Editing Wayne and Shuster (section)

==Television==
Wayne & Shuster first appeared on television in 1950, but not in Canada, which did not have network TV until 1952. Their radio sponsor, Toni Home Permanent, also sponsored an American television show, ''Toni Twin Time'', hosted by [[Jack Lemmon]].<ref name=benny /> The sponsor asked the duo to make regular appearances on the TV program, which was not doing well. After two shows, a sponsor executive asked them to take over the hosting duties from Lemmon, who was young, inexperienced, and obviously nervous. However, they were unsure about this new medium of television, and turned down the offer.<ref name=nash />{{rp|144}}

In 1952, CBC producer [[Mavor Moore]] approached them about doing a regular live comedy show on the new CBC Television network, but after watching [[Milton Berle]] dealing with all of the details of lighting, sound, music and audience while broadcasting live from New York City, the two were even more concerned about the demands of live television. They agreed to make an appearance in one CBC television show in 1952 in Montreal, but turned down the opportunity to produce a regular show in Toronto. Wayne said, "You guys don't know anything about television. We don't either. Why don't we wait until we both know something about it?"<ref name=nash />{{rp|145}}

Two years later, in 1954, they finally agreed to host a regular comedy show on CBC.<ref name=nash />{{rp|145}} In 1955, on one of their shows, they presented a Shakespearean spoof called "[[Rinse the Blood Off My Toga]]",<ref name=cc /> which they also presented on British television the same year.<ref name=cole />{{rp|20}} A literary mashup of [[William Shakespeare]] and [[Mickey Spillane]], the sketch features a hard-boiled Roman [[Private investigator|private eye]] hired by [[Brutus]] to investigate the murder of [[Julius Caesar]] on the [[Ides of March]]. As with many of their scripts, "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga" assumed the audience had a working knowledge of history, Shakespeare, and sometimes even Latin. In 1958, in response to the opening of the [[Stratford Festival]] in [[Stratford, Ontario]], they created "[[A Shakespearean Baseball Game]]", written in [[iambic pentameter]] and rhyming couplets, and featuring lines lifted from ''[[Hamlet]]'' and ''[[Macbeth]]''. ("O, what a rogue and bush league slob am I!... O, curséd fate, that I, who led the league, should bat .208.") In later years, they considered this their favourite script.<ref name=nash />{{rp|153}}

[[Lorraine Thomson]], who often appeared on their live broadcasts in the 1950s, called their writing "a kind of cross between a more erudite British sense of humour and the more American vaudevillian sense of humour. They treated their audiences with respect."<ref name=nash />{{rp|147}}

[[File:Wayne and Shuster Ed Sullivan 1963.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|The Mounties get their man when Ed Sullivan brought his show to Toronto in 1963.]]In 1958, they signed a one-year contract with [[Ed Sullivan]] to appear regularly on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' for $7,500 a show;<ref name=nash />{{rp|149}} that included a handshake agreement that Sullivan would not cut or edit their sketches, which tended to run 12 minutes or longer;<ref name="playback">{{cite web | url =http://playbackonline.ca/2008/05/26/wayneshuster-20080526/ | title =Wayne and Shuster: Duo were Canada's comedy ambassadors | last =Glassman | first =Wayne | date =May 26, 2008 | website =Playback | access-date =April 13, 2018}}</ref> their first sketch was a 14-minute re-run of the sketch they had done for CBC and British television, "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga".<ref name=archive /> (Singer [[Eartha Kitt]] once asked Frank Shuster, "What have you got on Ed Sullivan?" after Sullivan cut one of her songs from a program, but left Wayne & Shuster's 12-minute sketch intact.)<ref name=playback /> The only time Sullivan asked for an edit was in order to remove a joke about Southern lynchings; he was worried about offending network stations in the Southern U.S.<ref name=nash />{{rp|150}} Sullivan loved the Canadian duo and renewed their contract repeatedly; they appeared on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' a record 67 times over the next 11 years.<ref name=archive /> Frank Shuster later disputed this, telling TV critic Jim Bawden that "We were on Ed 58 times. The record books say 67, but that's wrong."<ref name=benny />

Ed Sullivan advised the two, despite their success in the U.S., to remain in Toronto.<ref name=cjn /> They took his advice and turned down many offers to move to the United States permanently. In later years, Shuster often told the story of one agent who tried to get them to move to Hollywood, insisting, "You know, Frank, there's more to life than happiness."<ref name=nash />{{rp|152}}

Regardless of their home address, in 1962, and again in 1963, they were ranked as the best comedy routine in America by [[Motion Picture Daily]] and Television Today,<ref name="cwof">{{cite web | url =https://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductees/1999/wayne-and-shuster | title =Wayne and Shuster | website = Canada's Walk of Fame | access-date =April 13, 2018}}</ref> and co-starred in a [[CBS]]-TV sitcom, ''[[Holiday Lodge]]'', which aired as a summer replacement for (and was produced by) [[Jack Benny]] in 1961.

