This is one of the greatest. Back in the day when comedy was pure few props and just the skill of the performers.

13 X 7 = 28 is another famous sketch by them, also made loads of comedy films.

Abbott and Costello started in Vaudeville. They began this routine there. However, the first time this sketch was heard NATIONALLY was on the Kate Smith Radio Show in September, 1937. 85 years later, it's STILL THE funniest 2 person comedy routine ever done.

The "little guy" is Costello. Abbot and Costello got their start in Burlesque, then found their way into movies during WWII. This skit actually was in one of their movies. As a kid, during the 50's, I saw their movies so many times. In them Abbot and Costello revised many of their Burlesque routines in these movies. This, however, I think is their best and I must have seen it more than a 100 times during my 77 years and I still laugh out loud when I see it.

this skit by Abbott and Costello is played in a continuous loop at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY

One of the 5 best comic events ever done. This will be funny 1000 years from now, Greatness is timeless.

Their best flick was "Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein" with Lon Chaney & Bela Lugosi.

My mom and I did this bit for her school's talent show, and it took us months just to memorize it; I can't imagine how they made it up from scratch. True legends

"who is pitching-" "no, who is on first." "I'LL BREAK YER ARM!!!"

Lou Costello is the shorter guy. Bud Abbott is the taller guy. They perfected this bit by doing it live on stage hundreds of times in Vaudeville before they got into movies.

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello performed this routine so well during their carreer, that they could fill time on a live Radio or Television with however much time was needed to fill. If they had 2 minutes to fill, they could do this sketch in 2 minutes...or they could extend it, depending on the amount of time needed. The video you reacted to, was their longest version of the routine, shown on their TV show in 1953. They performed the sketch in one of their movies called "The Naughty 90's". Abbott, the tall one died in 1974 and Costello, the short one, died in 1959. They were two of the best comedy teams of their time.

This is is not just a testimony in their talent to deliver the comedy but also to come up with it. They wrote this comedy routine before they were popular. Abbott and Costello had a radio show in St. Joseph in Missouri. A Hollywood executive was traveling in Kansas City and flipping through the radio station and happened to come across their radio show in St. Joe. He drove up to St. Joe and told them to come to Hollywood with him and history was made.

I'm happy to see how much you enjoyed this classic sketch! Most people laugh somewhat, but you gave this performance the credit it deserves. Thank you!

Great reaction. Some people just smile, some are even confused for the first minute, not understanding the premise. But this is, I think, the best version; they do it for a movie but it doesn't have the same energy. Perhaps because this is live in front of a crowd. Anyway, remarkable timing and you're right; it's Costello's increasing frustration that makes it even funnier.

Thank you. I watch this Everyday and still Cry Everytime. For 62 Years. I have the Original LP in 33 RPM. KEEP Rocking!!

Reportedly, Lou Costello insisted that Bud Abbot get 60% of the pay and he would take 40%., This was because Lou needed a great straight man for his comedy and Bud Abbot was a really great straight man for him. This is why they made such a great comedy team.

Abbot and Costello. Straight man is always first. Bud Abbot is the tall one with the mustache. Lou Costello is the short, stout one.

"I don't even know what I'm talking about!" My fav line!

In the states we have a Hall of Fame for baseball, this is the only non baseball ⚾️ item in the museum.This is better than getting an Oscar,” quipped Lou Costello in 1956, when he and his comedy partner Bud Abbott donated their gold record for “Who’s On First?” to the Hall of Fame

This is one of the most classic skits ever done.

Absolutely LOVED your reaction! 🤣 Young man, you've got a new subscriber! Keep up the good work!

Priceless the timing and delivery is perfect, remember they would do these bits in front of people and note what parts work what dont, thats why this is funny its years of subtle tweaking to get it right, and if you're are curious its about the great game of baseball. and this recording is in the baseball hall of fame.⚾

Daz: Regarding Abbot and Costello: The short one is Lou Costello. The tall one is Bud Abbot. And this particular performance of Who's On First was recorded 70 years ago in 1953. Although near perfect, this performance wasn't 100% perfect. Once or twice Costell said to Abbot, "I didn't ask you what's on first. Costello's line should have been, "I didn't ask you what's THE GUYS NAME on first." Other than that, I think it was a perfect performance. Every time I see it, it reminds me of a concert featuring the greatest jazz violinist of all time, Stefan Grapelli, who was French and spoke very little English. At that performance, all the instruments were acoustical rather than electric. Seeming amused at the double meaning of some words, the only English Stefan spoke was at the very beginning when he pointed to his violin and the other acoustical (non-electric) instruments and said, "No electricity tonight. Just GAS," and laughed.

