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Bud Abbott

Bud Abbott

Actor, also producer · Died April 24, 1974, aged 76 · Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

William Alexander "Bud" Abbott was an American actor, producer and comedian. He is best remembered as the straight man of the comedy team Abbott and Costello, with Lou Costello.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
October 2, 1897
Died
April 24, 1974 (aged 76)
From
Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
Works as
Actor, also producer
Titles
37 on MovieCove · 61 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 21% in 30 days

What are Bud Abbott's films like?

Across their 38 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.

Genres

Comedy24 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Documentary6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 53rd percentile
: browse their Documentary movies
Adventure4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies
Action3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 54th percentile
: browse their Action movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
39%
Society
18%
Morality
17%
Self
9%
Ideas
7%
Survival
6%
Power
4%
Friendship18 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice5 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds5 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception7 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love4 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy5 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt4 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 37 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 37 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 21 · Stylized 13 · Heightened 3

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 28 · Charged 9 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 26 · Shifting 11 · Whiplash 0

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 30

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 15 · Even-paced 20 · Relentless 2

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 35 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 37 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

31 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 14 of 31 analyzed roles.

Hero
14 of 31
Trickster
10 of 31
Ally
4 of 31
Shadow
2 of 31
Mentor
1 of 31
Show the 31 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
30
Absurd
22
Warm
14
Contemplative
6
Tense
6
Other
12

How their films linger

Fun33 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good33 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy31
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous1
  • Cyclical3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Bud Abbott's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 37 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Bud Abbott's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

61 credits, 37 with a MovieCove page; 29 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Abbott and Costello: Funniest Routines, Vol. 1 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Actor

  • Abbott and Costello: Funniest Routines, Vol. 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Actor

  • Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    as (archive footage)

  • The Many Faces of Dracula(2000)

    as Chick Young (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Best of Abbott & Costello Live (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Actor

  • It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein(1994)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Dracula in the Movies(1992)

    as (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    as Chick Young (archive footage)

  • Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    as Chick Young / Slim (archive footage)

  • Terror in the Aisles(1984)

    as Chick Young

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • The Hollywood Clowns (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    as (archive footage)

  • The Horror Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    as (archive footage)

  • That's Entertainment, Part II(1976)

    as (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Show 39 episodes · as Abbott (voice)

  • The World of Abbott and Costello (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    as Character in Film Clips (archive footage)

  • The Big Parade of Comedy(1964)

    as Doc in 'Rio Rita' (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Dance with Me, Henry(1956)

    as Bud Flick

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy(1955)

    as Bud Abbott

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops(1955)

    as Harry 'Slim' Pierce

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1953)

    as Slim

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Abbott and Costello Go to Mars(1953)

    as Lester

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • General Electric Theater (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Show 1 episode · as Ernie Kauffman

  • Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd(1952)

    Executive Producer · as Rocky Stonebridge

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • The Abbott and Costello Show(1952)

    Show 52 episodes · as Bud Abbott

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows

  • Lost in Alaska(1952)

    as Tom Watson

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Jack and the Beanstalk(1952)

    as Mr. Dinkel / Mr. Dinkelpuss

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Abbott and Costello Christmas Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    as Abbott

  • Comin' Round the Mountain(1951)

    as Al Stewart

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Knights of the Bath (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    as Eddie (archive footage)

  • Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man(1951)

    as Bud Alexander

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion(1950)

    as Bud Jones

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Fun on the Run (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Actor

  • Kitchen Mechanics (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Actor

  • Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff(1949)

    as Casey Edwards

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Africa Screams(1949)

    as Buzz Johnson

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Mexican Hayride(1948)

    as Harry Lambert

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein(1948)

    as Chick Young

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The Noose Hangs High(1948)

    as Ted Higgins

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Oysters and Muscles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)

    as Slats

  • The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap(1947)

    as Duke Egan

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Buck Privates Come Home(1947)

    as Slicker Smith

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • The Time of Their Lives(1946)

    as Cuthbert Greenway / Dr. Ralph Greenway

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Little Giant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    as Eddie L. Morrison / T.S. Chandler

  • Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood(1945)

    as Buzz Kurtis

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • The Naughty Nineties (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    as Dexter Broadhurst

  • Here Come the Co-eds(1945)

    as Slats McCarthy

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Lost in a Harem(1944)

    as Peter Johnson

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • In Society (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as Eddie Harrington

  • Twenty Years After (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as (archive footage)

  • Hit the Ice(1943)

    as Flash Fulton

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • It Ain't Hay(1943)

    as Grover Mockridge

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Who Done It? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Chick Larkin

  • Pardon My Sarong (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Algernon 'Algy' Shaw

  • Rio Rita(1942)

    as Doc

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Keep 'Em Flying(1941)

    as Blackie Benson

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Ride 'Em Cowboy(1942)

    as Duke

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Hold That Ghost(1941)

    as Chuck Murray

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • In the Navy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Smokey Adams

  • Buck Privates(1941)

    as Slicker Smith

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • One Night in the Tropics(1940)

    as Abbott

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Midget Car Maniacs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Abbott

Career shape

Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 59 titles, 58 of them dated from 1940 to 2007.

Biggest box office

Terror in the Aisles (1984)

$10M worldwide

Highest rated

The Time of Their Lives (1946)

Midcredits 92nd

Most popular right now

The Abbott and Costello Show (1952)

Film career

Top draw in 13 MovieCove titles.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting59 of 59: 58 only acting, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score63rdProducing1 of 59: 0 only producing, 1 with another role

By decade

1940s29 · acting1950s15 · 15 acting · 1 crew1960s3 · acting1970s3 · acting1990s4 · acting2000s4 · acting

Billing

usually 1st · top billed in 100% of 26 roles
414651

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Bud Abbott's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 63rd percentile, the median of all 36; across their 37 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 56th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 37

Approval · how many liked their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 37

Reach · how many have seen their films

59thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 37

Midcredits score across 37 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up9
  • 50th to 74th21
  • 25th to 49th7

Shape of the crowd

27 of their 37 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser27
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor

Dracula in the Movies (1992)

91st percentile spread · 27% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Time of Their Lives (1946)

Midcredits 92nd · 83% liked

Reviewers score the acting 63/100 in their films, across 31 reviewed titles; fans 70, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Bud Abbott work with?

People who share at least 2 of Bud Abbott's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Lou Costello shares the most, 33.

Directors

Writers

  • John Grant25 titles    See newest 12 of 25 shared titles with John Grant
  • Frederic I. Rinaldo7 titles    See all 7 shared titles with Frederic I. Rinaldo
  • Robert Lees7 titles    See all 7 shared titles with Robert Lees
  • Lee Loeb3 titles    See all 3 shared titles with Lee Loeb

Actors

  • Lou Costello33 titles    See newest 12 of 33 shared titles with Lou Costello
  • Lon Chaney Jr.5 titles    See all 5 shared titles with Lon Chaney Jr.
  • Hillary Brooke4 titles    See all 4 shared titles with Hillary Brooke
  • Joe Kirk4 titles    See all 4 shared titles with Joe Kirk

Composers, cinematographers and editors

  • Charles Van Enger10 titles    See all 10 shared titles with Charles Van Enger
  • George Robinson9 titles    See all 9 shared titles with George Robinson
  • Frank Gross7 titles    See all 7 shared titles with Frank Gross
  • Frank Skinner5 titles    See all 5 shared titles with Frank Skinner

Producers

Mixed roles