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Wayne and Shuster

 Wayne and Shuster
type
TVTItem
 Wayne and Shuster
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Wayne and Shuster
 Wayne and Shuster
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WayneAndShuster
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An early sketch comedy series that went through a number of different incarnations. Hosted by the Canadian comedy team of Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. The earliest version was Shuster & Wayne, a radio program they were given as a result of their earlier radio work The Wife Preservers. The next show was The Wayne and Shuster Show created for CBC radio in 1946 after they left the army after the second world war.There was a weekly television series in the 1950s, but that gave way to the better known appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (where they appeared 67 times!) and their monthly CBC specials that ran from the early 1960s to the 1980s. Later CBC-aired and syndicated compilations of their skits from the 60s-80s are also marketed under this title, as well as Wayne and Shuster in Black and White, which recirculated episodes from the 1950s and 60s. The secret to their longevity was in part that they agreed early on to keep their relationship strictly professional; they otherwise kept each other out of their personal lives to prevent tensions from work affecting them.Their comedy has been referred to as literate comedy combined with a liberal amount of slapstick. They often mixed classic references, genre parodies, silly puns and bloodless violence in equal parts (not to mention copious references to Canadian culture, at least on their CBC shows). A famous example being the retelling of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar as the modern, noir-ish detective story Rinse the Blood off My Toga. They also parodied and spoofed then current events and popular culture such as All in the Royal Family (Hamlet with All in the Family) and Star Schtick and even Macbeth done as an in-period Police Procedural. Most of their shows also included a least a couple of comedic musical numbers.While some of the sketches might be slightly dated, and the style of comedy can seem a little old fashioned, much of their work is still side-splittingly funny and should be watched when the chance is given. The literate nature of much of their comedy, especially their Shakespeare spoofs as well as other skits such as "The Picture of Dorian Wayne" has also gained admirers.
 Wayne and Shuster
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2023-06-18T12:28:29Z
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2023-06-18T12:28:29Z
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Dropped link to Radio: Not a Feature - IGNORE
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DBTropes
 Wayne and Shuster / int_1e7487cd
type
Breaking the Fourth Wall
 Wayne and Shuster / int_1e7487cd
comment
Breaking the Fourth Wall: occasionally, the boys notice the audience, the sound effects, the soundtrack... Some skits involve addressing the audience, such as "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga".
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Deal with the Devil
 Wayne and Shuster / int_1fc8335e
comment
Deal with the Devil: The feature story of one episode was about a musician selling his soul to the Devil in exchange for becoming Canada's greatest hockey player.
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_21c05222
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Long-Runners
 Wayne and Shuster / int_21c05222
comment
Long-Runners: Wayne and Shuster's first show, The Wife Preservers, aired in 1941. They continued to perform until the late 1980s; Wayne succumbed to cancer in 1990, about a year after their final TV show. Shuster continued to act occasionally and host retrospectives until shortly before his own death in 2002. Part of the secret to that longevity is that the pair soon realized that they got along best on a purely professional basis, so they agreed to stay out of each other's personal lives outside of work.
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Anachronism Stew
 Wayne and Shuster / int_259d5879
comment
Anachronism Stew: Rule of Funny prevails in most cases.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_259d5879
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Gender Flip
 Wayne and Shuster / int_34889673
comment
Gender Flip: "Cinderelton" flips the sexes of all of Cinderella's main characters. Including the Fairy Godfather, complete with pinstriped suit.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_34889673
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_3c6f1282
type
Your Mime Makes It Real
 Wayne and Shuster / int_3c6f1282
comment
Your Mime Makes It Real: Happens in "Comedy Olympics" special. The case in point is the gold medalist for pantomime. Here, we see a Marcel Marceau type mime doing his "Walking on Stairs" act and physically ascends about 10 feet off the stage without any physical steps in place.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_3c6f1282
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_47929816
type
Lights Off, Somebody Dies
 Wayne and Shuster / int_47929816
comment
Lights Off, Somebody Dies: Parodied in a sketch where Sherlock Holmes and Watson are holding a Summation Gathering in a stately country home. Every time that Holmes dramatically announces who the murderer is, the lights go out. When they come back on, the suspect he has just named is dead. After all of the suspects have been killed, Holmes deduces that he must be in the wrong house.
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_5b07519b
type
Arrowgram
 Wayne and Shuster / int_5b07519b
comment
Arrowgram: In their Kung Fu (1972) parody, a throwing knife with a note attached buries itself in the wall next to the railroad president's head.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_5b07519b
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Wayne and Shuster / int_5b07519b
 Wayne and Shuster / int_60d73edb
type
Drink-Based Characterization
 Wayne and Shuster / int_60d73edb
comment
Drink-Based Characterization: This is the basis of one of the team's most famous jokes:
 Wayne and Shuster / int_60d73edb
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Wayne and Shuster / int_60d73edb
 Wayne and Shuster / int_6fbe3154
type
Shot in the Ass
 Wayne and Shuster / int_6fbe3154
comment
Shot in the Ass: Their Robin Hood parody ends with King Richard telling Robin to shoot an arrow from the castle window and wherever the arrow lands, he will grant him a country estate. Robin fires the arrow and it hits a peasant in the ass, causing Robin to comment it looks like it will be a country seat.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_6fbe3154
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_823c6e3e
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Large Ham
 Wayne and Shuster / int_823c6e3e
comment
Large Ham: Oh, yes, though more Wayne than Shuster, who was more frequently the straight man. There were exceptions, though, where the two switched roles.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_823c6e3e
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_83b464fb
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Straight Man
 Wayne and Shuster / int_83b464fb
comment
Straight Man: Shuster did it more often, but the team traded the role every so often.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_83b464fb
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_86eea0e5
type
World of Pun
 Wayne and Shuster / int_86eea0e5
comment
World of Pun: They never pass up an opportunity. Ever. One skit was based on this, with Wayne playing a man who'd go into a homicidal rage upon hearing a pun. Which proves to be a problem the day he visits Queen Victoria to suggest a street be named in her honor: Victoria Mews. To which Her Majesty replies, indignantly, "I am not a mews." Cue homicidal rage.
