Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Friday, January 07, 2005
Prophets from Vaudeville
(Disclaimer: I’m reading a fun book at the moment: “Mixed Nuts: America’s Love Affair with Comedy Teams” by Lawrence J. Epstein. It provoked me to dig out something silly I wrote about 10 years ago for Curio Magazine.)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were light years ahead of their time and for that, they suffered the scorn of their jealous peers. Today, however, we are just now beginning to appreciate their masterful interpretation of this kooky thing we call “Art.” With the benefit of hindsight, we can marvel at such intellectual, surreal wordplay games as “Who’s on First?”
We can set up discussion groups and analyze the recurring use of “Stinky” as Christ figure. And what about the ever-present “Mr. Fields”? Surely now we can all recognize his status as a mere smoke screen for the rampant anti-communism that Abbott & Costello saw looming on the horizon.
So, the next time you see “Buck Privates” sitting their on the shelf of your local video store, you can smile to yourself about how these two amazing artistes were able to meld their humor and pathos to mask their stance against the Vietnam War. Sure, “Buck Privates” was filmed in the ‘40s…but that only proves precisely how far ahead of the curve Bud and Lou truly were.
“Prophets from Vaudeville,” I like to call ‘em.
Copyright © 2005-2007 Mickey Z.
