Ahmad Tibi
Date of birth	(1958-12-19) 19 December 1958 (age 53)
Place of birth	Tayibe, Israel
Knessets	15th, 16th, 17th, 18th
Party	Ta'al
Former parties	Balad

Ahmad Tibi (Arabic: أحمد الطيبي‎, Hebrew: אחמד טיבי‎, sometimes spelt Ahmed Tibi, born 19 December 1958) is an Arab-Israeli politician and leader of Ta'al (the Arab Movement for Renewal), an Arab party in Israel. He currently serves as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset.^[1] He was elected on a joint ticket with the United Arab List to serve in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. He describes himself as Arab-Palestinian in nationality, and Israeli in citizenship.

Tibi is also a trained physician and graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Biography[link]

Tibi was born in Tayibe, in 1958, at a time when all Arab areas of Israel were under military administration.

Tibi studied medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and graduated with honors in 1983.^{[2][unreliable source?]} He began an internship as a physician at Hadassah Hospital in 1984, and met PLO leader Yasser Arafat in Tunis that same year.

Tibi served as a political advisor to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat for several years, representing the Palestinians at the 1998 Wye River negotiations.^[3] He's quoted as saying (7/13/94): "The person responsible on behalf of the Palestinians people for everything that was done in the Israel-Palestinian conflict is Yasser Arafat..."^{[4][dubious – discuss]} He resigned from the post in 1999, upon deciding to run for the Knesset. Tibi described his relationship with Arafat as "close" and "extremely interesting and important to [him]." Tibi later visited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and urged him to hold firm in refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.^[5] Tibi identifies himself as a "Palestinian Patriot".

He was first elected to the Knesset in the 1999 elections as a member of Azmi Bishara's Balad party, but broke away and formed his own party Ta'al (Arab Movement for Renewal) during the Knesset session.

In 2002 MK Michael Kleiner initiated actions in the Knesset to restrict movements by Tibi inside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Kleiner claimed that Tibi was assisting the Palestinians in their war against Israel. Tibi protested the Knesset's decision as unconstitutional and illegal under Israeli law,^[6] and appealed to the Supreme Court of Israel, which deferred a decision on the case.^[7]

Ahead of Israel's 2003 elections, several right-wing politicians, including the heads of the National Union and National Religious Party, sought to have Tibi banned from holding Knesset office; the official motion to disqualify Tibi's candidacy was filed by Likud MK Michael Eitan. Eitan argued that Tibi has supported Palestinian terror throughout the intifada and served as an adviser to [PA Chairman] Yasser Arafat. He additionally asserted that since being elected to the Knesset, Tibi exploited his immunity to promote Palestinian and Arafat's interests. He further maintained that throughout his Knesset career, Tibi was involved in anti-Israeli activities, including the expression of solidarity with Israel's enemies, incitement and sedition. Eitan's proposal passed in the Israeli Central Elections Committee by one vote.^[8]

However, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected the Committee's arguments and overturned the ban unanimously,^[9] and Tibi was elected as part of a joint list of Ta'al and Hadash.

Before the 2006 elections, Tibi took his Ta'al party out of the Hadash coalition and joined the United Arab List. After retaining his seat he became a Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. He was re-elected on the joint UAL-Ta'al list in the 2009 elections.

Controversies[link]

In 2008, he called rioting Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territories "two-legged animals".^[10] In 2002, he called Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz a "fascist who is responsible for murder", and signed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court against the removal of bodies by the IDF during the Battle of Jenin. However, Tibi is also known for having pronounced a moving speech to commemorate Holocaust Day in 2010 at the Israeli Knesset. Yair Lapid reported on Israel's Channel 2 : "Knesset elders claim that it might have been the best speech ever given in the Israeli Parliament".^{[11][citation needed]}

[edit] Shahid speech

On 9th of January 2012 PA television aired speech of Ahmad Tibi: "The Shahid is the symbol of the homeland… Greetings to the thousands of Shahids in the homeland and elsewhere, and greetings to our Shahids and yours, within the Green Line – those whom the occupation would want to be referred to as terrorists, but we say that there is nothing more exalted than those who have died for the sake of the homeland." ^{[12][13][14][15][16]}

See also[link]

• List of Arab members of the Knesset

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ahmad Tibi Knesset website
• Q&A with Ta'al MK Ahmed Tibi Haaretz, 2 September 2003
• A double identity The Jerusalem Post, 21 April 2008

