The Colgate Comedy Hour 1.18 – Abbott and Costello’s first television appearance, with Evelyn Knight, Hal Le Roy, they perform their Hot Dog and Mustard routine, shell game, and sanitarium routine.

The Colgate Comedy Hour

Season 1 Episode 18 (1951)

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello host with guests singer Evelyn Knight, dancer Hal Le Roy, specialty act Paul Remos and his Toy Boys, the Jimmy Ford Four, Art and Mort Havel, Patricia Shea, Valerie de Cadenet, and Al Goodman and his Orchestra. The boys do their “Hot dog and Mustard” monologue. As a sailor, Hal Le Roy dances and flirts while on liberty. At a carnival midway, Abbott fleeces Costello in their “Shell Game” routine. The Jimmy Ford Four lip sync comedy to “Cocktails for Two.” Lou checks into Dr. Abbott’s sanitarium for needed rest; instead he’s harassed non-stop by a parade of lunatics.

Mustard routine

On stage, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are talking about how nice the theater is. See that wall over there? Isn’t that a Great Wall? You know what it reminds me of? That other wall over there! Which leads to Bud’s supposing Lou bore a hole in the wall. Why would you do that? Which leads to their famous hot dog and mustard routine.

Hal Le Roy

Dressed s a sailor on leave, Hal Le Roy dances and flirts with the lovely young ladies in the park, to the song, “The Fountain in the Park” aka. “I Was Strolling Through the Park one Day“.

Evelyn Knight

Bud Abbott come on stage, to announce the next act. Lou Costello joins him, while eating a piece of bread. Bud slaps him for it, and Lou wants to hit him back, but he’s intimidated. Their “don’t raise your hand to me” routine. Then, to make up for it, Bud apologizes and lets Lou introduce the next act.

The lovely singer, Evelyn Knight. She’s falling for Lou! Caressing him, kissing him! To the point where the bread that he put in his pocket is now toasted!

After joking with her about her “col-og-ne”: What’s that? ‘My Dream’. Mine too! ‘My Dream’, fifty dollars an ounce. Lou lets her smell his tie. What’s that? Spilled catsup, 20 cents a bottle! And Lou leaves her on stage to sing “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s An Irish Lullaby)” Which she followed up with Hoagy Carmichael’s “A Woman Likes To Be Told“.

Shell Game routine

Almost identical to the routine later used on their TV show episode, “The Charity Bazaar“. Bud is doing the shell game routine, aka. cups and balls. Bud has three metal cups, puts a lemon underneath, and moves them around. However, there’s a hole in the table, and Bud’s dropping the lemon through the hole, into a basket underneath. After getting swindled, Lou catches on, and with a pocket filled with lemons, he puts lemons under the cups as fast as Bud can drop them through the hole. Ending with putting a cantaloupe under the cup, which is too big for the hole!

The Jimmy Ford Four

The Jimmy Ford Four lip sync comedy to “Cocktails for Two.”

Paul Remos and his Toy Boys

An incredible acrobat routine! The “toy boys” actually pop out of luggage that’s brought on stage, After Lou Costello clowns around with them for a moment, they start their acrobatic routine. Which becomes incredible when Paul Remos joins them!

Dr. Abbott’s Sanitarium

In need of a rest Lou Costello checks himself into “Dr. Abbott’s Sanitarium”. Peace and quiet! Which is the last thing that he gets, of course. It’s really an excuse for a series of short bits, with the other inmates at the sanitarium come in and keep interrupting Lou, ranging from watering him, squirting him with a seltzer bottle, and the classic “Do you want your palm read?” routine. Finally, after seeing one of the inmates picking apples from an imaginary tree, Lou shakes it — and is showered by apples!

Routines

• Hot dog and Mustard
• Don’t raise your hand to me
• Shell Game. Also done in The Charity Bazaar and In the Navy.
• Sanitarium

Trivia

• Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were still in Hollywood making That’s My Boy, so Bud Abbott and Lou Costello filled in. This episode is not only their first for the series but their first TV appearance ever.
• The “sanitarium” routine is a classic vaudeville skit. The earliest recorded version that I’m aware of stars Vernon Dent and Benny Rubin in “Crazy House“.

Cast of characters

• Bud Abbott (Hold that Ghost) … Self – Host
• Lou Costello (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein) … Self – Host
• Evelyn Knight … Self – Singer
• Hal Le Roy (Too Many Girls) … Self – Dancer
• Paul Remos … Self (as Paul Remos and His Toy Boys)
• The Jimmy Ford Four … Themselves
• Arthur Havel … Self (as Art Havel)
• Morton Havel … Self (as Mort Havel)
• Patricia Shea … Self
• Valerie de Cadenet … Self
• Al Goodman (Colgate Comedy Hour) … Self – Orchestra Leader
• Don Pardo (Radio Days) … Self – Announcer