In February 1938, Abbott and Costello joined the cast of the The Kate Smith Hour radio program, and the sketch was first performed for a national radio audience that March.[1]The routine may have been further polished before this broadcast by burlesque producer John Grant, who became the team’s writer, and Will Glickman, a staff writer on the radio show.[2] Glickman may have added the nicknames of then-contemporary baseball players like Dizzy and Daffy Dean to set up the routine’s premise. This version, with extensive wordplay based on the fact that most of a fictional baseball team’s players had “strange nicknames” that seemed to be questions, became known as “Who’s on First?” By 1944, Abbott and Costello had the routine copyrighted.
Abbott and Costello performed “Who’s on First?” numerous times in their careers, rarely performing it the same way twice. Once, they did the routine at President Roosevelt’s request. The routine was featured in the team’s 1940 film debut, One Night in the Tropics. The duo reprised the bit in their 1945 film The Naughty Nineties, and it is that version which is considered their finest recorded rendition. They also performed the routine numerous times on radio and television (notably in The Abbott and Costello Show episode “The Actor’s Home”).
Duration : 0:8:3
An Elizabethan twist on Abbot and Costello’s famous vaudeville routine. Performed by STNJ actors David Foubert and Jay Leibowitz on New Year’s Eve of 2006 in Morristown, NJ. Written by Jay Leibowitz and directed by Jason King Jones. Material Copyright 2007 Jay Leibowitz – www.jayleibowitz.com
Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” routine using typography only.
who’s on first baseball skit
Abbott and Costello’s famous “Who’s On First” bit at, what they claim to be, it’s best.
Abbott and Costello perform the classic “Who’s on first?” baseball sketch in their 1945 film “The Naughty Nineties” first performed as part of their stage act. Still find this really funny