Frank Shuster, (September 5, 1916 – January 13, 2002) was a Canadian comedian best known as a member of the

comedy duo A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act, often highlighting differences in their characters' ...

Wayne and Shuster Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. They were active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s, first as a live act, then on radio, then as part of ''The Army Show'' that ente ...

, alongside Johnny Wayne. Wayne played to Shuster's

straight man The straight man (or straight woman in the case of female characters), also known as a "comedic foil", is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically ...

Early life

Shuster was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrant family in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and spent part of his childhood in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

. Shuster was originally Shusterovich. His family returned to Toronto in the College/Spadina area, in time for Shuster to attend high school at Toronto's

Harbord Collegiate Institute Harbord Collegiate Institute (HCI or Harbord) is a public secondary school located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in the Palmerston-Little Italy-Annex neighbourhood, situated on the north side of Harbord Street, bet ...

, where he met Johnny Wayne in 1930. The two would soon be performing sketches and routines at school talent shows, continuing to do the same when they both attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, majoring in English literature. Starting with entertaining

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

, he and Shuster wrote some original scores and performed at the university's ''Hart House Follies''.

Professional career

By the early 1940s Wayne and Shuster began appearing on local radio station

CFRB CFRB (1010 AM) is a commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. One of the oldes ...

, and during World War II they joined the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

as performers, entertaining Canadian troops, and performed on the CBC Radio series ''The Army Show''. After the war, the duo appeared on

CBC radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, becoming a network fixture with regular appearances from the 1940s through the 1980s. In 1951 the Shusters were able to move a custom designed home designed by Ruth's architect brother Harry Bursten on Ridelle Avenue in the well to do Forest Hill neighbourhood of Toronto where they lived for the next 19 years. He and Wayne, who lived only a few doors away, would often work together on scripts in Shuster's 2nd floor study. They appeared on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' 66 times. The duo would remain a comedy team for 50 years, until Wayne's death in 1990. In 1996, Shuster was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Later life

Shuster was married to Ruth Shuster , and had two children, Rosie and Steve.

Rosie Shuster Rosie Shuster (born June 19, 1946) is a Canadian-born comedy writer and actress. She was a writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' during the 1970s and 1980s. Early and personal life Shuster was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Ruth (''née'' Bu ...

(b. 1946) was a comedy writer for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' and other television programs, and former wife of

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer. He created and produced ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and produced the ''Late Night (franchise) ...

. Steve Shuster, a standup comic, writer, musician, and actor, died in 2017 at the age of 67. He was also the cousin of

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster ( ; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992) was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938). Shuster was involv ...

, co-creator of ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

''. Shuster died on January 13, 2002, in Toronto, Ontario, at the age of 85.

References

External links

* * *
Frank Shuster fonds (R4610)
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuster, Frank 1916 births 2002 deaths Canadian people of Dutch-Jewish descent Canadian male television actors Canadian television personalities Comedians from Toronto Jewish Canadian male actors Jewish Canadian comedians Male actors from Toronto Officers of the Order of Canada University of Toronto alumni Canadian sketch comedians 20th-century Canadian comedians Canadian Screen Award winning writers