I think you would love the Three Stooges. They were contemporaries of A&C, but their schtick was more physical slapstick than verbal wordplay. Four of their shorts - Disorder in the Court, Brideless Groom, Malice in the Palace, and Sing a Song of Six Pants - are all in the public domain, so you should be able to watch them without getting dinged for anything regarding copyright. I would recommend "Disorder" first, just because it's far and away the funniest.

Congratulations on one of the most genuine and hilarious reactions that I have seen... and I watch a lot of these!

This is a very famous sketch

They are in the baseball hall of fame for this.

The little chubby guy is Lou Costello as they called the serious guy the the straight man, that's Bud Abbott, and they ARE brilliant and Who's on first is their best routine!!

Abbott is the tall straight man

You would have been in stitches over these guys.Tony

I'm now 57 and my dad first got me into Abbott and Costello. My dad grew up listening to them on the radio and later going to their movies and then their TV show. The first time hearing this skit I was absolutely cracking up! I was just a kid and this still cracks me up. They did variations of this skit throughout their career. You should react to their Loafing skit. Lou Costello is the shorter one and Bud Abbott is the other.

The short guy is Lou Costello

Bud Abbott, the straight man, is brilliant. No one better to set up Costello to deliver the laughs. A&C did this routine thousands of times live on stage in Vaudeville before you see this TV version towards the end of their careers. They knew it forwards/backwards & sideways and could riff off of each other if one of them other made a mistake. They were masters of this kind of patter routine.

The little guy is Lou Costello. The taller guy is Bud Abbott.

You would love Carol Burnett show "The Elephant story"

this skit itself is in the comedy hall of fame

My favorites include dice, mustard, the moving candle, the mudder, loafing, and best of all the Susquehanna hat company

I'm not sure if this was mentioned before, but Bud Abbot was the "straight man", Lou Costello was the "country bumpkin"/comedian. This sketch was performed several times in different places (with minor variations to the ending and different costumes/clothes.)

The short 1 is Lou Costello the taller bud abbot If you remember you would hear Lou get scared and shout HEY ABBBOOOOTTT!

The Abbott and Costello show, that ran from '52 to '57 is incredibly funny..I grew up watching it..Very funny!..They are two flunky tenement roomies, supported by a cast of characters. Their interactions with "Mike the Cop", their landlord, "Sidney Fields".."Hillary Brooke" the way out of their league girl interest..and "Stinky Davis" a man-child foil to Costello's character, and many others, is brilliant!..Great reaction!

This is 1 of the greatest skits ever they were the highest paid team during their time.

The tall guy is Bud Abbot... the short guy is Lou Costello.

OMG im out of breath here from laughing

The little guy is Costello the guy with the mustache is Abbott

They did this sketch in the film "Gay Nineties", so you may have seen it there. This video is from their later TV program.

@11:58 Me and a buddy memorized this when we were like 10-and 9. I played Bud Abbott (taller of the two), and he did the lines as Lou Costello.

Lou Costello is the short one and Bud Abbott is the straight man

Costello is the little guy

Well welcome.. most of us old timers have seen this a hundred times or more, but hey we impressed to see youngers like you get a kick out of it < old man of 63 trolling you.

Best comedy routine ever !~!~!

Lou Costello is the shorter gentleman and Abbott is the taller one.

Best reaction on this I've seen.

The really interesting thing about this sketch is that it is never exactly the same. They change the dialogue slightly each time they performed it!

Take the time to seek out and watch "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein". Could very well be the funniest horror comedy ever made.

Abbott was arguably the best straight man ever. The timing here is awesome. By the time you are seeing this video, this skit was probably around 10 years old having been originally developed in the mid 1930s. It would account for the well-lubricated banter.

The little guy is Costello.

You are correct. This truly is one of the greatest. Millions of comedy sketches performed and forgotten. These guys first performed this 85 years ago and everybody still loves it today. Side note: They performed it live countless times but rarely performed it the same way twice. it's like they memorized a bunch of ideas and then ad-libbed the exact lines.

This is a classic.

Just brilliant. Seen it a zillion times and still LMAO.

You might have watched their radio broadcast of this skit that was done a few years before they filmed this one. Only difference is the name of the shortstop is I Don't Give A Damn. But because of the censors back then they were forced to change it to I Don't Give A Darn.

The Classic Comedy bit of all time!

In an interview late in his life, Abbott claimed he and Costello had performed this piece well over ten thousand times.

"Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" 1948

This is the best Who’s on first reaction on KZfaq.

There was another version of this where Abbott was in uniform for it. It's not quite as good as this one and it's probably the one you saw earlier.

