Sunday, January 31, 2010

Variations on "Who's On First?" by Abbott and Costello

The "Who's On First?" vaudville comedy routine evolved under various performers throughout the 1920-30s until Bud Abbott and Lou Costello perfected it in 1938, and even copyrighted it in 1944. Since then, it has inspired many imitators, as you can see in the videos below.







By Shakespearean actors in Elizabethan English:


In Star Wars, featuring Jar-Jar Binks and Yoda:


For English majors and grammarians:


Hu's On First? (Bush and Condi Rice trying to figure out Hu who is the new leader of China.)


The original:

5 comments:

Johnny Cat said...

Thanks for digging out the old Jar Jar as Costello and Yoda as Abbott gem! Never gets old, great idea/editing.

John said...

The sketch never gets old for me. I could watch it over and over again.

Anonymous said...

And then there's http://www.smbc-theater.com/?id=175

Anonymous said...

There's also the "Who's on Stage?" Animaniacs episode.

Tom Mazzocco said...

Let's not forget Gollum & Smeagol. My pal Chris Harmon put this gem together, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJVWjIpIkqI