Sometimes some poems make some particulars seem so particular: like poinsettias in a poem by John Shea; like The Fish in a poem by Elizabeth Bishop; like trampolines in a poem by Denise Levertov; like “The Red Wheelbarrow” or the plums that were in the ice box that were so delicious in a poem by William Carlos Williams; and then you walk into the kitchen.
Some 113 callers responded to Wednesday's column with the questions
about the name Costello and comedian Lou Costello. To refresh memories, I will
go through the questions one by one.
n Is the name Costello-Irish or Italian?
Readers were divided on this one.
“My good friend Bernie Costello is 100 percent Irish,” said Pat Murphy.
Mary Ellen Johnson called in her opinion that the Costello name is Irish.
“[Rock singer) Elvis Costello is Irish,” she said. “I think.” Ed Stetka
said his wife is Irish, and her branch of the family is named Costello. Michael
Daugherty and Susan Costello also said the Susan Costello also said the name
was Irish, with Costello adding that the name was prominent in Ireland's County
Mayo.
Even a member of the judiciary got in on the debate. Circuit Judge
Kathleen O'Ferrall Friedman said Costello is an Irish name.
“I've got tons often,” she said in reference to her family members who
are named Costello, “And I've just come from Ireland, where the name was
everywhere.”
But others said they know American Costellos with both Irish and
Italian ancestry.
“Yes and yes,” said Alan Walden of WBAL. “Costello is both Irish and
Italian. The Irish pronounce it CAH-stel-oh, with the accent on the first
syllable. The Italians pronounce it cah-STEL-oh, with the accent on the second
syllable.”
Eleven callers claimed the name Costello is neither Irish nor Italian,
but Spanish Sailors in the Spanish Armada who survived when the fleet was
destroyed in a storm off the Irish coast intermarried with native Irish women
and left Spanish surnames.
But Lorenzo Gaztannga left the intriguing message that Spanish
Costellos may have been descendants of Italian immigrants to Spain.
“Immigration started long before America,” Gaztannga said. “The
Costello name immigrated to Spain and Ireland in the early days of European
immigration.”
Were Lou Costello's ancestors Irish or Italian?
Most callers left messages that Costello was not tile comedian's real
last name. He adopted that name out of admiration for Delores Costello, an
actress of the 1930s who helped him withhis career. Costello was born Louis Francis Cristillo in March 1906,
most callers said. But there is some dispute on the spelling of the last name.
Al DiCenso recalled: “My grandparents came from Italy to Paterson,
N.J., where Lou was born. My father and his brothers were born there, as was I.
I'm told by my father that Lou was a contemporary of his, that they hey went to
the same high school but were not classmates.... Lou's mother and my
grandmother were 4-iPnd., that time was Cristelli.”
Other callers said Lou Costello was both Italian and Irish. Sources as
varied as almanacs, encyclopedias and the Internet were cited, but all agreed
that Lou's father was an Italian named Sebastian and his mother an Irish woman
named Helen.
Preston Pardue said Costello was his second cousin. His grandmother,
Eva Zissimos, and Costello's mom were sisters. Costello would often visit his
Aunt Eva, who lived on 36th Street in Hampden.
Perdue said he was 7 weeks old when his cousin Lou Costello held him at
his christening, following a tradition that said if you hold a male child at
his christening, you would have a boy of your own.
“Six months later, he did have a son,” Perdue remembered, “but he died
tragically in a pool accident. Lou actually went on stage and performed for an
hour knowing his son had just died.”
Lou Costello: half-Irish, half-Italian and an all-American original.
This discussion leaves you pining away for him and his partner, Bud Abbott,
doesn't it? I loved Abbott and Costello when I was a boy. Especially Costello.
He provided continuous joy in a world that was sometimes joyless and sometimes
not very child-friendly. When in March 1959 other kids in the neighborhood told
me Costello was dead, my tortured 7-year-old self immediately concluded I would
see no more of his movies.
That misconception was soon cleared up. The comedy of Bud and Lou lives
on through the magic of celluloid. Most of us know their “Who's on first?”
routine by heart. Isn't it still funnier than what passes for comedy today,
when comedians think humor is defined by the number of four-letter words used
in a routine?
My thanks to all the folks who called in. You've confirmed my belief
that if you want to know anything, just consult Sun readers.
