Global InformationRinse the Blood Off My Toga information
| Rinse the Blood Off My Toga | |
|---|---|
| Written by |
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| Characters |
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| Date premiered | 1954 |
| Place premiered |
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| Subject | Assassination of Julius Caesar |
| Genre | Sketch comedy |
| Setting | Roman Senate |
"Rinse the Blood Off My Toga" is a comedy sketch by the Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster. First broadcast on The Wayne and Shuster Hour on CBC Radio in 1954, it was reenacted for their British television debut in 1957 and their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. The sketch recasts the Shakespearean historical tragedy as a detective story with gangster overtones. Set in the Roman Senate right after the assassination of Julius Caesar, the script has Brutus (Shuster) engaging the services of private eye Flavius Maximus (Wayne) to identify Caesar's assassin. Several lines from the sketch became popular catchphrases, including Flavius's order of a "martinus" (a single martini) in a Roman bar, and the repeated lament of Caesar's widow Calpurnia in a thick Bronx accent, "I told him, 'Julie, don't go!' " It is considered Wayne and Shuster's most famous sketch.[3]
- ^ "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga by Wayne and Shuster". Informal Music. Archived from the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
BawdenReturnswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Anderson, Jason. "The Wayne & Shuster Hour". Canada on Screen. Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.