"Who's on first?" -- Abbott and Costello

After living in Manhattan Beach for 45 years, the daughter of legendary Lou Costello never imagined she’d be attending a performance of her father’s most famous comedy routine at an elementary school in her neighborhood.

But last Friday, Paddy Costello Humphreys found herself as Grand View Elementary School’s VIP guest during its annual reader’s theater performance of the famous Abbott and Costello “Who’s on First?” routine, also known as “Baseball.”

“Nothing would please my dad more than for something like this to occur,” Humphreys said. “I know that for a fact. He loved children.”

Humphreys had no idea that for the past eight years, a part of her father’s legacy has been kept alive by library media specialist Heidi Snively, who performs the comedy skit 31 times each year — once for each class — during the first week of baseball season. With baseball bats and hats for props, the teacher of each class plays Abbott opposite Snively’s Costello in an informal performance during each grade’s weekly library time.

(by Andrea Ruse)