• Lecture given at the Palestine Center, "The Future of Palestinian-Israeli Negotiations: Is Peace Still Possible?" Transcripts available: [7]

Moshe Feiglin
Born	1962 Haifa, Israel
Residence	Karnei Shomron
Nationality	Israeli
Occupation	Leader of Manhigut Yehudit

Moshe Zalman Feiglin (Hebrew משה פייגלין, born 1962) is an Israeli politician, head of the Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction of the Likud party in Israel. Widely quoted in Israeli media, Feiglin is considered a political hardliner with a unique political perspective that emphasizes policies that reflect Israel's Jewish identity.

In 1993, Moshe Feiglin co-founded the Zo Artzeinu ("This [is] our Land/Country") movement with Shmuel Sackett to protest the Oslo Accords. On August 8, 1995, 80 intersections were blocked throughout the country in a massive act of civil disobedience against the Oslo process. As a result of his activities, Feiglin was sentenced to six months in prison in 1997 for sedition against the state by Israel's Supreme Court. The sentence was later commuted to community service.^[1]

In November 1996, Moshe Feiglin established the Manhigut Yehudit movement to foster Jewish leadership for Israel. In 2000, the movement joined Israel's Likud party as a faction dedicated to the same goal. Feiglin declared that he would be a candidate for chairmanship of the party as a springboard for premiership of the State of Israel.

Personal life[link]

Feiglin was born in Haifa in 1962. His family later moved to Rehovot, where he attended the local Tachkemoni school (of the Mizrachi movement), and subsequently graduated from Rabbi Haim Drukman's yeshiva, Or Etzion, and served as a major in a combat unit in the IDF. He is the author of the Hebrew language books Where There Are No Men, and War of Dreams, has a column in both the Ma'ariv and Makor Rishon daily newspapers, and appears frequently on international TV and radio. He writes columns regularly for the Brooklyn-based Jewish Press as well. Moshe and his wife Tzippy have five children and three grandchildren. They live in the Israeli settlement of Karnei Shomron, in the Samaria region of the West Bank.

Feiglin is an avid mountain biker, riding most mornings in the Samarian hills just outside his town. He is fluent in American English.

Army service[link]

Feiglin enlisted in the Israeli army for the full mandatory three-year term, despite the fact that the commonly accepted enlistment path among religiously observant Israelis is through the Hesder program, which allows those Israelis who wish to do so to pursue religious studies for a year and a half at an approved Yeshiva and have that time deducted from their mandatory service. Feiglin was the only member of his division to volunteer for and be placed in the Combat Engineering Corps. He later signed on to one additional year as a career soldier and attained the rank of Captain. He fought in the first Lebanon War of 1982.

Manhigut Yehudit[link]

This section of a biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2008)

Feiglin is the co-founder and president of the Manhigut Yehudit ("Jewish Leadership") faction in the Israeli Likud party.^[2] Manhigut Yehudit began as a brainchild of Feiglin and a friend of his, Moti Karpel, who began the movement as the continuation of the Zo Artzeinu protest movement. The main tactical difference between the two in Feiglin's thought is that Zo Artzeinu protested government policy without suggesting an alternative, whereas Manhigut Yehudit seeks to become the government and be the alternative.

Manhigut Yehudit as an initiative was first proposed by Feiglin and Karpel, coincidentally, on the night of Yitzchak Rabin's assassination in November 1995. Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu's surprise defeat of Labor's Shimon Peres the following year on the heels of Zo Artzeinu's protests had, in Feiglin's mind, given the Oslo Accords the Israeli Right's sanction when Netanyahu shook Yasser Arafat's hand and continued the Oslo Process, giving the Israeli voter no real alternative to Oslo besides slight tactical differences toward its eventual fruition. It was at this realization that Feiglin decided to enter politics in order to formulate that alternative himself by running for the Prime Ministership directly.

Lacking the tools to do this and absent a political party with which to stake his run, he was approached by a founding member of the Likud party and participant in the Zo Artzeinu protests who proposed that Feiglin register for the Likud party and register, in turn, the thousands who participated in the protests, thereby building a support base for himself in the party and running for the party leadership, thereby attaining Prime Ministerial candidacy.^[3] At present, Feiglin has an estimated 12,000-15,000 loyalists in the party, making Manhigut Yehudit the largest consolidated faction in the Likud's approximately 100,000 strong party membership.

