Frank Shuster

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

Frank Shuster
Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster
Born(1916-09-05)September 5, 1916
Toronto, Ontario
DiedJanuary 13, 2002(2002-01-13) (aged 85)
Toronto, Ontario
Resting placeHoly Blossom Memorial Park, Toronto
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
OccupationComedian
SpouseRuth Shuster
ChildrenRosie Shuster and Steve Shuster
RelativesJoe Shuster (cousin)
AwardsOrder of Canada

Life and career

Shuster was born to a Jewish immigrant family[1] in Toronto, Ontario, and spent part of his childhood in Niagara Falls. 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.[2]

By the early 1940s Wayne and Shuster began appearing on local radio station CFRB, and during World War II they joined the Canadian Army as performers, entertaining Canadian troops, and performed on the CBC Radio series The Army Show.[2] After the war, the duo appeared on CBC radio and television, becoming a network fixture with regular appearances from the 1940s through the 1980s. They appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show over 66 times.[2] 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.[3]

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 and other television programs, and former wife of Lorne Michaels. Steve Shuster, a standup comic, writer, musician, and actor, died in 2017 at the age of 67.[4][5]

He was also the cousin of Joe Shuster, co-creator of Superman.

Death

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

References
  1. Salutin, Rick (August 25, 2011). "Canadian comics focused on cultural nation-building". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  2. "Frank Shuster". The Independent. January 30, 2002. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  3. "Frank Shuster". Order of Canada. Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
  4. "CBC Previews for Saturday, July 6". Summer Comedy Summary. CBC Radio. July 6, 2002.
  5. "Remembering Steve Shuster, a comic's comic | The Star". thestar.com. March 10, 2017.
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