947
Bud and Lou Need Some Dough
June 12, 1947
60 Million Dollar Inheritance
Lou mishears the radio and becomes convinced he has inherited sixty million dollars.
After a stranger spoils the ending, the boys sit through a murder mystery that leaves Lou with nightmares.
June 26, 1947
Guest: Peter Lorre
The season's last show sends the boys to a banquet in Lou's honor in Paterson; guest Peter Lorre.
The new ABC season opens live from Hollywood's El Capitan, with a roll call of network names that plays like 'Who's on First?'
October 8, 1947
(untitled)
October 15, 1947
(untitled)
October 22, 1947
(untitled)
October 29, 1947
(untitled)
November 5, 1947
(untitled)
November 12, 1947
(untitled)
November 19, 1947
(untitled)
November 26, 1947
(untitled)
December 3, 1947
(untitled)
December 6, 1947
(untitled)
Lou pans marriage and resists Bud's push to open a bank account as Uncle Mike lies in the hospital.
December 13, 1947
(untitled)
December 17, 1947
Guest: Louanna Patten
December 20, 1947
(untitled)
On Christmas Eve the boys talk gifts and their new picture 'The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap,' and Lou spins a Christmas story.
December 27, 1947
(untitled)
On New Year's Eve, Bud steers Lou to take Susan Miller to the Rose Bowl.
1948
January 3, 1948
(untitled)
Lou aspires to be a dramatic actor, and Bud plays a girl to help him rehearse a love scene.
For National Dog Week, would-be landlord Lou buys a fully occupied apartment house and finds nowhere to live himself.
January 17, 1948
(untitled)
Lou inherits $800,000 from Grandfather 'Diamond Jim' Costello, but twin brother Dewey claims it, sending them hunting for a birth certificate.
January 24, 1948
(untitled)
Lou helps columnist Erskine Johnson dig up dirt for his Hollywood column.
A telegram from an African diamond mine sends the boys shipping out to fetch a gem.
February 7, 1948
(untitled)
Lou's new ranch has no bathtub, so the boys wrestle one home from a swap shop atop the car.
February 14, 1948
(untitled)
February 18, 1948
(untitled)
February 21, 1948
(untitled)
February 28, 1948
(untitled)
Uncle Mike wires that he's struck gold, sending the boys by dog sled to Alaska.
March 6, 1948
(untitled)
A tax man tells Lou he owes nothing if he earns nothing -- then Mrs. Abbott hands him twenty dollars he now has to get rid of.
March 13, 1948
(untitled)
March 17, 1948
Lou Takes a Driving Test
On St. Patrick's Day, license-less Lou borrows Bud's car for a driving test and collects a ticket.
March 20, 1948
(untitled)
March 24, 1948
Guest: Frank Nelson
Going steady with Sylvia Specticals, Lou gets posture help from Melonhead and woman-wooing lessons from guest Frank Nelson.
March 27, 1948
(untitled)
With Uncle Mike running for mayor, Lou sets out to become a Treasury 'T-Man.'
April 3, 1948
(untitled)
An ailing Lou is dosed with mothballs and vitamins as Bud despairs of his way with women.
April 10, 1948
(untitled)
A French uncle wires for help with France's money troubles, sending the boys to a Paris cafe.
April 17, 1948
(untitled)
The boys open a marriage bureau and try to marry off Bud's older sister -- until Lou drives the customers away.
April 24, 1948
(untitled)
Bud pushes Lou toward work and tries to place him as a babysitter, ending up doing the job himself.
May 1, 1948
(untitled)
As the new sheriff of Encino, Lou investigates the spooky house of mysterious guest Bela Lugosi and finds a corpse.
May 8, 1948
(untitled)
Told twelve million people listen, the boys run their own radio poll to check the number.
May 15, 1948
(untitled)
Lou enters his broken-down horse, Peanut Butter, at Hollywood Park.
May 22, 1948
(untitled)
Amid a kidnapping and a house fire, Lou is recruited into what turns out to be the Foreign Legion.
May 29, 1948
(untitled)
Lou's girl has a date with guest Lon Chaney Jr., who warns him to keep his distance.
