Waxing enthusiastic about Wayne & Shuster
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fanifestoHi. Newbie, here. I'm not familiar with writing fandom manifestos, so I might make a mistake somewhere along the line. If so, please forgive any errors. And I don't know whether or not anyone's going to read this.
But this is a golden opportunity that I've been longing for, for about a year. If I don't do this, I'll regret it. So I hope someone out there is listening, and taking an interest. If you are, then thank you; it means more to me than you'll ever know, I promise you.💕
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As the Subject line and my icon show, I'm about to share something that's deeply special to me, for many reasons.
I doubt that many of you (if any) have heard of the Canadian comedy duo of Wayne & Shuster (Johnny Wayne 1918-1990; Frank Shuster 1916-2002). As an American, and a child of the Eighties, it's honestly a fluke that I know about them. But they're well worth knowing. Once, they were as well-known as Red Skelton still is.
These two started a lengthy friendship and partnership (lasting until Johnny Wayne's passing) back in their school days, writing and performing sketches, from their Boy Scout days clear to their days attending the University of Toronto. Their professional career began on radio for the CBC in 1941, before WWII disrupted things. Both joined the Canadian army, and entertained the troops both in Canada and in Europe, where they were the first entertainers allowed into Normandy after the D-Day invasion. After the war, they resumed their radio careers, which soon led to branching out into television.
Eventually, they drew the attention of Ed Sullivan, who booked them onto his show for an entire season's worth of episodes, because he thought that what they were doing was just that spectacular. He was a firm believer in their style of comedy, and they were rare, in that they were one act that he would not ever, under any circumstances, cut for time. If a sketch they were doing required twelve minutes of air time, Ed gave it to them happily, knowing that the craft was deserving of the time. As a result, Wayne & Shuster were a big enough hit on The Ed Sullivan Show to appear a record amount of fifty-eight times, more than any performer in any style. (Incidentally, other sources will tell you that the number of appearances was sixty-seven; this is very much incorrect, as Frank Shuster himself repeatedly pointed out.)
Such was the prestige they got here in the States because of those appearances that, in 1961, CBS (Ed Sullivan's network) gave them their own sitcom, Holiday Lodge. It was apparently successful enough that the network wanted them to commit to at least a second season. But the show shot here in California, and they didn't want to spend that much time away from Canada, because they loved their country, and couldn't imagine living anywhere but the Toronto area. As a result, the show remained one thirteen-episode season long, and they remained Toronto-based.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
So, now that you know who they were, what made them so great? Well, let me ask you a few questions.
Do you like humor that's intelligent, rather than cheap, cruel, and shock-based? Humor that treats you with the respect to assume that you can keep up with the references, rather than dumbing itself down for the lowest common denominator IQ?
Have you ever wondered what it'd be like if there were hardboiled detectives in ancient Rome, or if Christopher Columbus' first voyage was televised?
Is it possible to blend sports with classical literature? Or to genderswap a classic fairy tale like Cinderella, and still have it work?
If I'm lucky, you're beginning to wonder, by now. I would be, in your shoes. I'd be curious.
Wayne & Shuster wondered. They wrote. And they delivered. They delivered pure gold, as a matter of fact. They invited the audience in on the joke, rather than talking down to the viewers. For fifty years, people paid attention, got the jokes, and laughed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Alright. If they were so great, then why haven't you (probably) heard of them?
It's a complicated matter. A tangle of licensing red tape that appears to be impossible to wade through.
You see, the CBC holds certain rights. The families of Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster own certain other rights. And CBS and Sofa Entertainment (responsible for The Ed Sullivan Show) possess another set of rights. (To add another thorn, they also did spots on occasion for the BBC, so there might be another set of rights to struggle with.)
No one has been able to come to agreeable terms. Because no one can agree on a satisfactory settlement, many sketches are unavailable for public consumption, and are likely to remain so for the time being. DVD releases are practically nonexistent.
This is a travesty. We're dealing with one of the longest-running (if not the longest-running) comedy partnerships in the history of show business. We're talking about two intelligent and highly-talented men who are becoming less than a memory in their own home nation, and are practically forgotten here in the States.
We're looking at two marvelous individuals who taught me the truth in the adage that laughter is the best medicine. For personal reasons, I'm going to withhold details; please bear with me in this regard.
In short, Wayne & Shuster deserve to be far better-known than they are in this day and age. We all know who the Marx Brothers were. We all know about Monty Python.
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to let these two gentlemen fade into obscurity. That's why I'm typing these words. These men are deeply important to me, and I'm determined to make sure that people know their names.
[Fun fact: If you find yourself wondering why the name Shuster is so familiar, it's for two reasons. Frank Shuster's cousin, Joe Shuster, was one of the co-creators of Superman. And his daughter, Rosie, wrote for Saturday Night Live during its earlier years, creating many of the characters portrayed by Gilda Radner.]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By now, you're probably asking yourselves, Well, if these guys are as great as all that, then where are the links? Where are the fanworks? Why isn't this chick throwing those at us?
Okay, folks. You're gonna get yourselves some links.
The Official Wayne & Shuster Channel on YouTube. It hasn't been updated in eleven years, but don't be discouraged.
My personal Wayne & Shuster playlist. This features several videos that are not on their official channel, picked carefully from other users' uploads, and gathered in one convenient place.
And, if you're looking for fanworks, I've written a few forwhatif_au, and one for last year's intoabar challenge. And there'll be more coming, I guarantee, with links to either my playlist itself, or to individual sketches where relevant.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Okay, I think that about sums it up. Let me leave you with a little something to hopefully whet your appetites: The most famous sketch that Wayne & Shuster ever created:
That's that. Thank you for reading this! I hope you find something you enjoy!
