Austen Tayshus (born 17 March 1954) is the stage name of American-born Jewish Australian comedian Alexander Jacob Gutman (commonly called Sandy Gutman). He is best known for the 1983 comedy single "Australiana", a spoken word piece which is filled with Australian puns. His humor often draws on his Jewish background. A tall man (), he appears on stage wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses. He is characterized by a resonant deep voice. He is often moody, and renowned for taunting his audience and venue staff. Biography Early life Alexander (Sandy) Jacob Gutman was born in New York to Polish Jewish parents and moved to Sydney at the age of one. He is the son of a Hasidic Holocaust survivor. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home. At 15, he participated in the International Bible Contest for Jewish Youth in Australia and won, and then took part in the finals in Israel, where he finished in the top 10. Later, he spent several months at a yeshiva in Jerusalem. He returned to Israel as a volunteer during the Yom Kippur War. Gutman attended Vaucluse Boys' High School from 1966 to 1971. He received a Commonwealth Scholarship to Sydney University in 1972, where he began a dentistry degree. After two years he lost interest in dentistry and changed to an arts degree, and subsequently to a film directing course at The Australian Film and Television School, graduating as a film director in 1978. He wrote and directed three short comedies while at film school, Eric and Alice in 1975, Waves in 1976 and The End in 1977. After graduation from the AFTRS, he worked at ABC Television as an assistant cameraman in their Cinecamera department. From 1979 to 1980 he freelanced as a camera assistant and cinematographer on film clips for Aussie bands including Cold Chisel, The Angels, and Mental as Anything. Gutman lives in Sydney, New South Wales and has two adult daughters. 1981–1984: "Australiana", "Phantom Shuffle" & When the Ticklers Stopped Quivering His stand-up comedy career began at Sydney's Comedy Store at the beginning of 1981. The stage name "Austen Tayshus" is an aptronym based on the word "ostentatious". He first gained public recognition in 1983 when he signed to Regular Records who released his comedy single, "Australiana". It is a spoken word piece that contains many puns using Australian terms, especially the names of places and animals.