According to Feiglin's own words, Manhigut Yehudit was started to "return the country to the people and lead the State of Israel through authentic Jewish values". The movement believes Israelis deserve a chance to learn about their historical and spiritual past and that Jewish values should be taught in the nation's schools. The movement has challenged the hegemony of Israel's secular elite, demands free speech and open airwaves for all sectors of the Israeli public, and wants to break the monopoly the state has on radio and television broadcasts. Feiglin has demanded that Israeli schools stop teaching the Arab view of the history of Israel, such as describing the creation of the State of Israel as a disaster (nakba in Arabic). He also has spoken out against Israel's undemocratically chosen Supreme Court and called for its members to be selected by representatives of the people.

Feiglin says that the movement’s leadership will arise from "those who have a deep commitment to Torah values." Still, 30 percent of its present members are secular (2005). He opposes the surrender of what he regards as Jewish land, and has demanded the government take action against the estimated 50,000 illegal Arab structures built throughout the country. Feiglin has stated that Likud had "given up true Likud values and acquiesced in the Gaza evacuation."^[4]

Feiglin has been on public record supporting the willful transfer of Arab citizens of Israel who do not accept Jewish sovereignty over the state. This emigration would be encouraged with financial incentives.

Although some of Feiglin's opponents have described him as a latter-day version of Rabbi Meir Kahane, he has stated on several occasions that he disagrees with many of Kahane's policies.^[5] While Manhigut's co-founder, Shmuel Sackett, had close ties with Rabbis Meir and Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, there is little evidence directly connecting Feiglin with Kahane, although there are several ideological similarities between them, such as supporting "induced emigration", developing a legal system more consistent with Halakha, and restricting Israeli citizenship to Jews.^[6] In 2005, Feiglin took this idea a step further and suggested that all Jews who wished to be citizens of Israel, regardless of where they lived, should be given full citizenship and voting rights.^[7] Feiglin and Sackett are distinguished most from traditional Kahanism through their commitment to nonviolent protest. Kahanism is often associated with militancy and a tacit acceptance of, if not outright support for, violence. Conversely, Feiglin and Sackett are also attacked in some right-wing Religious Zionist circles (including Kahane supporters) for selling out to the Likud.

Several left-wing commentators have depicted Feiglin as fascist,^[8][9][10] but for his part, Feiglin rejects this label, claiming that he is fighting fascism himself.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Political positions[link]

Feiglin's politics are very different in a fundamental sense from most Israeli politicians currently serving in Israel's elected institutions, past or present. Whereas the stated goal of Israeli leaders since the founding of the State has been an end to the Jewish-Arab conflict with different means of attaining that goal considered between the country's respective right and left wing leaders, Feiglin has openly stated that, though he is not opposed to peace, peace is not his goal,^[15] and would not be on the top of his agenda as Prime Minister. Rather, Feiglin's focus is on reforming Israel as an essentially Jewish State by acting on several campaigns on the religious, social, legal, and security fronts.

Religious front[link]

Feiglin is against religious coercion, and is even against the establishment of religious political parties. He has come out against religious legislation such as the Chametz Law, which forbids selling leavened products on the Passover Holiday, when eating or owning leavened food products is prohibited by Jewish religious law.^[16]

He is also a proponent of the civil marriage initiative in Israel which would allow any Israeli citizen to marry without the auspices of a religious cleric.^[17] At present, marriage in Israel is impossible outside the confines of a religious system; hence for tens of thousands of people with problematic religious status it is impossible ever to get married in the country. The present system also places the power of divorce in the hand of the Rabbinic courts, who are unanswerable to any government authority. The civil marriage initiative would make the religious nature of marriage entirely voluntary, effectively separating religion and state in this matter.

