LOU COSTELLO Biography - Other artists & entretainers

 
 

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LOU COSTELLO

Name: Lou Costello                                                                   
Born: 6 March 1906 Paterson, New Jersey                                             
Died: 3 March 1959 East Los Angeles, California                                     
                                                                                     
Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo; 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. Costello was famous for his bumbling, chubby,         
clean-cut image that has appealed to many Americans over the decades.               
                                                                                     
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. He also fought as a boxer under the         
name "Lou King."                                                                     
                                                                                     
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).                                                                     
                                                                                     
After making one solo film, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, Costello died of a     
heart attack on March 3, 1959. He was interred in the Calvary Cemetery in East       
Los Angeles, California. His last words were "That was the best ice-cream soda I     
ever tasted."