1991 Comedians – Abbott & Costello

The 29-cent 1991 postage stamp honors comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, the 1930s duo made famous for their baseball comedy skit, Who’s On First. They were unveiled August 29, 1991 in Hollywood, California in a series with other comedy legends: Laurel & Hardy, Bergen & McCarthy, Jack Benny, and Fanny Brice.

Comedy is a dramatic art form designed to amuse and enlighten by exposing through ridicule the absurdity and foibles of characters or situations. In this century in film and radio, we were delighted by the rambunctious antics of comedy teams of Laurel and Hardy, and Abbott and Costello. Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wooden partner Charlie McCarthy, had all America laughing. When McCarthy was made mascot of the Chicago White Sox, he remarked “some of my relatives are bats.” Jack Benny built his character as stingy, vain and to whom aging was a painfully sensitive subject. Fanny Brice often performed with with Ziegfeld Follies and became one of the great comediennes in American theatrical history.

Al Hirschfeld designed these stamps, and was known for drawing sketches of the Broadway and New York theater scene.

The stamp was issued in booklets of 20, with a total of 139,995,600 stamps issued at 29¢ each for a total value of $40,598,724. (Stamp ID# Scott 2566).