Abbott and Costello were doing that bit "Who's on First" a couple of decades before the broadcast you watched. But it's a perfect comedy bit with simple play on words. You could see how easy it was for Lou Costello because he just jumped into the bit as soon as he had bat in hand. I'm glad you've decided to react to this classic piece of comedy for your video advent calender. Thank you, Georgia.

One of the reasons they are so good at this skit is that when this was filmed in the early 1950s, they had been doing it since the 30s. It was an incredibly famous comedy skit and they had done it so often, first on radio, that they could have pulled this off in their sleep.

That is one of the most classic and iconic skits in American history. This skit made it into the American Baseball Hall of fame. That's very difficult to do. It's known for 70 years..

These guys are legends, and this is considered by many to be the greatest comedy bit ever, or at least in consideration of that. They did several movies together also.

They had worked together for years and had many 'bits' they performed over time. When he was asking the audience what they wanted to hear, he was really inviting them to name one of the 'bits' they were known for. This one was clearly well known then and today is the one synonymous with Abbott and Costello. The really amazing thing is, that wasn't just rigid memorized dialog, they both knew the thing inside and out and would perform it with minor differences, just riffing off each other.

This is the most watched version, but they did it differently each time. The most impressive thing is that it's such a simple gag. Once you remember the names of these fictional players, you can run with it as long as you want. Who, What, I don't know, Why, Because, Tomorrow, Today, and I don't give a darn. It just opens itself up. Brilliant comedy.

As a young boy growing up in America in the 1950's with Abbott Costello were memories I'll always treasure.

Bus and Lou did this routine so often they could perform it at the drop of a hat, and it was never exactly the same way twice. By the way, they are the only non-athletes inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Chin-Lung Hu was a Taiwanese baseball player who played major league baseball in the U;S. In one game, he hit a single, and ran to first base. Vin Scully, the famous baseball announcer, was delighted that he was finally able to say 'Hu's on first'!

This was a joy to watch. Many reactors don’t pick up on the central premise of the joke so they just respond to the general exasperation of it all. By this point, the duo had been performing this bit for decades on vaudeville and radio.

Abbott & Costello performed this bit thousands of times. They claimed they never did it the exact same way twice - they each knew their own point of view so well that they were able to answer whatever the other threw at them. In the middle of the routine Costello does get a little bit stuck and you can see Abbott trying to steer him over to the section where they talk about paying the first baseman.

My dear, they performed that bit over 10,000 times. Perfection, it is.

This exact clip has been playing for decades on an endless loop 24-7 -365 days at the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

As a Brit, the best way to understand it is it’s the American version of the “Four Candles” skit-a classic, time-honored patter routine that’s familiar and beloved to most Americans.

Not only one of the funniest comedy skits ever it's a perfect example of two people having a conversation and completely miss understanding each other

This is a classic skit. They are famous comedy act. The Who's on First skit was their biggest act.. so they knew the audience would ask them for it. The way they pull this off seamlessly .. they go through it so quickly. Thanks Georgia!! I love the variety of your videos.

Part of professionalism, is to make something LOOK easy, even when it really isn’t. Your observations about what they do during this skit, are spot-on. A & C were at the top level of the American entertainment profession for several decades, moving from radio into film (1940s and 1950s) and also into the then-brand-new medium of TV. They were household names to several generations of Americans, and it’s tragic that many in the newer generations have never even heard of them. (!) It’s likely that they’d performed this sketch thousands of times, by the time they got to this 1953 performance. I believe they used a number of tricks or techniques to keep themselves interested: - I believe they used subtle variations, depending on the setting, and their audience. (As an example, for TV, Costello used, “I don’t give a darn!” but in other settings, would use the at-the-time sharper, edgier word, “damn.” ) - Another KZfaq commenter has suggested (probably correctly) that they had a system of secret gestures and signals that one could send to another while the sketch was in progress, in case one of them sensed that someone had messed up a line or had made an error in timing - signals that would communicate things like: “Do that last part over” or “skip this segment, go to the next one.” It’s very likely that they did have such a system, because the skit is complicated and long, in addition to being so fast-paced.

I love how Lou Costello gets so frustrated throughout but Bud Abbott, too, starts losing his cool by the end (naturally).

You know how many times I've heard my best friend yell hey Abbott every time they see me _ they know I'm not going to hurt them so they feel brave enough to do it

It's obvious that Lou Costello's heated reactions make this skit so funny.