Feiglin in the Likud[link]

In December 2005, Feiglin ran for Likud chairman and won 12.5% of the votes. He came in third out of seven candidates, after Benjamin Netanyahu and Silvan Shalom. He attempted to run for a slot on the party's Knesset list, but encountered severe opposition from Netanyahu, who delayed party elections and advocated making changes to its charter to bar "anyone who has served three or more months in prison" from running as a Likud MK. This would have prevented Feiglin, who served a six-month sentence in the mid-90s for civil disobedience, from running for either an MK or leadership position in the future. Feiglin withdrew from the race on January 3, 2006, following the release of a statement from the Likud party election chairman declaring, in agreement with a prior decision by the Israeli High Court, that Feiglin's conviction was not for "dishonorable" violations of the law, allowing him to participate in future Likud affairs.^[18]

In the August 14, 2007 primaries, Feiglin nearly doubled his previous showing and received 23.4 percent of the votes to Netanyahu's 72.8 percent. Netanyahu, fearing a strong showing by Feiglin, tried to have him ousted from the party prior to the vote, and has said he will continue such efforts.^[19] On December 10, 2008 Feiglin was voted to the 20th place in Likud primaries.^[20] On December 11, following a petition submitted against him by Ophir Ekonis, he was demoted to the 36th spot.^[21]

Moshe Feiglin ran against Netanyahu for the 2012 Likud leadership election held on January 31 and again received 23% of the vote.^[22]

Peace plan[link]

Feiglin has proposed a plan to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.^[23] His plan would include annexing the Palestinian territories after using much of the internal military budget projected for the next 10 years to offer every Palestinian family in these areas $250,000 as an incentive to emigrate to other countries.^[24] Feiglin pointed to a poll by An-Najah University in Nablus, which showed that one in three Palestinian Arabs would emigrate to other countries even without a financial incentive,^[25][26] as supporting his plan. Feglin also proposed that Israel actively encourage Israeli-Arabs to emigrate to the Arab world, and provide assistance to any Arab who chooses to do so.

Controversy and criticism[link]

Comments on Arabs[link]

Of Israeli Arabs, Feiglin said, "They will have to seek the right to self-determination in Arab states. Israel will encourage the Arabs to emigrate to their countries and assist any Arab who wishes to do so," Feiglin was quoted as saying.^[1] He insisted there is no such thing as a Palestinian people and that they and Israeli Arabs should relocate, citing a text he had posted on the website of his Manhigut Yehudit ("Jewish Leadership") movement. In a 2004 interview with Yedioth Ahronoth he spoke of "a voluntary transfer to the 22 neighbouring Arab states" of the some 1.4 million Israeli Arabs, who make up 20 percent of Israel's population. "Arabs don't live in the desert, they create it," he was quoted as saying.^[1]

"The Arabs engage in typical Amalek behaviour. I can't prove this genetically but this is the behaviour of Amalek."^[27]

"We shall offer them human rights without civil rights, so long as they prove their loyalty to their Jewish state host and accept Jewish sovereignty over their land. In such a situation they will be given legal-resident status and they can carry on their private affairs without anyone infringing on their human rights."^[28]

Controversy over Hitler comments[link]

In an article in Ha'aretz, Yossi Sarid quoted Feiglin as saying, "Hitler was an unparalleled military genius. Nazism promoted Germany from a low to a fantastic physical and ideological status. The ragged, trashy youth body turned into a neat and orderly part of society and Germany received an exemplary regime, a proper justice system and public order. Hitler savored good music. He would paint. This was no bunch of thugs. They merely used thugs and homosexuals." Feiglin clarified his position to the Maariv newspaper that just because he considers Hitler a military genius this does not mean he admires him.^[1] In an interview on Israeli television Feiglin accused Sarid and other left-wing journalists of a smear campaign against him by quoting him out of context. He explained his point as saying that just because Germany was a democracy does not give legitimacy to what Hitler had done.^[29]

Banned from Britain[link]

Feiglin is banned from entering the United Kingdom due to a decision by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, made public in March 2008, excluding Feiglin on the grounds that his presence in the country "would not be conducive to the public good."^[30] A letter to Feiglin from the Home Office said that Smith based her decision on an assessment that his activities "foment or justify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs; seek to provoke others to terrorist acts; foment other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts and foster hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK."^[31][32] Feiglin responded, "Seeing that renowned terrorists like Hizbullah member Ibrahim Mousawi are welcomed in your country in open arms, I understand that your policy is aimed at encouraging and supporting terror."^[33]

Resistance to Oslo Accords[link]

Feiglin was arrested for organizing mass acts of resistance and blocked highways across Israel during the period in which the Oslo accords were debated and implemented.^[34] Feiglin was charged with "break[ing] the barrier of obedience to the rule of law" and incitement to commit crimes. Regarding his organization of peaceful demonstrations and the blocking of intersections without a permit, Feiglin was quoted as stating, "We will do all that it's possible to do, including break the law."^[35] He was sentenced to six months in prison in 1997 for sedition, and the sentence was later performed via community service.

