Skip to content
Home > Abbott and Costello routines > Teller skit

Teller skit

The Teller skit, by Abbott and Costello

The Teller skit, by Abbott and Costello

The Teller skit is one of Abbott and Costello’s routines, with Lou Costello misunderstanding “teller” for “tell her” – it was done on their radio show more than once, as well as in their movie  Hit the Ice where this is taken from:

Having stumbled into a deserted bank, Flash (Bud Abbott) and Tubby  (Lou Costello) try to find a teller.

Flash (Bud Abbott): Teller! Teller!
Tubby  (Lou Costello): Tell who?
Flash (Bud Abbott): Teller!
Tubby  (Lou Costello): I’ll tell her. Where is she?
Flash (Bud Abbott): Where is who? I said teller!
Tubby  (Lou Costello): Tell ‘er what?
Flash (Bud Abbott): Tell ‘er nothing. I want the teller.
Tubby  (Lou Costello): Well, go ahead and tell ‘er – I don’t care.
Flash (Bud Abbott): No! Teller in a bank!
Tubby  (Lou Costello): Tell ‘er in a bank. Tell ‘er outside. Tell ‘er any place you want!  I won’t listen.
Flash (Bud Abbott): Listen – when I say “€˜teller” I don’t mean “€˜tell ‘€˜er.”€™
Tubby  (Lou Costello): Well, what do you mean?
Flash (Bud Abbott): Teller.
Tubby  (Lou Costello): Teller.
Flash (Bud Abbott): Now you’ve got it!
Tubby  (Lou Costello): Now I’ve got it! I don’t even know what I’m talking about!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.