ALWAYS leave them laughing, say comedians, and that was just what Lou Costello did when the Hollywood film star and funnyman met these children when he visited Scotland in July 1950.

With his sharp suit, hat and cigar he looked like a country gent who had started out for

a stroll, but he was in Paisley, where he was visiting relatives.

His wife's cousin, Mrs Elizabeth Connell, lived at 117 Seedhill Road and Lou happily showed off his daughter Christine to the photographers as he chatted to local youngsters. They were obviously enjoying the chance to meet the star whom they thought they would probably only ever have seen on the silver screen.

Lou's wife, Anne, was the second of three daughters born to William and Isabelle Battler and in 1920, at the age of eight, she and her father emigrated to America, with the rest of the family joining them six months later.

She became a dancer and met Lou in the theatre and they were married for 25 years, during which time Lou rose to fame with his partnership with Bud Abbot. Lou and Bud made 36 films between 1940 and 1956, and were among the highest-paid entertainers during the Second World War.

Sadly, Lou and his wife both died of heart attacks within months of each other in 1959.