Trivia

At Lou Costello's insistence, the monies earned from the their act were split 60/40, favoring Abbott. Costello's reasoning was that "comics are a dime a dozen. Good straight men are hard to find.".

His sister, Olive Victoria Abbott, was also in vaudeville and lived to be 101 years old, passing away on August 8, 1997.

An avid gun collector, he once owned one of Adolf Hitler's shotguns and some of Tom Mix's pearl-handled pistols.

He and partner Lou Costello weren't getting what they wanted from the scripts of the films they were given at Universal Pictures, so they would take the scripts to Stan Laurel and the three of them would work on the scripts together.

Soon after former partner Lou Costello's death, the Internal Revenue Service demanded Bud pay over $750,000 in back taxes. He was forced to sell his estate in Encino, California (at a loss), as well as his 200-acre ranch. His wife sold her jewelry and furs and they relinquished their remaining share of profits from the old lucrative Universal movies. He said he would have to start all over and joked in an interview that if each of his fans sent in a dollar, he would be out of trouble. He received hundreds of dollars in the mail.

His mother, Rae Fisher, was a bareback rider for the Ringling Brothers Circus.

On their own dime, Abbott and Costello toured 78 cities in 34 days, with the proceeds funding Uncle Sam's war bonds and stamps. They raised $85 million for the US government. Less than 20 years later, that same government (IRS) forced Bud Abbott (Lou Costello passed away during this travesty, but also sold off his belongings) to sell off most of his belongings to pay off a debt he couldn't afford. Around $750,000. Bud never recovered financially. Talk about gratitude.

His 1942 salary was $393,314, making him one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood.

A lifelong epileptic, he passed away from prostate cancer following two strokes.

March 1959: When his former partner Lou Costello passed away, a nationally run news photo showed him reading a newspaper article covering his former partner's death.

He wore a front toupee for many of his early films and never wore a hairpiece in his personal life.

The comedy team's 1941 salary was $291,905.

The performance of "Who's on First?" in the film The Naughty Nineties (1945) is considered the quintessential version of the routine, and the clip is enshrined in a looped video at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

He was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6333 Hollywood Boulevard; for Radio at 1611 Vine Street; and for Television at 6740 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

He married Betty Smith in 1918. They adopted two children: Bud Abbott Jr. and Vickie Abbott.

1940: He made his film debut in One Night in the Tropics (1940), which was also his first film pairing with his partner Lou Costello. However, this wasn't Costello's film debut as he had been in several movies in the late 1920s as an extra and stuntman before he teamed up with Abbott.

1960: He tried to form a new duo, this time with veteran comic/instrumentalist Candy Candido. Abbott quipped during an interview that he and Candy would star in "Space Privates", a futuristic version of his and Lou Costello's Buck Privates (1941) classic. "Space Privates" never materialized and the teaming was short-lived. They weren't attracting an audience, and Abbott was forced to leave after experiencing an epileptic attack while traveling to one of their personal appearances.

He and his professional partner Lou Costello were nominated for the 2007 inaugural New Jersey Hall of Fame for their services to entertainment.

He and his partner Lou Costello met every single Universal Monster in a movie except the Mad Ghoul, Paula Dupree ("The Jungle Woman"), Rondo Hatton (The Creeper"), and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Although they did meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon on their television show.

His father, Harry Abbott, was a publicity advance man for the Barnum and Bailey Circus.

With Lou Costello, starred on ABC (1941-1946) and NBC (1946-1949) Radio's "The Abbott and Costello Show".

He and his professional partner, Lou Costello, were elected into the 2008 New Jersey Hall of Fame for their services to arts and entertainment.

Pictured on one of five 29¢ US commemorative postage stamps celebrating famous comedians, issued in booklet form 29 August 1991. He is shown with his partner Lou Costello. The stamp designs were drawn by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. The other comedians honored in the set are Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy; Edgar Bergen (with alter ego Charlie McCarthy); Jack Benny; and Fanny Brice.

On August 7, 2021, he was honored with a day of his filmography during the Turner Classic Movies Summer Under the Stars.

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith; pg. 1-3. New York: Facts on File (1992). ISBN 0816023387.

Father of actor Bud Abbott Jr.. Uncle of Norman Abbott and Betty A. Griffin.

September 2003: Montclair State University in New Jersey dedicated a building in their new residence hall complex as "Abbott and Costello Center", after Bud and his partner Lou Costello.

Partner Lou Costello was famous for his ad-libs, which caused his fellow actors to flub lines and necessitated retakes. Abbott expected it and always responded appropriately. During the Drill Routine in their first starring movie, "Buck Privates" Costello ad-libbed "What time is it?" Abbott immediately responded "None of your business." No one but Bud and Lou knew it was unscripted, and the lines remained in the scene.

Abbott and Costello are known in Italy as "Gianni and Pinotto", Abbott being Gianni and Costello being Pinotto.

Despite being one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood during the 1940s, Abbott went bankrupt later on in his life. As a result of outstanding tax being owed and losing his home, he was reduced to begging on the streets.

His father had English and German ancestry. His maternal grandparents, Fredericka (Buxbaum) and Alexander "Aleck" Fisher, were immigrants from Germany to Maryland.

Abbott and Costello are known in France as "Les Deux Nigauds" ("The Two Simpletons").

Following his death, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

Bud's sister Olive confirmed in an interview conducted by Chris Costello for the latter's book "Lou's on First" that she was actually born in Reading, Pennsylvania, only moving to Asbury Park at the age of two or three.

Abbott never learned to drive a car; he had a chauffeur his entire adult life. For a scene in "The Times of Their Lives" he's behind the wheel of a sedan, but they are process shots. For long shots where the driver was obviously driving the car, a stand-in was used.

He appeared with Lou Costello in the short films "Fun on the Run", "Riot on Ice" and "No Bulls Please".

Is mentioned in the musical comedy Crazy House (1943).

The surname Abbott is of Scottish origin. Abbott is one of the septs of the Clan MacNab, a Highland clan.