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Leon Ernest "Schucks" Schuster (born 21 May 1951) is a South African filmmaker, comedian, actor, prankster and singer.


Early life

Schuster was drawn to the filmmaking process at an early age. As a child he and his brother would play practical jokes on his family and film it. He explained, in a 2010 interview about his early life in Bloemfontein, "I remember running down the aisle of the Ritz Theatre, playing cowboys & crooks, which was all the rage at the time. I also remember loving Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and the Three Stooges. I was always acting things out, and pulling pranks. I used to fool my grandma into thinking I’d shot myself in the foot with my pellet gun… tomato sauce everywhere, me squealing like a wild pig. Pranking is just in my nature, but I’d never thought I’d become a movie star… no, I’m not a movie star, I’m just a local outjie that likes to entertain people." Schuster studied for a
BA degree A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
at the University of the Orange Free State, where he played rugby for the first team. He returned to Jim Fouché as a teacher for two years.


Career

Schuster began working for the
South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...
. During his time at the SABC, he created the
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
radio series ''Vrypostige'' ''Mikrofoon'' with Fanus Rautenbach – which involved disguising his voice and playing phone pranks on unsuspecting victims.


Music

In 1982, Schuster was approached by Decibel Records to compile a series of sports songs which resulted in his first record entitled, ''Leon Schuster'', having sold 10,000 units. His second album, ''Broekskeur'' ('trouser-tearing' literal translation, broekskeur means that things are difficult - you are having a difficult time), sold in excess of 40,000 units. This was then followed by ''Briekdans and Leon Schuster – 20 Treffers'', which sold more than 270,000 copies. His hit CD ''Hier Kom Die Bokke'' ('Here Come The Boks') garnered an FNB Sama Music Award for Biggest Selling CD of 1995. His following CD, ''Gatvol in Paradise'', sold in more than 125,000 units and gave rise to the unofficial
Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...
anthem "Gautengeleng".


Film

Schuster's first feature, '' You Must Be Joking!'', produced in collaboration with Johan Scholtz and Elmo de Witt, became popular with South African audiences and gave rise to the sequel '' You Must be Joking! Too''. These films were
candid camera ''Candid Camera'' is an American hidden camera and practical joke reality television series. The show was created, developed, and presented by Allen Funt. Various versions of the show have appeared on television from 1948 to 2014. The program ...
sketches and Schuster made many more of these films as well as slap-stick films, including '' Mr Bones'', his most successful film, which earned more than R33 million at the South African box office. On 16 September 2011 it was reported that Schuster's next movie, '' Mad Buddies'', would be partly financed by the
Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, which would also handle the distribution and marketing of the film. The film was released in 2012 and starred Schuster opposite funnyman Kenneth Nkosi. It received poor reviews, and garnered R4.5 million in the opening weekend from a budget of R20 million.''IMDB: Mad Buddies''
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Comedic style

According to Schuster, his appeal to the public stems from him making "them used to a certain style of comedy that they seem to like. They like trouble, and they know when Schuster is there, there is trouble. They also like me to rip off the topical stuff be risky and take chances.....and get ' moered!". In 2018, the comedian was "unapologetic about playing on every racial stereotype in his films", but openly admitted that he "does have some regrets about having profited from
blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
". He further stated: "I'm so sorry that I can't make '' Mama Jack 2''. If I had a dream come true, my next movie would be ''Mama Jack 2''. But especially on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
they said stay away from the blackface, it's not on. It was black people talking to me and you've got to listen. I can't do it because I'll be heavily criticised. In the olden days it troubled nobody. But I won't go blackface now, I can't do it. There's not one actor in the world that will. It's just racist".


Showmax film removals

On 19 June 2020, South African streaming service 
Showmax Showmax is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service that launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015. Its majority owner is MultiChoice, which owns 70% of the Showmax group, while American conglomerate NBCUniversal owns 3 ...
removed over six of Schuster's films, citing his content as being "racially insensitive", considering he has used
blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
in many of his films for "comedic effect". This came during the heightened Black Lives Matter protests. Schuster reacted, saying he was "shocked" and "can't believe that the content of his films does any harm". He said his work is "innocent" and just him "pranking people". ''Frank and Fearless'' (2018) was returned to the circuit after review.


Filmography


Discography


Albums

* Wat Kan Lekkerder Wees - Vinyl album with Cora Marie *''Leon Schuster'' (1982) Re-released on CD in 1993 *''Broekskeur'' (1983) *''Waar En Wolhaar'' (1983) Re-released 2009 EMI Music South Africa (Pty) Ltd *''Briekdans'' (1984) *''Rugby'' (1985) Including songwriters C Pops (Daisyblom), L. Carstens (Doring Van Despatch-co-write), B. Louw (Bokbusters-co-write), Symile, Delancray (Ekke Boo co-write), H. Bierman (Lekker In Suid-Afrika co-write), B. Louw (Rugbyklanke co-write) *''You Must Be Joking!'' (1986) *''Dasiefoutie'' (1988) *''"Shakin" Schuster En Sy Opkikkers'' (1992) *''Hie' Kommie Bokke'' (1995) *''Gautvol in Paradise'' (1997) *''Die Vrypostige Mikrofoon, Volume 1'' (1998) *''Die Vrypostige Mikrofoon, Volume 2'' (1998) *''Baas Funny Plaas'' (1999) * Springbok Rugby Hits - Bring it Home (1999) *''My Beste Jare'' (2001) Including songs by
Steve Hofmeyr Steve Hofmeyr (born 29 August 1964) is a South African musician, writer and actor known for his prominence in the Afrikaans music scene. Outside of music, he is best known for his long-running role as Doug Durand on Egoli: Place of Gold, as well ...
, David Kramer, Patricia Lewis, The Bats, Zoon Stander and PJ Powers *''My Mates – Die Bokke''(2001) *''Groen, Goud En White'' (2002) Compilation album with Steve Hofmeyr, Johnny Clegg, Claire Johnston, Jeff Maluleke, Zoon Stander, Pieter Smith, Patricia Lewis, Guillaume, Pieter Koen, Mandoza and Boet Pretorius *''Catchup Song And Every Cricket Hit'' (2003) CD released 2005 *''Oh Schuks... I'm Gatvol'' (2004) Feat Dig a Little Deeper (Don Clarke) re-released in 2015 for Musicians Against Xenophobia *''Op Dun Eish'' (2006) Feat songs written by Don Clarke and Mike Valentine *''Hie' Kommie Bokke 2!'' (2007) *''Dra Die Bok'' (2008)


Singles

* Hou Jou Bek (Dolce/Schuster) / Ek Was Op Jou Troue (Robinson/Schuster/Rautenbach) (1981) * She Sells Sea Shells / Dis Lekker Innie Army (1982) 7" single on vinyl * Hey, Bokke! (2019) With Don Clarke, performed with Drakondale Girls' Choir and Michaelhouse Choir Digital


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuster, Leon 1951 births Afrikaans-language singers of South Africa Afrikaner people Living people People from Vereeniging South African male comedians South African film directors South African male film actors South African people of German descent University of the Free State alumni South African comedians