Paul Shaffer | |
|---|---|
 Shaffer in 2000 | |
| Born | Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (1949-11-28)November 28, 1949 (age 75) Toronto, Ontario, Canada[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Bandleader, musician, actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Rock,pop rock,jazz |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, keyboards |
| Member of | The World's Most Dangerous Band |
| Formerly of | |
Musical artist | |
Paul Allen Wood ShafferCM[2] (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served asDavid Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick onLate Night with David Letterman (1982–1993) andLate Show with David Letterman (1993–2015).[3][4]
Shaffer was born in 1949 inToronto, and raised inFort William (now part ofThunder Bay),Ontario, Canada,[1] the son of Shirley and Bernard Shaffer.[5] He was raised in the Jewish faith. His father, a lawyer, was ajazz aficionado while his mother lovedshow tunes. When Shaffer was 12, his parents took him on a trip toLas Vegas where they took inNat King Cole and other shows; this was an experience Shaffer described later as "life changing" and led to his decision to become a performer.[6] As a child, Shaffer took piano lessons, and in his teenage years played the organ in a band called Fabulous Fugitives with his schoolmates in Thunder Bay. Later, he performed with the "Flash Landing Band" at different venues around Edmonton and the interior of British Columbia. Educated at theUniversity of Toronto, he began playing withjazz guitaristTisziji Muñoz, performing in bands around the bars there, where he found an interest in musicals, and completed his studies, with aBachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1971.[7]
Shaffer appears briefly, playing an organ at an outdoor wedding, inNorth of Superior (1971), an earlyIMAX documentary shot innorthern Ontario.[8]
Shaffer began his music career in 1972 whenStephen Schwartz invited him to be the musical director for the Toronto production ofGodspell,[2] starringVictor Garber,Gilda Radner,Martin Short,Eugene Levy,Dave Thomas, andAndrea Martin. He went on to play piano for the SchwartzBroadway showThe Magic Show in 1974, then became a member of the house band onNBC'sSaturday Night Live (SNL) television program from 1975 to 1980 (except for a brief departure in 1977). Shaffer also regularly appeared in the show's sketches, notably as the pianist forBill Murray's Nick the Lounge Singer character, and asDon Kirshner.[9] He also appeared as a keyboardist on the 1978 albumDesire Wire, recorded by pop/rock star, musician, and backing vocalistCindy Bullens.[10]
Shaffer occasionally teamed up with theNot Ready for Prime-Time Players off the show, as well, including work on Gilda Radner's highly successful Broadway show and as the musical director forJohn Belushi andDan Aykroyd whenever they recorded or performed asthe Blues Brothers. Shaffer was to appear in the duo's1980 film, but as he revealed in October 2009 onCBS Sunday Morning, Belushi dropped him from the project. In a memo to fellowSNL colleagues, Belushi said that he was unhappy that Shaffer was spending so much time on a studio record for Radner. Belushi said that he had tried to talk Shaffer out of working on the album in the first place to avoid sharing Shaffer's talents with anotherSNL-related project.[11] Shaffer later reported that he was in (unrequited) love with Radner.[12] He went on to appear in 1998'sBlues Brothers 2000.
Shaffer leftSNL in 1977 for a few months to co-star withGreg Evigan inA Year at the Top, a short-lived CBS sitcom in which Shaffer and Evigan play two musicians fromIdaho who relocate to Hollywood, where they are regularly tempted by a famous promoter (who is actually the devil's son), played byGabriel Dell, to sell their souls in exchange for a year of stardom. Though the series only lasted a few episodes, a soundtrack album was released.
Following the series' cancellation, Shaffer returned toSNL during the show'sthird season during the 1977-78 season. He was named a cast member during the1979-80 season as a featured player, making him the first and only band member to join the cast.[13] In the spring of 1980, Shaffer became the first person to say "fuck" onSNL.[14] That year,SNL parodiedThe Troggs Tapes with a medieval musical sketch featuring Shaffer, Bill Murray, Harry Shearer, and a "special guest appearance" by John Belushi (who had left the show the previous year). In the middle of a long tirade that featured repeated use of the word "flogging", Shaffer inadvertently uttered the forbidden word. It not only escaped the censors in the live broadcast and the West Coast taped airing, but also reappeared in the summer rerun, and even in the syndicated versions of the show for several years.
Shaffer, along with executive producerLorne Michaels, the entire cast, most of the writing staff, and several other band mates, left the show at the end of the season, after five years. Decades after leaving the show, Shaffer recounted thatJean Doumanian (who was taking over as producer thenext season) offered him to be the new musical-director in light ofHoward Shore leaving, but he turned it down. Citing in part that he didn't want to start the show again with a brand new cast, and he felt five years was enough time to do the show.[15]
In February 2015, Shaffer appeared on the 40th-anniversary special ofSNL, playing music to Bill Murray's lounge-singer character, a love song from the movieJaws.
