Reply #6: The humour of Wayne and Shuster

[Demeter]

They performed "literate" comedy, combined with slapstick. They often used classical or Shakespearean settings and characters; on their first Ed Sullivan appearance, for example, they performed a modern murder investigation using Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in a sketch called Rinse the Blood off My Toga, which spawned the popular catch phrase, "Julie, don't go!" After the opening of the Stratford Festival of Canada in 1958 they created a baseball-themed skit involving characters from Hamlet and Macbeth. The duo treated these sketches the way singers treat their most popular songs by performing new renditions many times over the years.

Some of Wayne's characters were scientific in nature, and used Waynegartner, a derivation of his birth name. The duo often based their sketches on contemporary events, trends and television programs.

They spoofed All in the Family as "All in the Royal Family", with the king calling Hamlet, "Meathead", and his queen "Dingbat". As Paramount was about to release Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the duo spoofed it with "Star Schtick". When The Equalizer went on the air, they responded with "The Tranquilizer", dealing with mysterious deaths on a game show that was a cross between The Price Is Right and the $64,000 Question. Similarly, The Six Million Dollar Man became "The Six Hundred Dollar Man", assembled with body parts such as "rump: $6 at Loblaws". When Dallas was popular, it was spoofed with a character determined to corner the fertilizer market, and featured a cameo by Barbara Frum. Fantasy Island was spoofed with "Fantasy Motel".

The duo spoofed the commercials "we love to hate" with their own versions: Crazar TVs spoofed the "Quasar" TV brand with the high pitched overture; Oil of Oyvay spoofed the de-aging Oil of Olay; Macedonian Formula spoofed Grecian Formula, and questioned why a man would say he used it and thus reveal he has grey hair; Russian Express spoofed American Express, with a muscular KGB agent saying "Don't leave home!"

They spoofed accents and dialogue. After Wayne brought down an escaping felon with a gunshot (off screen), Shuster would say, "You got him in the rotunda/cloisters/etc.", with Wayne looking wryly at Shuster. "Srightry ahead of Panasonic!" "Srightry?" (Later...) "I go plug it in." "Don't you mean, 'prug it in'?" "No. One ethnic joke per sketch is plenty... or prenty if that's the way you like it." In another sketch, Shuster was calling on the phone for "Inspector Slattery." Wayne said, "Slattery will get you nowhere."
Late-career and posthumous awards

Wayne died in 1990. After his death the group received a special Gemini Award for their outstanding contribution to Canadian television. In 1996 Frank accepted the Margaret Collier Award for the duo comedy writing and was later named to the Order of Canada. Shuster, who died in 2002, attempted some solo work after Wayne died, but was mostly seen during his last decade hosting Wayne and Shuster retrospectives, including Wayne and Shuster in Black and White, a CBC series that aired in prime time during the early-1990s.

Shuster was a cousin of comic book artist Joe Shuster, who co-created Superman with writer Jerry Siegel, and in this context is referenced in one of the Government of Canada-sponsored Heritage Minute short films broadcast on television in the 1990s.

As of 2005, the only Wayne and Shuster material available on DVD is the 1991 special Wayne and Shuster: 50 Years of Comedy which Shuster hosted.