Quarterly No. 76 is online

The latest issue of Abbott and Costello Quarterly, No. 76, is now online for club members.

This issue includes an article on the CD release of Frank Skinner’s Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein score, and continues the two-part series “Bud & Lou: The First Two Years.”

We follow the long road that led to the re-recording of Skinner’s score, from the composer’s journey from small-town bandleader and silent movie accompanist to dance band arranger to respected composer shaping all film music at Universal. Henry Mancini recalled that “Skinner was a fine composer in the classic style, [who] used to do all their important pictures. Many composers in Hollywood were not comfortable conducting, but Frank Skinner was also an able conductor.”

This project was a long-time dream of composer John Morgan and conductor Bill Stromberg. With the help of Jonathan Reichman, Douglass Fake, Roger Feigelson and hundreds of passionate fans who contributed to a Kickstarter campaign, we can now appreciate the music from this iconic film on its own terms. Hans Salter, who also composed scores at Universal, shared that Frank was an invaluable friend and collaborator. He noted that Skinner never singled out a particular score as his favorite—but this stunning new recording of Meet Frankenstein would surely make Skinner reconsider. You can get your copy here.

In “Bud & Lou: The First Two Years, Part 2,” we pick up our heroes in the spring of 1937, when New York’s burlesque industry was abruptly shut down by the LaGuardia administration. Although the industry attempted to compromise, dropping the striptease and rebranding as “variety revues” or “vaudesque,” the new format failed to catch on with audiences. Most burlesque houses converted to cinemas or legitimate theaters.

Bud and Lou faced an eight-week gap before the start of their second summer with the Steel Pier minstrels. We trace the boys’ appearances throughout the year, from humble vaudeville and an amusement park to a pivotal gig in January 1938 at Loew’s State in New York with Judy Garland. There, the boys’ polished “Who’s On First?” routine impressed Henny Youngman, who, seeking a replacement for himself on the Kate Smith Hour, recommended them to producer Ted Collins. Abbott and Costello debuted on the radio show on February 3, 1938—a career-defining break that led to regular appearances and national fame.

You can read this issue and more when you join us.