Celebrity Name : Lou Costello

Celebrity Real Name : Louis Cristillo

Date of Birth : March 6, 1906

Birth Location : New Jersey

Biography of Louis Cristillo :
Louis Francis Cristillo, also known as Lou Costello (March 6, 1906 - March 3, 1959), was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott.
Lou Costello was born Louis Francis Cristillo in Paterson, New Jersey to an Italian father and a mother of French and Irish descent; the family was Catholic. A gifted athlete, he excelled in basketball and reportedly was once the New Jersey State Foul Shot champion. In 1927 he went to Hollywood to become an actor, but could only find work as a laborer or extra at MGM and Warner Brothers. His athletic skill led him to occasional work as a stunt man, notably in The Trail of ‘98, (1927). He can also be spotted sitting ringside in the Laurel and Hardy film The Battle of the Century (1927). On his trip back home a year later, he was stranded in the midwest and, out of necessity, became a burlesque comedian.

Hollywood :
In 1938 they received national exposure for the first time by performing on The Kate Smith Hour, which ultimately led to the duo signing with Universal in 1940. They filled supporting roles in their first film, One Night in the Tropics (1940), but stole the film with their classic routines, including “Who’s On First?”. (Abbott and Costello are not, as some urban legends have it, members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.)
The team’s breakout picture, however, was Buck Privates which was released early in 1941. They immediately became the top-ranking comedy stars in Hollywood and fans looked forward to each of their pictures as a major event. Most movie-goers had never seen the duo’s burlesque routines, and so their dated but hilarious material seemed fresh. Many of their films cast them as bumbling servicemen such as In The Navy and Keep ‘Em Flying. An amusing footnote to this is that the Japanese military showed these films to Japanese soldiers to demonstrate how inept American soldiers were.
The duo made over 30 films between 1940 and 1956, and were among the most popular and highest-paid entertainers in the world during World War II. Among their most popular films are Hold That Ghost, Who Done It?, Pardon My Sarong, The Time of Their Lives, Buck Privates Come Home, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.
The team also appeared on radio throughout the 1940s. On October 8, 1942 the team launched their own weekly show on NBC sponsored by Camel cigarettes. They moved to ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from 1947-49.
In 1951, the twosome became one of the rotating hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour (Eddie Cantor and Bob Hope were among the others) and then, the following year, inaugurated their own situation comedy, The Abbott and Costello Show. Costello owned the half-hour series, with Abbott working on salary. The show, which was loosely adapted from their radio program, ran two seasons, from 1952 to 1954, but found a new life in syndicated rerun broadcast. [wikipedia]