Leon Schuster | |
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 Schuster (c. 2001) | |
| Born | 21 May 1951 Vereeniging, South Africa |
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| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse | Lalie Schuster (div. 1999) |
Leon Ernest "Schucks" Schuster (born 21 May 1951) is a South African filmmaker, [1] comedian, actor, prankster and singer.
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." [2]
Schuster studied for a BA degree at the University of the Orange Free State, where he played rugby for the first team. [3] He returned to Jim Fouché as a teacher for two years. [4]
Schuster began working for the South African Broadcasting Corporation. During his time at the SABC, he created the Afrikaans radio series Vrypostige [5] Mikrofoon [6] with Fanus Rautenbach – which involved disguising his voice [7] and playing phone pranks on unsuspecting victims. [3]
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. [8] His following CD, Gatvol in Paradise, [9] sold in more than 125,000 units and gave rise to the unofficial Gauteng anthem "Gautengeleng".
Schuster's first feature, You Must Be Joking! , [10] 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 . [11]
These films were candid camera 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, which would also handle the distribution and marketing of the film. [12] 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. [13]
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". 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 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". [14]
On 19 June 2020, South African streaming service Showmax removed over six of Schuster's films, [15] citing his content as being "racially insensitive", considering he has used blackface 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". [14]
Frank and Fearless (2018) was returned to the circuit after review. [16]
| Year | Film | Role | Gross | Soundtrack Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | You Must Be Joking! [10] | Schucks | ||
| 1987 | You Must Be Joking! Too [11] | Schucks | R43 Million | |
| 1989 | Oh Schucks...It's Schuster! [17] | Schucks | ||
| 1990 | Oh Schucks...! Here Comes U.N.T.A.G. (aka Kwagga Strikes Back) [18] [19] | Kwagga Robertse | ||
| 1991 | Sweet 'n Short [20] | Sweet Coetzee | Clarke/Bremer Performed by Adult Art [21] | |
| 1993 | There's a Zulu On My Stoep (aka Yankee Zulu) [22] | Rhino Labuschagne | ||
| 1997 | Panic Mechanic [23] | Schucks | ||
| 1999 | Millennium Menace [24] | Schucks | R40 million | In Love With You sang by Dana Winner [25] |
| 2001 | Mr Bones [26] | Bones | R33 million | |
| 2004 | Oh Schuks... I'm Gatvol [27] | Schucks | ||
| 2005 | Mama Jack [28] | Jack Theron Mama Bolo Donald | $4.4 million | |
| 2008 | Mr Bones 2: Back from the Past [29] | Bones | R35 million | Theme song music & performed by Don Clarke [30] |
| 2010 | Schuks Tshabalala's Survival Guide to South Africa [31] | Schuks Tshabalala | Schuster/Clarke, performed by Crutchmullets [32] | |
| 2012 | Mad Buddies [33] | Boetie | ||
| 2013 | Schuks! Your Country Needs You [34] | Schucks | Don Clarke [35] | |
| 2015 | Schuks! Pay Back The Money [36] | Schucks | Don Clarke [37] | |
| 2018 | Frank and Fearless [38] | Frank | Nic Paton and Don Clarke | |
| 2022 | Mr Bones 3: Son of Bones [39] | Bones |
James Bernard Florentine is an American comedian, actor, author, and television personality. He is best known for co-hosting That Metal Show on VH1 Classic and voicing several characters on Crank Yankers, including Special Ed and Bobby Fletcher. He hosts The Jim Florentine Show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and a podcast called Everybody Is Awful . He has released six albums of stand-up comedy, two comedy specials, seven installments in the Terrorizing Telemarketers prank call compilation, and three installments of the Meet the Creeps hidden camera show. His 2018 book Everybody is Awful reached No. 1 on the Book Soup nonfiction chart.
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Oh Schuks I'm Gatvol! is a 2004 South African comedy film written, produced, and directed by Leon Schuster. He also stars in the film alongside Alfred Ntombela, Gerry the Clown, Bill Flynn and Al Debbo.
William Flynn was a South African actor and comedian, perhaps best known for playing Tjokkie.
Schuks Tshabalala's Survival Guide to South Africa is a 2010 comedy film directed by Gray Hofmeyr, co-written by Gray Hofmeyr and Leon Schuster, and starring Leon Schuster and Alfred Ntombela.
Al (Alec) Debbo was a South African comedian, singer and actor. As one of the most famous artists of his generation he made an enormous contribution to Afrikaner music and culture.
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Carel Trichardt, is a South African actor. He is the previous head of the drama department at the University of Pretoria. He gained fame as the voice behind the children's character, Knersis on the variety programme Wielie Walie. He also appeared in several films, including Katrina, Kruger Millions and Cavaliers games.
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You Must Be Joking Too! is a 1987 South African comedy film directed by Leon Schuster and produced by Elmo de Witt. The film's music was composed by Johan van Rensburg.
Khanyisile Mbau is a South African actress, musician, television presenter and socialite. She received recognition as the second Doobsie on SABC 2's soap opera Muvhango (2004–2005); as Mbali in the SABC 1 soap opera Mzansi and SABC 1's mini-series After Nine. As of 2018, She is the host of the SABC 3 entertainment show The Scoop and The Big Secret on BET Africa, and plays Tshidi on Mzansi Magic's Abomama.
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Frank and Fearless is a 2018 South African buddy comedy adventure film written and directed by Gray Hofmeyr and co-written by Leon Schuster, who also stars in the movie. The film featured local actors, and used music performed by the Drakondale Girls' Choir, Till You're Free Again, won 1st prize in the Great American Song Contest (2018) in the Special Category. The film centers on poaching of rhinos.
Robert Craig Jansen van Vuuren is a South African comedian, actor, presenter, theatre maker, and writer.
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