Abbott and Costello were one of the best at this. They were so funny. I loved your reaction and I loved listening to you talk.😀

One of the smartest reactions I've seen to this. Some reactors watched this with gaping jaws, not even getting it until the last minute. Some thought it was improvised. This was very tightly done, with enormous rehearsal. Of course, that you act, you can appreciate it much faster than normal reactors. Really enjoyed! :)

I grew up watching Abbot and Costello and this routine never gets old hello from Missouri,United States

This ones a classic bit, I only discovered it at the age of 26, being british and not brought up with Albert and Costella. Glad to see you react to this one

This was a great one Georgia! this is a classic, your laughter is so genuine....Can't wait til tomorrow !

I loved your reaction to this classic comedy routine. Thanks for watching it and sharing your reaction.

They had done this routine for years at the point of this recording. If you're familiar with the routine you can spot a few times where they blew their lines, but if you didn't know, you'd never notice. That's what happens when you're a master of your craft.

That was an awesome reaction!!! I do love the skit of who’s on first.

Their timing is what's amazing.

This was an old vaudeville routine long before Abbott and Costello did it. But they did perfect it.

The trick here is that they actually listen to each other and respond in kind. It's certainly not easy.

Abbott and Costello were well known to audiences at the time and had known bits or routines that people knew and loved. Now we would just watch a video rerun on tv or the internet, but not back then. With no way to "replay" a show they enjoyed, they requested to see/hear it again, Live. This is one of the best comedic routines ever!

I don't know if they had any official plants in the audience, but they had a well known set of skits that they were famous for. They were former vaudeville comedians who made the transition to film and live TV. They were excellent.

Fun video, Georgia, thanks for watching and reacting to this classic sketch! In addition to the timing and acting, you have to hand it to Lou Costello’s hysterical performance: facial expressions, physical reactions and, of course, his very loud voice at just the right moments. These, in my humble opinion, are 80% of the comedic value of this sketch. This was in 1953 and they had probably performed this sketch hundreds of times previously. We hope you’ll check out another one titled Loafing. Very funny! Thanks again!

Abbott and Costello were doing comedy like this long before your parents were even born! But, they were so good, I remember watching them as a child in the mid 1960's!

Those two had performed this skit for decades. They performed together well before they were in film in the 1940's. This is your masters class for comedic timing and being the straight man/woman.

Abbot and Costello first performed this skit on a radio show in 1938. The skit sounds hard to do, but when you get people with this kind of talent, it just comes to them. I have always suspected that the skit came from something that happened in real life.

The speed and timing of the two of them is just astonishing.

As others have said they did this for years. I think this particular one was in one of their movies. This was even done slightly differently in a cartoon in the 90's "Slappy Squirrel - Who's on Stage?"

The reason you're so impressed is because these 2 guys are truly world class. ;^)

I very much appreciate the fact that you understand how great of an act they are. Aside from natural talent they put in so much work to become this fluid. Thank you for a great reaction. 😄

I believe it was Peter O'Toole who once said " Acting is easy, comedy is hard". A very polished act from Abot and Costello. Now, for your consideration. Sid Ceasars, Uncle Goopy. A spoof of a 50's TV show. Hilarious.

There is a special exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, featuring this routine. Brought tears to the eyes.

I remember seeing this on TV when I was ten years old. Comic genius.

Abbott and Costello started on radio with their radio broadcasts running for roughly 40 minutes each episode. This skit is taken from an episode called “Who’s on First” In the episode Joe DiMaggio is recovering from a foot operation so he asks Lou Costello to take his place. The skit Who’s on First also appeared in the film “A Night in the Tropics”. What Abbott and Costello did on the radio was known as word play.

The fact that you yourself study acting made this even more enjoyable to watch! 🤩

Accurate assessment! These Guys learned to.perform their best in VAUDEVILLE.....

Love this skit! This is such a classic! I've seen it numerous times and still laugh to this day! 😂

You need to watch more of these two. They were absolute MASTERS of comedic timing. Not even going to recommend anything specific. Type in thier names. Anything you find will be golden.

Adding to what others have said, they didn't do the sketch the exact same way every time: apparently they had a system of body language, touching each other, etc., so they could telegraph their next moves back and forth. That it comes out seemingly spontaneous is a tribute to the enormous amount of preparation and experience they had working with each other. The audience, by the way, is 100% not fooled by this, as others have commented, it was already a famous comedy sketch by the time they did this for television. Most people probably heard them do it on radio first.

They've done that bit over 10,000 times. Only live performances before TV.

The routine was originally based on similar burlesque numbers performed by other comedians from earlier in the past century. A traditional albeit apocryphal account relates that over a period of time both A&C improved on the sketch along w/ a couple of their staff writers, John Grant (who first brought the team together) and Will Glickman. My Auntie Gloria was a film/TV actress who, early in her career, appeared onscreen and exchanged a few lines w/ A&C on one of the episodes of their televised program.

