British Guy First Time Reaction to 'Who's On First - Abbott & Costello'🤣

This is my first reaction and first time ever watching Abbott and costello "whos on first", this duo from the 1940's were HILARIOUS!

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Camera - Sony a7rII
Lens - Sigma 18-35mm

[DuYarvish]

This skit is iconic, especially in the baseball world. In 2007, the Dodgers called up Taiwanese player Chin-Lung Hu, and the first time he reached first base, legendary Dodgers broadcaster, Vin Scully, was elated that he could finally say "Hu is on first base" 😂

[Umptyscope]

Side note: the guy at 1:10 who says "we got the props for you here" is Mel Blanc, the man who had a 60 year run doing nearly ALL the voices for Looney Toons cartoons.

[sintanan]

Everyone thinks this is a comedy skit, but they're actual players:
David Hu is on 1st,
Jason Watt is on 2nd,
Joe Aiduno is on 3rd.
Thomas Wy covers the left field,
Dominic Becaz handles center,
Nathan Truli is in the right.
Kenji Tamara is pitching while
Seth Tudae is catching. Finally,
Aidun Givadun is the short stop.

[FFVison]

Just want to point out that there is no second take. They went through this with perfect timing in front of a live audience and never missed a beat. THAT is amazing talent and chemistry.

[wikkedspindl]

80 years later and they are still making people laugh. True comedy geniuses!

[christianboehlefeld]

Fact: This bit is endlessly rewatchable. No matter how many times you watch it it is always fresh and hilarious. Simple word play at its best.

During the original run of Animanics there was a Slappy Squirrel segment that imitated this bit but set at Woodstock. It is very close to being as good as this with the benefit of using the names of actual bands from that time instead of having to contrive a set of names.

[walter]

This 1953 performance by Abbott and Costello has been a classic comedy routine since its inception. It was so popular that the Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, NY, shows the video regularly to visitors, and has done so for decades.

[dking]

This routine is very cleverly crafted. There are loops within loops. Here the skit ran 8 minutes but they literally could do an hour of it as at times they would ad lib a comment just to spice it up. But the clever thing is, when they pause, either one could ask a question or make a comment to get to the next loop, or go to a previous loop. So you see them go with the three infielders (1st, 2nd, and 3rd base), then they do a short version of the outfielders (left, center, and right field). And finally the battery (pitcher and catcher). Then they mix in the battery with the infielders. Not shown, they can also get the outfielders involved with a batted ball and throw to one of the infielders. Toss in a few ad libs and the subject can get crazy. If it gets too far away from the loops, they pause, and start one of the loops over again, but with things like who signs the pay check (which is one of the scripted sub-loops but an extra comment just tossed in like they were on the Actors Retirement Home Team). The punch line is the 9th player, the short stop, who plays between 2nd and 3rd base. So each performance was a combination of scripted and ad lib combined. They did this live for decades in Vaudeville, then live on the radio (which they timed it to fill a show be it 15, 20, 30 minutes or 55 minutes in early TV. Very few shows were ever taped. This 1953 version was one of the first, so we have it today. A variation of it was in one of their movies I believe.

[herrzimm]

So iconic because it is simply clean "word play" and nothing else. Just the placement of the player's name changes the entire direction of the conversation, and yet can be switched back to the original topic just by repeating the question to the other person.

Pure, simple, and concise word-play skills on full display.

[Pianomn]

The genius of this skit is that every time you think Lou is starting to catch on, they throw you (forgive the pun) a curveball and come at the joke from an entirely different direction. It goes just so fast, too.

[aaronward]

13x7=28. Another classic from them. Will have you question your math teacher lol

[Adam]

@8:59 I believe this particular version was done in the early 50's, but the duo was iconic, and had the Abbott and Costello Comedy Hour, and were truly golden ages with Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, among others. On another note, me and my best friend of 40 years memorized this routine when we were 10 and 9. #thatisall

[revgurley]

An absolute CLASSIC! I wish comedy was still like this. Fast paced, family friendly, and funny to everyone - not putting others down. When you hear how fast they're going, just imagine how many times they practiced, and performed, that skit!

[davidkinsey]

This skit is actually the only comedy routine in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Abbott and Costello began their career in Vaudeville and successfully transitioned to radio and the movies. Their most famous movies are a series of films where they encounter the classic monsters, Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman.

[beckyrinaldi]

Abbott and Costello were great comedians and made a bunch of movies as well. Watching this had me laughing so hard. I've heard it a lot of times but I still laugh. Perhaps their funniest movie is Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. It is a classic.

[robertklose]

American Baby Boomers (born between 1946 & 1964) grew up on Abbott and Costello, who were heavily syndicated on television and made a good number of feature-length movies. I have listened to "Who's on First" countless times, and I still laugh. Abbott and Costello flourished during a more innocent age in America. They would do anything for a laugh. Immortal comedy.

[Michelle-fhdp]

Bud Abbot and Lou Costello were a comedy team who began in burlesque and vaudeville. They made quite a few movies in the 1940s and 1959s. My Mom grew up watching them then I in turn watched the movies on TV in the 1960s. I thought Costello (little plump guy) was adorable and loved their movies. They were extremely popular in the US in their day and some of their crazy routines like the one you just played are considered classics in the field of comedy.

[gilballmes]

This routine was written about 10 years after baseball became popular. So Abbott and Costello weren't the first to do it, but were the one's who made it so loved. It's so loved, it's run on a loop at the Cooperstown Baseball Museum. Abbott and Costello were one of the first non-baseball players inducted into the museum.

[bookwormaddict]

The thing about this skit is that the night Lou Costello did this skit, his baby boy had drowned in the pool earlier that day, but Costello felt the show must go on. Must have broken his heart to do so.

[dianedeck]

Loves Abbott and Costello. . They were on reruns every Sunday morning back in the 70s. Along with Shirley Temple movies.