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Frank Shuster, 1916-2002

© David Newman

It has been said that Canadians have no sense of humour. Although it is easy to disprove this statement with examples such as Americanized comedians Jim Carrey, John Candy, Dan Ackroyd and Mike Myers, and true-Canadian wit of Rick Mercer and Dave Broadfoot, Canadian-style comedy has its source in the wartime comedic duo of Wayne and Shuster.

Sunday, January 14, 2002, the second half of the comedy team, Frank Shuster, died at the age of 85. Johnny Wayne died in 1990.

As I've grown up, I've been greatly influenced by Wayne and Shuster. I remember hearing the soundtrack of their skit "Wipe the blood off my toga" many times on CBC radio. Their comedic style also influenced The Royal Canadian Air Farce, which I listened to avidly during my childhood, until they made their switch to television. More recently though, I have watched many reruns on the Comedy Channel, and have watched the Wayne and Shuster documentary where their comedy hasn't aged and their comedy act still stands as one of the brightest, in my mind.

I read in the newspaper that someone had called their comedy "intellectual slapstick" or something similar, and that is exactly what it is. It is a sad day for any Canadian who has been able to see any of their skits, be it a forties-style murder-mystery of Julius Ceasar's assassination, or a parody of The Bridge over the River Kwai (Kwai me a River!). Canada and Canadian humour owe a great deal to Frank Shuster. He will be missed.

Frank Shuster and Johnny Wayne seemed to have always been together; they went to high school together, then they were students of English literature at the University of Toronto, which shows in their humour: Shakespeare, use of Latin (Bartender, give me a martinus... -Don't you mean a Martini? -If I want more than one, I'll order it!; or something like that) and all around intelligent puns and gags. They were sent to entertain His Majesty's Canadian troops in Europe during the Second World War in the forties, and again for the Korean War, in the fifties.

Television specials and their shows on CBC made them popular both here and abroad, mostly in the United States, where they appeared 67 times on the Ed Sullivan show. I for one will always laugh when I watch the Wayne and Shuster show, anytime they show it. It's a shame the newer generation doesn't know of this team, because not only is it great comedy, but it is part of our heritage and culture.

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