Reaction from Likud members[link]

Relations between Feiglin and his fellow Likud members have been mixed. Likud Knesset member Limor Livnat stated that Feiglin and his friends are "not real Likudniks" and that his faction "cannot be allowed to prevail."^[36] In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, Livnat explained that Feiglin and his faction must be prevented "from taking over, or the party and the state will be in danger," adding, that "this is not democracy, this is anarchy."^[36]

Despite criticism from fellow Likud members, Feiglin has displayed favorable relations with a significant number of former Likud Knesset members. This was manifest during a Feiglin rally at Jerusalem's Ramada Hotel that took place before the 2008 Likud primary after Feiglin promised to throw all his votes to them if they showed up. Former Likud Knesset members Gila Gamliel, David Mena, Daniel Benlulu and Ayoub Kara attended the event despite warnings from Netanyahu's advisers not to do so. Gila Gamliel, who did not vote against the Disengagement from Gaza, eventually took Feiglin's votes and placed 19th, one spot ahead of Feiglin. This ultimately resulted in Feiglin getting pushed down to the 36th spot and out of the Knesset.^[37]

Support for Jonathan Pollard[link]

Feiglin is a highly vocal supporter of Jonathan Pollard, a former American naval intelligence analyst who is currently serving a life sentence in the American Federal prison system for spying for Israel. Feiglin, who has called Pollard a hero,^[38] has written a number of articles in support of Pollard. In a recent article, Feiglin stated that "Pollard is a Jew who saved the Israelis from American treachery."^[39]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Manhigut Yehudit Website
• Manhigut Yehudit Website in Hebrew
• Moshe Feiglin Website
• A monthly journal published by Manhigut Yehudit
• Moshe Feiglin & Manhigut Yehudit on Facebook
• FrontPage Magazine article about Feiglin's ban from the UK by Dan Rabkin
• Moshe Feiglin interview with FrontPage Magazine by Dan Rabkin

Audio and video[link]

• Video of Feiglin Speaking at a Moshe Feiglin for Head of Likud and Prime Minister of Israel fundraising event before the August 14, 2007 Likud Primaries
• Moshe Feiglin speaks on CHIN radio - A comprehensive interview

More[link]

• Summary on Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit

Yair Lapid
Yair Lapid
Born	(1963-11-05) November 5, 1963 (age 48) Tel Aviv, Israel
Occupation	politician, journalist, author, TV personality
Spouse	Lihi Lapid
Children	Yoav, Lior, and Yael
Website
yairlapid.org.il

Yair Lapid (Hebrew: יאיר לפיד‎) (born November 5, 1963) is an Israeli politician, actor, journalist, author, and former TV presenter and news anchor.

Lapid is the chairman of the "Yesh Atid" party, which he founded in 2012.

Biography[link]

He is the son of journalist and politician Yosef "Tommy" Lapid and author Shulamit Lapid. He is married to journalist Lihi Lapid, whom he met while on IDF reserve duty.

Lapid was born in Tel Aviv, and started his journalism career as a military correspondent for the IDF's weekly magazine, Ba-Mahane ("In the Camp"), and writing for the mainstream daily newspaper, Maariv. In 1988, he was appointed editor of the Tel Aviv local newspaper published by the Yedioth Ahronoth group. In 1991, he began writing a weekly column in a nationwide newspaper's weekend supplement, at first for Maariv and later on for its competitor, Yedioth Ahronoth.

Lapid's career then expanded to include broadcast journalism. In 1994, he began hosting the Friday evening main interview program on Israel TV's Channel 1, and in that same year had an acting role in an Israeli film, “The Singing of The Siren.” He hosted a talk show on TV's Channel 3, and since 1999 has hosted a talk show on Arutz 2 (TV Channel Two). He has published 7 books and wrote a drama series called “War Room” that was aired on Arutz 2 in 2004.

In 2005, he was voted the 36th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.^[1]

As of January 2008 Lapid was the host of Ulpan Shishi, the Friday night news-magazine of Channel 2. In the same year his first play, The Right Age for Love went on-stage in the Cameri Theater.