June 5, 1948
(untitled)
June 9, 1948
Lou Is Asked to Help on Uncle Tom's Ranch
Uncle Tom invites Lou out to help run his ranch.
June 12, 1948
(untitled)
Guest Benny Rubin pitches an audience-participation bit as Susan fumes over Lou's other date.
June 19, 1948
(untitled)
June 23, 1948
Costello's Big Inheritance
June 26, 1948
(untitled)
June 30, 1948
Lou Takes in a Lost Dog
Lou brings a dog named Hector to the studio, tries to auction him, then takes a pet-shop job to keep him.
July 3, 1948
(untitled)
Planning a vacation, an aching Lou can't get anyone but a kid in the audience to fetch him an aspirin.
July 10, 1948
(untitled)
July 14, 1948
The Adventures of Sam Shovel, Master Detective
Lou debuts his murder-mystery alter ego, Sam Shovel, Master Detective, with Bud as a police lieutenant.
July 17, 1948
(untitled)
July 21, 1948
(untitled)
July 24, 1948
(untitled)
July 31, 1948
(untitled)
August 4, 1948
Costello in Court
August 7, 1948
(untitled)
August 14, 1948
(untitled)
August 18, 1948
Lou Considers Going Into Politics
August 21, 1948
(untitled)
August 25, 1948
Lou Looks for a Job
August 28, 1948
(untitled)
September 1, 1948
(untitled)
September 4, 1948
(untitled)
September 15, 1948
(untitled)
September 18, 1948
(untitled)
September 25, 1948
(untitled)
October 2, 1948
(untitled)
October 7, 1948
(untitled)
October 9, 1948
(untitled)
October 16, 1948
(untitled)
October 23, 1948
(untitled)
October 30, 1948
(untitled)
November 6, 1948
(untitled)
November 13, 1948
(untitled)
November 20, 1948
(untitled)
The 1948 Thanksgiving broadcast.
November 27, 1948
(untitled)
December 4, 1948
(untitled)
December 25, 1948
(untitled)
1949
January 1, 1949
(untitled)
January 6, 1949
(untitled)
January 8, 1949
(untitled)
January 15, 1949
(untitled)
January 22, 1949
(untitled)
January 29, 1949
(untitled)
A Sam Shovel detective-parody sketch -- a poisoning case billed with the pun 'He Committed Chop Sueycide.'
February 5, 1949
(untitled)
A Sam Shovel sketch -- a gambling case punningly titled 'He Lost His Aunt's-Pay.'
February 12, 1949
(untitled)
February 19, 1949
(untitled)
February 26, 1949
(untitled)
March 5, 1949
(untitled)
March 12, 1949
(untitled)
March 19, 1949
(untitled)
A Sam Shovel murder-mystery parody turning on the pun 'I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.'
March 26, 1949
(untitled)
A Sam Shovel sketch -- 'The Case of the Thief Who Stole the Hamburgers,' or 'He Was a Short-Order Crook.'
April 21, 1949
(untitled)
May 12, 1949
(untitled)
May 26, 1949
(untitled)
June 2, 1949
(untitled)
The Story
The Abbott and Costello Program brought America's top comedy team to the air throughout the 1940s. Bud Abbott, the fast-talking straight man, and Lou Costello, the round innocent with the panicked 'Heyyy Abbott!,' had already made 'Who's on First?' a national catchphrase on the Kate Smith Hour before launching their own weekly half-hour -- on NBC from 1942 to 1947, then ABC from 1947 to 1949. The early seasons were a parade of marquee movie guests -- Marlene Dietrich, Cary Grant, Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Charles Laughton and dozens more -- each dropped into the boys' latest scheme; later seasons leaned on a stock company (announcer Ken Niles, utility man Mr. Kitzel, sound-effects wizard Mel Blanc) and running gags built around Lou's money, his relatives, his hopeless romances, and the job-of-the-week. Fast, broad, and built on verbal crosstalk, it remains one of radio comedy's defining variety shows. The catalog carries a broad run of surviving broadcasts, most with a plot drawn from the canonical OTR log.
Full story — coming soon while it's being curated.
Gallery
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