Wayne and Shuster

Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster.

Related Topics:
Canadian - Comedy duo - Frank Shuster

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Wayne (born Louis Weingarten, May 28, 1918 – July 18, 1990) and Shuster (September 5, 1916 – January 13, 2002) met as high school students at Harbord Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1930. They both studied at the University of Toronto, where they wrote and performed for the theatre there, and in 1941 they made their radio debut on CFRB in their own show, The Wife Preservers in which they dispensed household hints in a humorous fashion. This exposure resulted in the pair being given their own comedy show on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Trans-Canada Network as Shuster & Wayne.

Related Topics:
May 28 - 1918 - July 18 - 1990 - September 5 - 1916 - January 13 - 2002 - High school - Harbord Collegiate Institute - Toronto - Ontario - Canada - 1930 - University of Toronto - Theatre - 1941 - Radio - CFRB - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

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They enlisted in the Canadian army in 1942, and performed for the troops in Europe during World War II as part of the Army Show (they would also later perform for the army in the Korean War). They returned to Canada to create the Wayne and Shuster Show for CBC Radio in 1946. They first performed on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States in 1958, and set a record there by appearing 67 times over the next 11 years.

Related Topics:
Army - 1942 - Europe - World War II - Army Show - Korean War - CBC Radio - 1946 - The Ed Sullivan Show - United States - 1958

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Wayne and Shuster turned down many offers to come to the U.S. permanently, preferring to remain in Toronto. (They did co-star in a CBS-TV sitcom, Holiday Lodge, which aired as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in 1961.)

Related Topics:
Toronto - CBS - Jack Benny - 1961

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They performed "literate" comedy, combined with slapstick. They often used classical or Shakespearean settings and characters; on their first Ed Sullivan appearance, for example, they performed a modern murder investigation using Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in a sketch called Rinse the Blood off My Toga, which spawned the popular catch phrase, "Julie, don't go!" After the opening of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 1958 they created a baseball-themed skit involving characters from Hamlet and Macbeth. The duo treated these sketches the way singers treat their most popular songs by performing new renditions many times over the years.

Related Topics:
Shakespearean - Ed Sullivan - Julius Caesar - Catch phrase - Stratford Shakespeare Festival - 1958 - Baseball - Hamlet - Macbeth

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After having a weekly television series in the 1950s, they began a series of long running, monthly Wayne & Shuster comedy specials on CBC Television in the early 1960s which continued into the 1980s by which time their comedy was regarded as old-fashioned. However, they were an influence for later Canadian comedians, such as Lorne Michaels (Shuster's son-in-law), the Royal Canadian Air Farce and The Kids in the Hall. In the late 1980s, many of their comedy skits were repackaged in half-hour chunks and syndicated around the world.

Related Topics:
1950s - CBC Television - 1960s - 1980s - Lorne Michaels - Royal Canadian Air Farce - The Kids in the Hall - Syndicated

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Wayne died in 1990. After his death the group received a Special Gemini Award for their outstanding contribution to Canadian Television. In 1996 Frank accepted the Margaret Collier Award for the duo comedy writing and was later named to the Order of Canada. Shuster, who died in 2002, attempted some solo work after Wayne died, but was mostly seen during his last decade hosting Wayne and Shuster retrospectives, including Wayne and Shuster in Black and White, a CBC series that aired in prime time during the early-1990s.

Related Topics:
Gemini Award - Margaret Collier Award - Order of Canada

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Shuster was a cousin of Joe Shuster, the creator of Superman.

Related Topics:
Joe Shuster - Superman

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As of 2005, the only Wayne and Shuster material available on DVD is the 1991 special Wayne and Shuster: 50 Years of Comedy which Shuster hosted.

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