On 8 January 2012 Lapid announced that he is leaving his journalism career in order to enter politics.^[2] On 30 April 2012 Lapid formally registered his party, "Yesh Atid" (Hebrew: יש עתיד‎, lit. "There's a Future").^[3] The move was aimed to coincide with the general expectation in Israel for early elections to be held in the early fall of 2012. However, a few days after Yesh Atid's registration, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's surprise formation of a national unity government means the party will have to wait until late 2013 before it can participate in national elections.

Bibliography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lapid in his talk show on Arutz 2
• Israeli Known Host Talk About His Dad by Ynetnews
• A letter to the British academic (related to BUCU's call for an academic boycott of Israel)
• Yair Lapid speaks at Kiryat Ono College (Lapid's views on the Israeli religious community - English subtitles)

Lou Costello
Lou Costello in Africa Screams (1949)
Born	Louis Francis Cristillo (1906-03-06)March 6, 1906 Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	March 3, 1959(1959-03-03) (aged 52) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Occupation	Actor, Comedian
Years active	1926–59
Spouse	Anne Battler (1934–1959)

Louis Francis "Lou" Costello (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959) was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott. Costello was famous for his bumbling, chubby, clean-cut image that has appealed to many Americans over the decades, and for his shouted line of "Heeeeyyy Abbot!!"

Early life[link]

Costello was born Louis Francis Cristillo on March 6, 1906, in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Helen (née Rege) and Sebastiano Cristillo. His father was Italian (from Caserta, Italy) and his mother was an American of Italian, [[French people|French], and Irish ancestry.^[1][2] He attended School 15^[3] in Paterson, NJ, and was considered a gifted athlete. He excelled in basketball and reportedly was once the New Jersey state foul shot champion (his singular basketball prowess can be seen in Here Come The Co-Eds (1945), in which he performs all his own tricky hoop shots without special effects). He also fought as a boxer under the name "Lou King".^[4] He took his professional name from actress Helene Costello: "There was a girl named Helene Costello, and I took her name".^[5]

Career[link]

In 1927 Costello went to Hollywood to become an actor, but could only find work as a laborer or extra at MGM and Warner Brothers. His athletic skill brought him occasional work as a stunt man, notably in The Trail of '98 (1928). He can also be spotted sitting ringside in the Laurel and Hardy film The Battle of the Century (1927).

Burlesque and Bud Abbott[link]

In 1930, discouraged by his lack of success, he hitchhiked back home but ran out of money in Saint Joseph, Missouri during the Great Depression. He took a job as a Dutch-accented comic at a local burlesque theater. Changing his name to "Costello", he went back to New York and began working in vaudeville and burlesque theaters there.^[6] Unlike many burlesque comics of the era, though, he did not use "off-color" material – an approach that continued for the rest of his career.

While working in vaudeville in the 1930s, Costello became acquainted with a talented straight man named Bud Abbott. After working together sporadically, Abbott and Costello formally teamed up in 1936. They performed together in burlesque shows, minstrel shows, vaudeville and movie houses.

Radio and Hollywood[link]

Abbott and Costello signed up with the William Morris Agency, which sought to enlarge the duo's stature by putting them on the radio. In 1938 they received national exposure for the first time by becoming featured performers on The Kate Smith Hour, a popular variety show. They were hugely successful, which ultimately led to their appearance in a Broadway play in 1939, "The Streets of Paris", and signing with Universal Studios in 1940.

They only had supporting roles in their first picture, One Night in the Tropics (1940), but stole the film with their classic routines, including a much-shortened version of "Who's On First?" (a more complete version was performed in The Naughty Nineties, released in 1945). The duo became famous for that routine, in which Abbott enumerated the names of a mythical baseball team, whose members have nicknames of "Who" who plays first base, "What" on second base and "I don't know" on third, etc. This confounds Costello when they are addressed simply as "Who", "What" and "I don't know". The sketch was so popular that it was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame^[7], with a plaque, gold record and transcript of this famous sketch included in the museum collection--although they were not actually inducted into the Hall of Fame--over their less well-known and more sadistic "Ninth Inning Steal" routine in which Bud and Lou rob an unsuspecting person by distracting him with a sensational baseball game recounting, unaware that someone else has already robbed the intended target using the same distraction. A modified version of the "Ninth Inning Steal" is shown in the movie Pardon My Sarong when bus drivers Bud and Lou try to steal gas from a gas station attendant.

