Austen Tayshus is the stage name of Jewish Australian comedian Alexander Jacob Gutman. He is best known for the 1983 comedy single "Australiana", a spoken word piece written by comedian Billy Birmingham, which is filled with Australian puns; it is Australia's best-selling single ever. His humour often drawing on his Jewish background. A tall man, he appears on stage wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses. He is characterised by a resonant deep voice. He is often moody, and taunts his audience and venue staff.
Biography
1954-1982: Early life
Alexander Jacob Gutman was born in New York to Australian parents and moved to Sydney at the age of one. He is the son of an HasidicHolocaust survivor. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home. At 15, he participated in the International Bible Contest for Jewish Youth and took part in the finals in Israel; he finished in the top five. Later, he spent several months at a yeshiva in Jerusalem. He returned to Israel as a volunteer during the Yom Kippur War. Gutman lives in New South Wales and has two daughters.
1983-1984: "Australiana", "Phantom Shuffle" & ''When the Ticklers Stopped Quivering''
The stage name "Austen Tayshus" is an aptronym based on the word "ostentatious". Austen Tayshus first gained public recognition in 1983 performing his comedy single, "Australiana", written by fellow comedian Billy Birmingham. It is a spoken word piece that contains many puns using Australian terms, especially with the names of places and animals. For example:
In 1984, Austen Tayshus released the single "Phantom Shuffle" followed by the albumWhen the Ticklers Stopped Quivering. Both peaked within The Australian top 100. In 1984 Austen Tayshus sold out the Sydney Entertainment Centre, supported by local comedians.
In February 1988, Austen Tayshus released the single "Highway Corroboree", which peaked at number 46 on The Australian charts. It was lifted from the album Whispering Joke. In the late 80s Austen Tayshus toured Australia with other well-known comedians and has always enjoyed introducing young, new comics to his audiences.
1990s: Film
In 1990 Austen Tayshus had relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a movie career. He had a small cameo in the Sharon Stone movie Sliver. At night, Austen Tayshus worked in all the comedy clubs in LA and in New York. His stay in Los Angeles culminated in a collaboration on a low budget feature film titled Dream Factory, which he co-wrote and starred in. The film was a tragi-comedy about Austen's last days in LA trying to become a big shot. Returning to Australia in 1997, Austen Tayshus wrote and starred in a short film titled, Intolerance. At Tropfest in 1998, the film won the award for Best Film and Austen Tayshus won Best Actor. This led directly to work on the Jane Campion film Holy Smoke!, Emma-Kate Croghan's Strange Planet and Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge''.
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that commenced in 1987 and recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Austen Tayshus has been nominated for four awards.