But this is a golden opportunity that I've been longing for, for about a year. If I don't do this, I'll regret it. So I hope someone out there is listening, and taking an interest. If you are, then thank you; it means more to me than you'll ever know, I promise you.💕
As the Subject line and my icon show, I'm about to share something that's deeply special to me, for many reasons.
I doubt that many of you (if any) have heard of the Canadian comedy duo of Wayne & Shuster (Johnny Wayne 1918-1990; Frank Shuster 1916-2002). As an American, and a child of the Eighties, it's honestly a fluke that I know about them. But they're well worth knowing. Once, they were as well-known as Red Skelton still is.
These two started a lengthy friendship and partnership (lasting until Johnny Wayne's passing) back in their school days, writing and performing sketches, from their Boy Scout days clear to their days attending the University of Toronto. Their professional career began on radio for the CBC in 1941, before WWII disrupted things. Both joined the Canadian army, and entertained the troops both in Canada and in Europe, where they were the first entertainers allowed into Normandy after the D-Day invasion. After the war, they resumed their radio careers, which soon led to branching out into television.
Eventually, they drew the attention of Ed Sullivan, who booked them onto his show for an entire season's worth of episodes, because he thought that what they were doing was just that spectacular. He was a firm believer in their style of comedy, and they were rare, in that they were one act that he would not ever, under any circumstances, cut for time. If a sketch they were doing required twelve minutes of air time, Ed gave it to them happily, knowing that the craft was deserving of the time. As a result, Wayne & Shuster were a big enough hit on The Ed Sullivan Show to appear a record amount of fifty-eight times, more than any performer in any style. (Incidentally, other sources will tell you that the number of appearances was sixty-seven; this is very much incorrect, as Frank Shuster himself repeatedly pointed out.)
Such was the prestige they got here in the States because of those appearances that, in 1961, CBS (Ed Sullivan's network) gave them their own sitcom, Holiday Lodge. It was apparently successful enough that the network wanted them to commit to at least a second season. But the show shot here in California, and they didn't want to spend that much time away from Canada, because they loved their country, and couldn't imagine living anywhere but the Toronto area. As a result, the show remained one thirteen-episode season long, and they remained Toronto-based.
So, now that you know who they were, what made them so great? Well, let me ask you a few questions.
Do you like humor that's intelligent, rather than cheap, cruel, and shock-based? Humor that treats you with the respect to assume that you can keep up with the references, rather than dumbing itself down for the lowest common denominator IQ?
Have you ever wondered what it'd be like if there were hardboiled detectives in ancient Rome, or if Christopher Columbus' first voyage was televised?
Is it possible to blend sports with classical literature? Or to genderswap a classic fairy tale like Cinderella, and still have it work?
If I'm lucky, you're beginning to wonder, by now. I would be, in your shoes. I'd be curious.
Wayne & Shuster wondered. They wrote. And they delivered. They delivered pure gold, as a matter of fact. They invited the audience in on the joke, rather than talking down to the viewers. For fifty years, people paid attention, got the jokes, and laughed.
Alright. If they were so great, then why haven't you (probably) heard of them?
It's a complicated matter. A tangle of licensing red tape that appears to be impossible to wade through.
You see, the CBC holds certain rights. The families of Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster own certain other rights. And CBS and Sofa Entertainment (responsible for The Ed Sullivan Show) possess another set of rights. (To add another thorn, they also did spots on occasion for the BBC, so there might be another set of rights to struggle with.)
No one has been able to come to agreeable terms. Because no one can agree on a satisfactory settlement, many sketches are unavailable for public consumption, and are likely to remain so for the time being. DVD releases are practically nonexistent.
This is a travesty. We're dealing with one of the longest-running (if not the longest-running) comedy partnerships in the history of show business. We're talking about two intelligent and highly-talented men who are becoming less than a memory in their own home nation, and are practically forgotten here in the States.
We're looking at two marvelous individuals who taught me the truth in the adage that laughter is the best medicine. For personal reasons, I'm going to withhold details; please bear with me in this regard.
In short, Wayne & Shuster deserve to be far better-known than they are in this day and age. We all know who the Marx Brothers were. We all know about Monty Python.
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to let these two gentlemen fade into obscurity. That's why I'm typing these words. These men are deeply important to me, and I'm determined to make sure that people know their names.
[Fun fact: If you find yourself wondering why the name Shuster is so familiar, it's for two reasons. Frank Shuster's cousin, Joe Shuster, was one of the co-creators of Superman. And his daughter, Rosie, wrote for Saturday Night Live during its earlier years, creating many of the characters portrayed by Gilda Radner.]
By now, you're probably asking yourselves, Well, if these guys are as great as all that, then where are the links? Where are the fanworks? Why isn't this chick throwing those at us?
Okay, folks. You're gonna get yourselves some links.
The Official Wayne & Shuster Channel on YouTube. It hasn't been updated in eleven years, but don't be discouraged.
My personal Wayne & Shuster playlist. This features several videos that are not on their official channel, picked carefully from other users' uploads, and gathered in one convenient place.
And, if you're looking for fanworks, I've written a few for
whatif_au, and one for last year's intoabar challenge. And there'll be more coming, I guarantee, with links to either my playlist itself, or to individual sketches where relevant.Okay, I think that about sums it up. Let me leave you with a little something to hopefully whet your appetites: The most famous sketch that Wayne & Shuster ever created:
That's that. Thank you for reading this! I hope you find something you enjoy!
no subject
Date: 2026-06-27 07:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-06-27 07:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-06-27 02:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-06-27 08:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-06-29 02:06 am (UTC)This sounds like a great duo and it's too bad that they're not more easily seen.
no subject
Date: 2026-06-29 02:30 am (UTC)They truly were brilliant. I'm sure they were a sizeable influence on other comedians; but, if they were, I haven't heard about it.