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Infinity Entertainment Group & Hollywood Select Proudly Present
Legends of Laughter: Abbott & Costello
Hey-y-y-y-y, Ab-bott! Revel in the Hilarity of This Unique Look at America’s Funniest Funnymen on Radio, Film & TV!
Includes Extremely Rare Bloopers From Film & TV Six-Disc Collector’s Set Coming to DVD Dec. 15th
LOS ANGELES — Dec. 1, 2009 — For Immediate Release — The first release in a series of classic Hollywood comedy collector’s sets, Legends of Laughter: Abbott & Costello, comes to DVD Dec. 15 from Infinity Entertainment Group.
Burlesque entertainers “Bud” Abbott and Lou Costello first teamed in 1936, going on to become one of the greatest and most enduring comedy teams in showbiz history—stars of radio, film and television (helping pioneer the fledgling medium) throughout the ’40s and ’50s.
So immensely popular were the funnymen, their personal efforts during a 1943 World War II Bond Drive helped deliver an astounding $89 million in just three days ($1 billion+ today)!
During a 20-year partnership, the tall and slim Abbott’s devious, acerbic and exasperated straight man was counterpoint to the pudgy Costello’s dim-witted, child-like, stumbling demeanor. Their style of knockabout comedy and precision, rapid-fire wordplay set the side-splitting framework for their most-famous routines, including “Who’s on First?” (often called the greatest comedic skit of all time), “Two Tens for a Five,” “Hertz U-Drive” and “Fleeing Flu.”
This special, six-disc collector’s set includes extremely rare bloopers from film and TV; 17 celebrity-studded episodes of The Abbott & Costello Show on radio (1942-49), a 1943 World War II PSA, “The Autobiography of a Jeep”; the feature films Africa Screams (1949) and Jack and the Beanstalk (1952); 20 classic movie trailers, charting their careers from 1940-59; and 14 TV episodes, hosted by the duo, of the Colgate Comedy Hour (1951-54).
Appearances by: Marlene Dietrich; Errol Flynn; Lucille Ball; Lon Chaney, Jr.; Jane Russell; Veronica Lake; Rudy Vallee; Louis Armstrong; Dorothy Lamour; Peter Lorre; Hedda Hopper; Bella Lugosi; Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake (Blondie & Dagwood); Joe Besser and Shemp Howard (Three Stooges); Charles Laughton, Peggy Lee; The Andrew Sisters; Hoagy Carmichael; Alan Hale, Alan Ladd; Victor Borge; Les Paul and Mary Ford; Rhonda Fleming; Gale Storm; The Nicholas Brothers; Mel Blanc; Clyde Beatty; and more!
Legends of Laughter: Abbott & Costello is presented in full frame with an aspect ratio of 4 x 3 and original sound.
Infinity Entertainment Group, headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif., is a multi-service home entertainment retail distributor specializing in independent films, television programming, special-interest, documentaries, anime and music. Clients include Smithsonian Networks, iN DEMAND Networks, Falcon Picture Group, Bandai Entertainment, Roxbury Entertainment, SJ2 Entertainment and Retromedia. Hit titles include the iconic Route 66 television series, now available on DVD for the first time, and Spike Jones: The Legend. The company was launched in 2006 and is a division of Infinity Resources, Inc., a privately-held, multi-channel marketing and service enterprise with general offices based in suburban Chicago, Ill.
