Atlantic City’s Steel Pier, in the many years it presented big-name entertainment, never really “made” a star. The reality is that the stars “made” the Steel Pier into the venue known for many years as “the showplace of the nation.” There was one exception: The comedy team of Abbott and Costello.
Those who have never heard of Abbott and Costello probably have no idea just how big the comedy team was, but in the years of their existence as a team, roughly 1935 to 1957, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were stars on stage, on radio, on television and in 36 motion pictures that earned, in today’s dollars, $2.58 billion. That’s right, billion.
The team, like many other comics at the time, came out of burlesque. At first they worked the lesser burlesque houses, including a venue in New York City where they teamed up called the Eltinge Theatre on 42nd Street, later renamed the Empire Theatre. After some success there, they began working for Minskys’ Burlesque, considered several steps up the showbiz ladder from the Eltinge. Brothers Abe and Billy Minsky had a goal of making burlesque respectable.
A big move toward that goal was Minskys’ leasing of the Republic Theatre on 42nd Street. The Republic, at one time, presented legitimate Broadway shows until it closed around 1931. The Minsky burlesque empire eventually grew to about 12 theaters. Among the comics who appeared in Minskys’ burlesque revues were Phil Silvers, Red Buttons, Danny Kaye, Jack Albertson, Gypsy Rose Lee, Red Skelton and Abbott and Costello.
Though the Minskys were presenting respectable shows, the word “burlesque” still had a risqué connotation that drew the attention of then-New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who directed his L&I man to revoke Minskys’ licenses saying his shows violated “moral decency” codes.
Though New York City lost the case, Abbott and Costello were concerned about their future in the Minsky organization, believing that the raids, and the accusations – to say nothing of the reputation of burlesque – would only get worse.
On one fateful evening at the Republic, one of those who caught the team’s act was Frank Elliott, who happened to be one of the talent managers at the Steel Pier. He loved the team and hooked them up with booking agent Eddie Sherman, who in turn made a deal with Steel Pier owner Frank Gravatt to perform in Atlantic City. They did well at the Pier in the summer of 1936. Although reviews for their part in a 1937 variety revue away from the Pier, something called “Ship Ahoy,” were not great, Bud and Lou were singled out for the comedic talents.
Word spread about the team, and while working at Loew’s Theatre in New York City, they came to the attention of Ted Collins, manager of singer Kate Smith, who was a major radio star at the time. Their appearances with Smith were a hit in 1938, and because of that, the Pier wanted them back that summer. When they returned in 1941, the year that their first motion picture, “One Night in the Tropics,” was released, the reception they received in Atlantic City was gigantic.
It’s been said that thousands of fans came out to see the team, and it certainly helped that the Pier’s Frank Gravatt had three, 24-foot signs installed outside of the Pier that advertised Abbott and Costello’s performances.
The following year, the Pier promoted the premiere of the team’s next film, “Hold that Ghost.” Gravatt’s ballyhoo included putting together what the Pier called a “ghost ball,” whereby all attendees were required to dress up as ghosts. In 1942, the team visited the Pier again on Labor Day weekend as part of their national War Bond Drive tour, which ultimately raised $80 million for the US effort in World War II.
The team made two more brief appearances in Atlantic City. By 1944, they were among the biggest movie stars in the business, and, though the Pier certainly wanted to book them that season, Frank Elliott was concerned about how much money they wanted. Elliott needn’t have worried. As a way of showing their gratitude to Elliott for getting them started at the Pier, the team only asked the Pier for one dollar in payment.
In 1945, the year of the final appearance in Atlantic City, as a part of a fundraising tour for the Lou Costello, Jr. Youth Foundation, the team again drew record crowds to the Pier. They also took the time to visit wounded soldiers at the Haddon Hall Hotel, which was actually used as an Army hospital during the war.
After 1945, Abbott and Costello remained tremendously popular and made many more films until they dissolved their partnership in 1957. But the team was gradually overtaken in the popularity sweepstakes in films, on television and in personal appearances by the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, a younger and hipper team who made their Atlantic City debut in 1945 at the 500 Club, the same year that Abbott and Costello made their final Steel Pier appearance.
Jeff Solimando, an Abbott and Costello fan who writes a detailed blog about the team, summed up the team’s relationship with Atlantic City, writing, “Atlantic City may not have ‘made’ Abbott and Costello, but you can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the stars aligned differently. Thankfully, they chose to see it through.”
Comedy Bits: Veteran comic, singer and entertainment industry trailblazer Charlie Prose, profiled in these pages not long ago, recently returned to the “Helping Hands” telethon that he starred in for 27 years. “Helping Hands,” a part of Easter Seals, has helped children in Hazleton, Pa. for more than four decades.
“This is my first public appearance since I retired 17 years ago,” Prose said. Though he didn’t perform, saying, “I just want to come up and say hello to folks.” He did make his children’s book, “Little Charlie and the TU-TA Roo Band,” available as a part of the fundraiser. Prose, an integral part of Atlantic City’s entertainment landscape in the 1980s and 1990s, will turn 80 years old on July 2.
Bruce Klauber is the author of four books, an award-winning music journalist, concert and record producer and publicist, producer of the Warner Brothers and Hudson Music “Jazz Legends” film series, and performs both as a drummer and vocalist.
