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

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.

Life and career

Shuster was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

immigrant family in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, 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 border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

. His family returned to Toronto in time for Shuster to attend high school at Toronto's Harbord Collegiate Institute, 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 research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

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

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM 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. CFRB is a c ...

, and during World War II they joined the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) 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 acr ...

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, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

, becoming a network fixture with regular appearances from the 1940s through the 1980s. They appeared on

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, 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 Septembe ...

over 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 (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

Personal life

Shuster was married to Ruth Shuster and had two children: Rosie and Steve. Rosie Shuster was a comedy writer for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' and other television programs, and former wife of

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...

. 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), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 ...

, co-creator of '' Superman''.

Death

Frank 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; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...

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 {{canada-comedian-stub