I discovered this skit years ago and it’s still as funny as ever. You got to understand baseball and English to get it. There are variations, I had seen one with “nobody” as the right field.

Old is gold.....

this in a way happened in real life a taiwan baseball player was playing with an american team his last name happened to be hu. he hit a single and the commentator got to say that line who's on first. there wasnt no way to screw it up ;it was originally a radio skit before tv was out or affordable but it was like i think 10-15years old by the time this particular one was done.

Notice they never mention the right fielder. In my head canon, although it’s just my personal theory, I like to think that would be Costello’s role on the team.

Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein Great Movie

I've watched so many reactions to 'Who's on First?' because I absolutely love the sketch. Your reaction is one of the best, because you really get into it. You've got the most physical reaction to Lou's misinterpretation of what Bud's saying. Abbott and Costello also did this routine in the film 'The Naughty Nineties'. Each time they did it, it was slightly different, but because they'd done it so often, they could easily adapt to any flubs.

I got introduced to Abbott & Costello through Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein back in 2015 when I was young

You might have actually seen a different version back in the day if it seems different. Apparently they made a lot of variations of this sketch which makes it even more incredible can keep their lines straight.

God Bless You.Mate From You're Brothers Across the Oceans Nice To See You Smile We Enjoyed MR BEAN

I heard old radio shows from the early 30’s and they did a similar version of whose on first but they were crude versions of this routine About and Costello perfected it and it isn’t possible to improve this routine ever!

All great comedy begins and ehds with Who's On First. Another of thier great bits is Niagara Falls.

Bruff, the ‘lit’le guy’ is Costello. Snooty was generally the straight man. Costello was more animated. There’s actually a similar skit in Prince’s Purple Rain movie playeded out with Morris Day of The Time, & his right hand man, Jerome, but it’s much shorter than this. By the way, absolutely the best reaction to this skit that I’ve seen, hands down! Great that you get the jokes. I watch some Americans under 40 & the clueless flag is all over the place. 👍

If they did this act around the mid 1970s in Los Angeles, Abbott could have said "Monday". There's a former Dodger who became a radio announcer named Rick Monday.

I arched a guy doing this same thing and didn’t get it! He was getting mad at Abbott for saying i dont know and who and. What. He ‘S the manager, shy doesn[t he now the players names, he should be fired. You on the other hand had the best reaction of at least 12 people i watched. Good job. That’s some funny shit.😊

Forgot how funny this skit was!

In live shows Costello says "I don't give a damn". It's a much funnier line.

Costello is the shory stubby one

Best comedy routine ever

In the movie "Rainman" when they are in the phone booth, the Dustin Hoffman character is reciting this like it is a riddle to be solved.......

This was the best reaction to Abbott and Costello I've seen.

What is this sketch 70 years old or so? It will still be funny a hundred years from now.

DAZ, THIS SKIT HAS YOU SO DISCOMBOBULATED AS LOU WAS. [IF YOU NEVER HEARD THAT WORD BEFORE, LOOK IT UP] YOU GOT THE GUYS MIXED UP. ABBOT IS THE TALL ONE , COSTELLO IS THE SHORT CONFUSED ONE.

absolutely loved how much u enjoyed this classic sketch. Thanks for the laughs.

one of the greatest skits of all time. Peace, Love!!

The dice throwing video is a good one of there’s.

Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it.

It probably wouldn’t work here but get a hold of their radio series. “Abbott and Costello 50+ Vintage Comedy Radio Episodes” (Available on iTunes) some notable episodes. “Thanksgiving Day” “Nylon Stockings” “Snow White with Blondie” and “Costello Pays Income Tax” If you want a couple of videos to watch “Loafing” “Jonah and the Whale” “Two Tens for a Five” “Meatballs” “Dice” and “7 x 13 = 28”

Hi Daz! These guys are just pure genious. They have so many of these that I could watch them non stop. Great reaction.

One of their all-time classic routines, there are several versions on KZfaq. One minor note: Lou Costello is the shorter one. Bud Abbott plays the straight man.

Abbott and Costello’s Who’s on First, Is in the baseball Hall of Fame it runs continuously. Some consider it the greatest comedy sketch ever written, and so do I.

Your's has been one of the best reaction to this. Enjoyed watching with you.

Abbott is the taller gentleman and Costello is the shorter gentleman.

Just to let you know, it actually happened. A player named "Hu" played first, so Who really was on first!

The short, stocky guy with the hilarious reactions is Lou Costello. The taller dude is Buddy Abbott. I may have spelled his name wrong. Thanks for this fun reaction to the most popular comedy sketch of all time!

Daz, thanks for this reaction, super fun! Wait till you see their sketch “Loafing”! 😂