Lou Costello's Real Name: Louis Francis Cristillo

Quick answer: Lou Costello was born Louis Francis Cristillo on March 6, 1906, in Paterson, New Jersey. He was the short, flustered half of Abbott and Costello. He died on March 3, 1959, in Beverly Hills, California, three days before his 53rd birthday (Britannica; Library of Congress).

The name change

Cristillo was the son of an Italian immigrant father, Sebastiano Cristillo, and an American mother, Helen Rege. Hoping to break into movies, he hitchhiked to Hollywood in the late 1920s and worked as a laborer and stunt man. On returning east to work in burlesque, he anglicized his name to Lou Costello, a stage surname often said to be borrowed from actress Helene Costello.

Teaming with Bud Abbott

Costello met straight man Bud Abbott (William Alexander Abbott) on the burlesque circuit, and they formed a permanent team in 1936. Radio made them national stars, especially The Kate Smith Hour, where they performed their baseball routine "Who's on First?" (Britannica).

Hollywood success

Universal signed the duo, and Buck Privates (1941) became a big hit. They were among Hollywood's top box-office draws in the early 1940s. Later highlights include Hold That Ghost (1941), The Naughty Nineties (1945), which has the definitive filmed "Who's on First?", and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). Their TV series, The Abbott and Costello Show, aired in 1952–53.

"Who's on First?" is honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, which displays a gold record of the routine and plays it on a loop. Time magazine named it the best comedy sketch of the 20th century.

Later years and family

Costello married Anne Battler in 1934. Their infant son, Lou Jr. ("Butch"), drowned in the family pool in 1943, days before his first birthday, and Costello set up the Lou Costello Jr. Youth Foundation in Los Angeles in his memory. The partnership with Abbott ended in 1957, and Costello made one solo film, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959). He died of a heart attack in 1959.