In 1964, Wayne & Shuster created a series of six short documentaries for [[CBC Television]] (later presented on [[CBS]] during the 1966 summer season) about comedians such as [[W. C. Fields]] and the [[Marx Brothers]], with music scored by [[John Williams]], titled ''Wayne & Shuster Take an Affectionate Look at...''. They made another six episodes the following year.<ref name="tva">{{cite web | url =http://www.tvarchive.ca/database/18984/wayne_and_shuster_show,_the/episode_guide/ | title =Episode Guide - Wayne and Shuster Show, The | website =TVArchive.ca | access-date =April 13, 2018}}</ref> In 1965 ''The Wayne & Shuster Hour'' won the Silver Rose at the [[Rose d'Or]] Television Festival.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/programming/television/wayne-shuster-show-0 | title =Wayne & Shuster Show, The | website = History of Canadian Broadcasting| publisher =Canadian Communications Foundation | access-date =April 13, 2018}}</ref>

In 1962 and again in 1965, the pair went to Britain and produced Wayne & Shuster specials for the [[BBC]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1962/11/17/the-scene|title=THE SCENE &#124; Maclean's &#124; NOVEMBER 17 1962|first=ROSS|last=McLEAN|website=Maclean's &#124; The Complete Archive}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/programming/television/wayne-shuster-show-0|title=Wayne & Shuster Show, The &#124; History of Canadian Broadcasting|website=www.broadcasting-history.ca}}</ref>

In the 1960s, they moved from a weekly television show to monthly ''Wayne & Shuster'' comedy specials on [[CBC Television]]. By the 1970s, they were producing three to four comedy specials per year, which often drew Canadian television ratings of more than two million viewers.<ref name=cole />{{rp|135}}

Wayne and Shuster's skits often employed large casts of characters, and supporting players included Canadian actors [[Don Cullen]], [[Jack Duffy]], Tom Harvey, Bill Kemp, [[Paul Kligman]], [[Ben Lennick]], [[Sylvia Lennick]], Pegi Loder, [[Les Rubie]], [[Eric Christmas]], Joe Austin, [[Larry D. Mann|Larry Mann]], [[Paul Soles]], Marilyn Stuart, [[Roy Wordsworth]], John Davies, Carol Robinson, Lou Pitoscia, [[Peggy Mahon]], Don Ewer, Howard Swinson and [[Keith Hampshire]]. For many years, their music director was Canadian jazz artist [[Norman Amadio]].

Wayne and Shuster were infamous for their vociferous arguments during [[Screenwriting|scriptwriting]] sessions, television production and editing sessions.<ref name=nash />{{rp|137}}<ref name=cjn /><ref name=benny /> Wayne especially was particularly exacting during production and often took the studio crew to task for perceived faults.<ref name=nash />{{rp|142}} The technicians often responded by refusing to work overtime at the end of the day.<ref name = nash />{{rp|142}} During one sketch, some crew members were instructed to throw fruit and vegetables at both of the comedians from off-camera. Instead, the crew only hurled fruit at Wayne.<ref name=nash />{{rp|138}} One floor director remembered Wayne as "two people. On the [studio] floor he was a son of a bitch, but outside he was one of the nicest guys you could meet."<ref name=nash />{{rp|138}} Despite their temperamental reputation in the studio, both were friendly, thoughtful and welcoming outside of work.<ref name=cjn />

Because of their combative natures in the studio, the two agreed early on to not mix socially. Shortly after their CBC radio show became popular, Wayne told Shuster that he was organizing a party, but that he wasn't going to invite his partner "because we're always together and we'll start in about the business. So, to hell with that."<ref name=nash />{{rp|141}} Shuster agreed, and from that point on, they led completely separate lives away from work, with different interests and hobbies.<ref name=benny />