The skit you just watched was recorded in the early 1950's. They wrote it themselves. They use "key" words. Example, every time Lou says "Who?", Bud knows to respond with a certain name. If Lou says, "What's the name of the guy on 1st, Bud knows to correct him by responding "No, What's on 2nd, Who's, on 1st". etc. Abbott and Costello were famous for misdirection of language. Several other similar Abbott & Costello videos are on you tube. I would recommend "7x13=28", or "Dice". I think you'd appreciate those.

Not to mention they had performed this routine so many times at this point that was already famous. After doing it so many times, coming off genuinely is especially impressive.

You’re always amazing!

In the Retired Actor's Home front row right side centre (the guy that requests "Baseball" and hands Lou Costello the props is none other than the greatest character voice actor of all time (and it is impossible to surpass him). His name is Mel Blanc. He created voices for an estimated 90 percent of Warner characters, including such cartoon stars as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Pie, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn, and the Road Runner.

I remember watching this on our old grainy black-and-white TV in the mid-1960s when I was a very little kid. It was really more of my dad's generation but for some reason it was in syndication on Sunday mornings or maybe it was Saturday afternoon. But now it had to be Saturday morning because I was always the first one outside to go play and that was definitely before lunch so anyway, I've seen this so many times in in first grade, a German boy moved to my neighborhood and we became pretty good friends and it turns out he was really into this as well, and we actually tried to replicate this by recording ourselves on this little cassette recorder that I got as a Christmas present somewhere around first grade and I heard it once before the tape just totally self-destructed, and it was pretty horrible, but on the other hand the fact that we were even replicating segments of this thing in real time as if we were live but we were really just talking into my tape recorder, we cracked ourselves up in lessly, that plus I think some money Python and it's so strange to think now that's first grade. Wow

Actually this is not a separate skit. It's part of one of Abbott & Costello show's T.V. episodes of the 50's.

Love this comedy routine, enjoyed your review, thanks for doing it!

Yes it must have been very difficult but they were at the top of their game. In the 1940's they were the highest paid entertainers in the world. I've seen it noted that each time they performed this bit there were always a few changes. Even after performing it hundreds of times they worked at trying to improve it. I've also read that the bit was an adaptation of earlier one (by another comedy team) that had nothing to do with baseball.

I had to do this skit in middle school with the script handed to me last minute and it was hard even with the dialogue in front of me. I don't know how they did off the top like that but there had to be a ton of practice and mess ups before the show

I must agree with you all. I remember these too back in the old days. A classic this was. I was too young though to understand that it was a skit. But hearing it again now at being 40. It totally makes sense. Thank you for this one. Plus watching your laughter is such an enjoyment to see someone having fun with what they do here. Not fake like some but your is genuine.

Abbot and costello practiced their lines for everything and they have so many amazing scripts,glad youcan relate to the acting process but yea they practiced a lot. I still can't work for word do there skits with someone.

They had great chemistry. Some other skits by them are: 7 X 13 is 28 Loafing 2 Tens for a Five Great reaction.

Greatest comedy routine ever!

This is from 1953. Thit routine was so famous that took this routine and years later was put in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I really loved this sweet young lady and a thumbs up.

This probably goes down as the best comedy sketch of all time, all done in ONE take. It's the type of sketch you can watch over and over again and it still tickles you. It's an added treat to watch someone's reaction! Thanks. BL

They were pretty much the biggest things in Hollywood during the second world war and some of their movies from that period are rightly considered classics of it's golden era. Eighty years later movies like Hold That Ghost, Ride Em' Cowboy and Who Done It are still hysterically funny.

These guys have a number of movies from that era. They are hilarious.. They probably did this skit thousands of times during their long careers.

I'm quite a bit older than you are Georgia, but these guys were around well before my time lol but I would have to say that Abbott and Costello are one of the three greatest double acts of all time. The speed at which they deliver their lines to each other is ferocious, I don't know of any other double act who could do any sketch anywhere that quickly and be word perfect, they were genius's any way ahead of their time. Also, as my personal top three double acts ever proved during their careers, they can be hilariously funny and never swear, something some of today's so called comedians could learn a thing or two about, not that I'm a prude when it comes to swearing, I can swear for England, but some of today's comics I'm sure swear as much as they do just for the shock factor

If I told Catherine,who's on first she would say what are they saying,and Bill would tell her I think Tony is pulling your leg.Tony

Not only did I enjoy your reaction but I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you! You are so sweet!

This has to be one if not the most famous comedy skit.

The late, great Vince Scully, was the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcasts for decades was calling a game in 2007 when a Dodger player, a Korean player by the name of Chin-Lung Hu, got a hit and Vince couldn't resist saying " I can finally say it, Hu is on first base."

