John Grant started out on the performing end of show business, acting in operettas and appearing in small-time vaudeville. The shy, self-deprecating Grant soon decided that he had no taste for performing; he did, however, possess a rare gift for comedy writing. A veritable walking encyclopedia of burlesque and vaudeville routines, he had the uncanny knack of being able to adapt generic material to the unique talents of specific comedians and of seamlessly integrating gags and routines into any theatrical or movie plotline. In 1938, he was hired by the up-and-coming team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Grant wrote special material for Bud and Lou's radio appearances, contributed sketches to the A&C Broadway revue The Streets of Paris (1939) and devised rapid-fire dialogue sequences for the team's popular Universal and MGM films. He remained with Abbott and Costello throughout the 1940s, as both writer and producer. John Grant went on to work with Martin & Lewis and Milton Berle before his death at age 64.
by Hal Erickson
biography