The team's breakout picture, however, was Buck Privates, released early in 1941. They immediately became the top-ranking comedy stars in Hollywood and fans looked forward to each of their pictures as a major event. Costello's child-like demeanor was strictly acting, and he aggressively battled with the more easy-going Abbott as well as the studio. Universal upped the duo's salary, but refused Costello's demand to reverse the billing, stating that it had hired Abbott and Costello, not Costello and Abbott. Most moviegoers had never seen the duo's burlesque routines, and so their dated but hilarious material seemed fresh. Many of their films cast them as bumbling servicemen such as In The Navy and Keep 'Em Flying (amusingly enough, the Japanese military showed these films to their soldiers to "show" the ineptitude of American soldiers).^{[citation needed]}

Stardom[link]

The duo made 36 films between 1940 and 1956, and were among the most popular and highest-paid entertainers in the world during World War II. Among their most popular films are Buck Privates, Hold That Ghost, Who Done It?, Pardon My Sarong, The Time of Their Lives, Buck Privates Come Home, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.

The team also appeared on radio throughout the 1940s. On October 8, 1942, the team launched their own weekly show on NBC sponsored by Camel cigarettes. They moved to ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from 1947-49.

In 1951 the duo became one of the rotating hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour (Eddie Cantor and Bob Hope were among the others) and the following year they inaugurated their own situation comedy, The Abbott and Costello Show. Costello owned the half-hour series, with Abbott working on salary. The show, which was loosely adapted from their radio program, ran for two seasons, from 1952 to 1954, but found a new life as syndicated reruns.

Lou Costello being surprised on This Is Your Life.

They were forced to withdraw from Fireman Save My Child in 1954 due to Costello's poor health--he had been plagued by heart problems all his life due to a childhood bout of rheumatic fever--and were replaced by lookalikes Hugh O'Brian and Buddy Hackett. They were dropped by Universal the following year.

Costello was surprised and honored by Ralph Edwards on NBC's This Is Your Life in 1956.^[8]

Split up[link]

Abbott and Costello split up in July 1957, after troubles with the Internal Revenue Service forced both men to sell off their large homes and the rights to some of their films. Costello then pursued a solo stand up career, including stints in Las Vegas, and sought out film projects for himself. He appeared several times on Steve Allen's television show, but most often in variations of his old routines, with Louis Nye or Tom Poston taking on the straight man role.

Family and death of son[link]

On January 30, 1934, Costello married Anne Battler, a burlesque dancer. Their first child, Patricia "Paddy" Costello, was born in 1936, followed by Carole on December 23, 1938, and Lou Jr. (nicknamed "Butch") on November 6, 1942.

In March 1943, after completing Hit the Ice, Costello had an attack of rheumatic fever and was unable to work for six months. On November 4 of that year he returned to the team's popular radio show, but a tragic event overshadowed his comeback. Upon arriving at the NBC studio, Lou received word that his infant son Lou Jr. had accidentally drowned in the family pool. The baby was just two days short of his first birthday. Lou had asked his wife to keep Butch up that night so the boy could hear his father on the radio for the first time. Rather than cancel the broadcast, Lou said, "Wherever he is tonight, I want him to hear me," and went on with the show. No one in the audience knew of the death until after the show when Bud Abbott explained the events of the day, and how the phrase "The show must go on" had been epitomized by Lou that night.

In 1947, their last child, Christine, was born.

Death[link]

After making one solo film, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock, Costello died of a heart attack at Doctors' Hospital in Beverly Hills on March 3, 1959, three days before his 53rd birthday. A funeral Mass was said at his parish, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Sherman Oaks.^[9] He is interred at the Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles, California. His last words as reported in the March 4, 1959 Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Evening Mirror News were "I think I'll be more comfortable," according to a private nurse who was the only person in the room with him at the time.^[10][11] The widely reported claim that he died in the presence of friends and that his last words were actually "that was the best ice-cream soda I ever tasted" appears to have been fabricated some time after the event, possibly as a dig against Costello's weight.^[12] Anne, his wife, was at his side most of the day, but was sent home by her assuring husband only an hour before his death at 3:55pm.^{[citation needed]}