As a child in the 1940’s I heard many shows on radio and years later I collected old time radio shows on CD’s and some shows from the early 30’s had a version of who’s on first. Those versions weed crude and were probably from Vaudville times. Abbot and Costello have made a masterpiece and cannot be improved at all ever

I first saw their skit on the movie " Naughty Nineties" and I couldn't stop laughing. I showed the video to my young nephews 20 years ago, and they laughed their heads off. It is timeless. Too bad Baseball doesn't enjoy the great popularity, today,that it did through the 1980's.

One of the greatest sketches and comedy teams of all time. I watched this skit back in the late 50’s early 60’s as a kid. It’s genius the way they do it. Yes, WHO is the name of the person on 1st. The rest is self explanatory. You just can’t find great comedy like this anymore

Ms. Baker I loved your reaction to this classic piece of comedy. I watched another reactor who at the end still did not understand that Daniel Who was on first and John What was on second. You have real magic in your enthusiasm and honesty. Don't ever lose it. I was wondering if you had thought about taking a shot at musical videos? Since most great singers have to make you feel what they are singing I would think it would fit right into your field of study and it would give you a chance to discover some amazing new artist. Below I am going to some artist/song titles for you to react to if you would like. I look forward to your future reactions and as always BE WELL. 1. Morissette Amon "Never Enough" recorded on the 107.5 WISH bus. "She Use To Be Mine" from the Stages Sessions. 2. Angelina Jordan "I Put A Spell On You" when she was 9 yrs. old. "Bohemian Rhapsody" from her America's Got Talent audition. 3. Lara Fabian " Je Suis Malade live. .The best version of this is from KZfaqr Frenchrescue that has 13m views and is subtitled in both french and english. This is performance art at it's best. Some have called it a masterclass. 4. Disturbed "Sound Of Silence" from the Conan O'Brien show. This will move you like great acting does.

So much fun, Georgia. I can't say enough to you: Just be yourself. Always. Notice how the busiest actors are just themselves in different situations. Put Yourself in the scene with the emotional motivations called for and .........just be yourself Georgia. You'll be more than fine. You've got Georgicity!

This was a part of the comedy show the boys had in the 50's. That's why there was a laugh track over the crowd response. This bit is so famous its been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the only non baseball related people in the hall.

You are quick...and SMART! Thank you.

It is estimated they performed this routine 1000's of times over the course of their career. Here's a version from about 10 years earlier: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qbmYgKRpmtbaaIE.html&ab_channel=Swancourt This is the version on continuous play at the American Baseball Hall of Fame. They first performed it in 1936. The version you viewed was from the Abbott and Costello TV show, in 1953.

If you are going for old comedians, 2023 is the 100th anniversary of 'Safety Last' by Harold Lloyd. The climb up the skyscraper is awesome!

If I remember correctly, the very first time they did this skit was mostly improved and they worked on it from there.

You got it right right off the bat. The premise is the confusion between a statement and a question.

Abbott and Costello were so good at performing this routine, they could fill time on their radio or television show when broadcast live. If their show had 3 minutes to fill, they could do this routine in those 3 minutes. This video you presented, was done on their television show in 1953 and was also their longest version of the routine.

While this is their most popular skit, it certainly isn't their only one. Here are some others if you feel inclined. 2 tens for a 5 7 x 13 = 28 Loafing Dice 365 Days You'll see that many of their skits are based on scamming people. (Or each other)

The one thing to remember when you watch Abbott and Costello is that Costello is playing a 10 year old boy.

I did this bit in High School theater. The snappiest role I played in college was from the play No Sex Please We’re British. Fun role, not easy but fun.

well done for getting it so fast, most reactions don't, I'm 80 years old and can remember it all those years ago, the more you watch it the better it gets

Check out their skits including mustard, teaching math, dice, and the moving candle. My favorite is the Susquehanna hat company

Abbot and Costello were famous for this sketch. They did it for years.

They were known for a number of "bits". This was the most famous. They were basically asking the audience for a "best of" pick, not random.

lookup vaudeville, Abbott and Costello traveled across america as vaudeville actors. Nothing like performing live every other night to hone their comedic and acting skills.

A classic comedy routine. The best piece of writing ever. ✌️❤️🌹

Any audience in those days would 100% ask for this skit.

The greatest comedy duo ever! 😂

Naturally! Georgia's reaction was a grand slam.

it was a very famous set, honestly it wasn't out of the ordinary for it to be requested

THIS BRIT GIRL WOULD HAVE DONE GREAT WITH THIS SKIT. LOVE THE WAY SHE TALKS

Abbott and Costello and this sketch are in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Enjoyed your reaction.