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_89909a87
type
Well, This Is Not That Trope
 Wayne and Shuster / int_89909a87
comment
Well, This Is Not That Trope: Spaghetti Western parody a "A Fistful of Fingers" begins with a narration about the hero of the story as a typical 1950s matinee cowboy rides across the screen on a White Stallion. The narration then goes "This guy is not the hero". Then camera then does a whip pan to Wayne dressed as a scruffy 'Man with No Name' type, and the narration ends "He is!"
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_8f8717c0
type
Boogie Knights
 Wayne and Shuster / int_8f8717c0
comment
Boogie Knights: Wayne and Shuster once had a TV special that parodied fairy tales - they star as a court jester and royal physician, breaking into an impromptu softshoe dance in the dining hall, followed by a knight in armor doing a more vigorous tapdance.
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_a2022cc9
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Killed Mid-Sentence
 Wayne and Shuster / int_a2022cc9
comment
Killed Mid-Sentence: Also a running joke in Rinse the Blood off My Toga.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_a2022cc9
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_b01abe4f
type
Catchphrase
 Wayne and Shuster / int_b01abe4f
comment
Catchphrase: "Julie, don't go!" from "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga" became a catch phrase on both sides of the border and was often reprised and sometimes worked into other sketches (though it's always delivered by a female character - usually actress Sylvia Lennick - rather than Wayne or Shuster).
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_b32bb908
type
Like a Surgeon
 Wayne and Shuster / int_b32bb908
comment
Like a Surgeon: They did a parody of Marcus Welby, M.D. called "Welby Marcus, Master Mechanic". It ends with Welby and his performing an emergency repair on a car engine that is treated with all of the drama and urgency of surgery on the show they were parodying.
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_b89938b1
type
Frontier Doctor
 Wayne and Shuster / int_b89938b1
comment
Frontier Doctor: The "Frontier Psychiatrist" bit (most famously used by The Avalanches in their song of the same name) features Dr. Tex Rorschach, a wild west psychiatrist who, despite his seeming unawareness of the situations surrounding him, manages to disarm a gun-toting outlaw by talking him down.
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_bcfc7495
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Cowboy Episode
 Wayne and Shuster / int_bcfc7495
comment
Cowboy Episode: "A Fistful of Fingers", which was a send-up of Spaghetti Westerns. They also did an episode long parody of the Kung Fu (1972) TV show.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_bcfc7495
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_bd5e9702
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His Name Is...
 Wayne and Shuster / int_bd5e9702
comment
His Name Is...: A running joke in Rinse the Blood off My Toga.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_bd5e9702
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_bef696dd
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Mind Screw
 Wayne and Shuster / int_bef696dd
comment
Mind Screw: Several. For example:
 Wayne and Shuster / int_bef696dd
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_c6fdd74f
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Having a Heart
 Wayne and Shuster / int_c6fdd74f
comment
Having a Heart: From "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga":
 Wayne and Shuster / int_c6fdd74f
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_e8e3807
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Aside Glance
 Wayne and Shuster / int_e8e3807
comment
Aside Glance: Frequently, especially in Noir parodies.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_e8e3807
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_e9e35e8f
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Exact Words
 Wayne and Shuster / int_e9e35e8f
comment
Exact Words: A parody of The Devil and Daniel Webster features a man making a Deal with the Devil to become Canada's greatest hockey player. When he becomes sick of hockey and wishes to return to music (like his mother wanted), the Devil holds him to his contract which says he must play at the stadium or forfeit his soul. The Webster character examines the contract and points out that it does not stipulate he must play hockey, so the player becomes the stadium's organist.
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_eaa10414
type
Misspelling Out Loud
 Wayne and Shuster / int_eaa10414
comment
Misspelling Out Loud: In one Western sketch a deputy repeatedly says "He's dead, Sheriff! D-A-Y-E-D dead," to which the sheriff snaps that he knows the spelling.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_eaa10414
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_f567146c
type
Aside Comment
 Wayne and Shuster / int_f567146c
comment
Aside Comment: Frequently, especially in Noir parodies.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_f567146c
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_f9f2c33
type
Running Gag
 Wayne and Shuster / int_f9f2c33
comment
Running Gag: constantly, sometimes including callbacks to previous running gags.
 Wayne and Shuster / int_f9f2c33
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 Wayne and Shuster / int_fc151e9d
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Department of Redundancy Department
 Wayne and Shuster / int_fc151e9d
comment
Department of Redundancy Department: "The Wonderful World of The World".
 Wayne and Shuster / int_fc151e9d
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Scarlet Pimpernel
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Wayne and Shuster
 Wayne and Shuster
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 Wayne and Shuster
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I Should Write a Book About This / int_a60d6b36
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