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Lou Costello was an agressive, pushy man who was never satisfied with sharing the limelight with his partner. From the bio: Costello's on-stage childlike demeanor concealed an aggressive personality, and he constantly battled the studio, in addition to Abbott. Costello's resentment had a long memory and even though they were by this time two of the most wealthy people in Hollywood, Costello still bore a grudge at having to give Abbott 60% of their Pantages salary years earlier. He insisted that all future earnings for the pair from the studio be split 60-40, with Costello receiving the 60% share. He also renewed his billing objection, demanding that Universal give him top billing. Universal refused his demand to reverse the billing, stating that it had hired Abbott and Costello, not Costello and Abbott. They upped Costello's salary, not to the 60-40 arrangement Costello was seeking, but he was making more than Abbott, which caused additional friction between the partners. In 1945, when Costello fired a domestic servant, and Abbott immediately hired the person, Costello announced that he no longer wished to work with Abbott. They were still under contract to Universal, however and were required to complete two movies in 1946, in which they rarely appeared on screen together. Abbott and Costello by now were not speaking to one another at all off-camera.