Beginning in 1982, Shaffer served as musical director for David Letterman's late night talk shows: as leader of"The World's Most Dangerous Band" forLate Night with David Letterman (1982–1993) on NBC, for which he also composed the theme song, and as leader of theCBS Orchestra for theLate Show with David Letterman (1993–2015) onCBS. Letterman consistently maintained that the show's switch to CBS was because NBC "caught Paul stealing pens" or some other trivial reason. Shaffer guest-hosted the show four times when Letterman was unavailable: February 9 and 11, 2000, during Letterman's recovery from his quintupleheart bypass surgery; March 24, 2003, when Letterman was suffering fromshingles; and January 19, 2005, when Letterman went to receive an award for hisracing team's victory in the2004 Indianapolis 500.
Shaffer wrote and performs the bridging music on Letterman'sNetflix seriesMy Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman which premiered in 2018.[16] After Netflix announced publicly that it had given the series an order, Shaffer received a phone call from Letterman asking him to work on the show. Soon after, Shaffer began to receive cuts of episodes from the first season and he started to put music in afterwards where the director thought it was needed. In developing the sound of the show's music, Shaffer initially looked to Letterman for guidance. Finding none, he remembered his and Letterman's shared love for the sort of music produced at theMuscle Shoals Sound Studio inSheffield, Alabama, describing it as "the honesty you hear, the southern soul feeling". The score initially included drums, but the show's producers and director thought that the music should "feel like it's Dave's old friend Paul playing," so it was ultimately stripped down to solely include piano and organ.[17]
Shaffer recorded the synthesizer solo in the 1982 song "Goodbye to You" by the bandScandal. He used hisOberheim OB-Xa to emulate a 1960s organ sound.[18]
In 1984, Shaffer played keyboards forthe Honeydrippers, a group formed in 1981 by formerLed Zeppelin frontmanRobert Plant, on their only studio album,The Honeydrippers: Volume One. The album included the hit single "Sea of Love" which reached number one onBillboard's adult contemporary chart in 1984 and number three on its Hot 100 chart in 1985.[19]
He released two solo albums, 1989'sCoast to Coast, and 1993'sThe World's Most Dangerous Party, produced by rock musicianTodd Rundgren. Shaffer has also recorded with a wide range of artists, includingDonald Fagen,Ronnie Wood,Grand Funk Railroad,Diana Ross,B.B. King,Asleep at the Wheel,Cyndi Lauper,Carl Perkins,Yoko Ono,Blues Traveler,Jeff Healey,Cher,Barry Manilow,Chicago,Luba,George Clinton,Bootsy Collins,Nina Hagen,Peter Criss,Scandal,Brian Wilson,Late Show regularWarren Zevon, jazz trumpetersMiles Davis andLew Soloff, jazz saxophonistLou Marini, and bluegrass legendEarl Scruggs. In 1982, he co-wrote "It's Raining Men" withPaul Jabara. It was number one on the USBillboard Hot Dance Club Play charts, a number-two hit in the UK forThe Weather Girls in 1984, and a UK number-one cover forGeri Halliwell in 2001. Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band performed theChuck Berry song "Roll Over Beethoven" for the 1992 filmBeethoven.
Shaffer has served as musical director and producer for theRock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony since its inception in 1986 and filled the same role for the1996 Summer Olympics closing ceremony inAtlanta. Shaffer also served as musical director forFats Domino and Friends, a Cinemax special that includedRay Charles,Jerry Lee Lewis, andRonnie Wood.[20]
Shaffer has hostedMusicians Hall of Fame and Museum induction concert and ceremonies.
In 2017, Shaffer reunited with his band, resuming its previous name, and recorded the self-titled albumPaul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band. Shaffer and the band released their album in March and then went on tour, as well, as making appearances on bothJimmy Kimmel Live andThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, for which Shaffer and the band returned to theEd Sullivan Theater for the first time since Letterman's finale two years earlier.[21][22][23][24] In 2023, the band returned to30 Rockefeller Plaza to act as the house band for one episode ofThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon while the regular band,the Roots, prepared for the65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.[25] They returned to theTonight Show for a week in February 2025 when the Roots took a week off to rehearse forSaturday Night Live's50th anniversary special.[26] Shaffer revisited Studio 6A, whereLate Night had been taped, in 2023 to perform a cover ofPatti LaBelle’s “New Attitude” withKelly Clarkson for hereponymous talk show.[27]
Shaffer has appeared in a number of motion pictures over the years, including a small role (Artie Fufkin of Polymer Records) inRob Reiner'sThis Is Spinal Tap,Blues Brothers 2000, a scene withMiles Davis in theBill Murray filmScrooged, and as a passenger inJohn Travolta's taxicab inLook Who's Talking Too. In addition, Shaffer lent his voice toDisney's animated feature and television seriesHercules as the characterHermes.[28]
Shaffer appeared in Greg Zola's documentary about Sly Stone,Small Talk About Sly which was completed sometime prior to 2017.[29][30]
He is portrayed byAaron Lustig in the 1996 telefilmThe Late Shift and byPaul Rust in the 2024 theatrical releaseSaturday Night.
He hostedHappy New Year, America in 1994 on CBS.[31]
Shaffer was considered for the role ofGeorge Costanza inSeinfeld, but never returned the call fromJerry Seinfeld that offered him the role.[32]In 2001, Shaffer hosted theVH1 game showCover Wars with DJ/model Sky Nellor. The show featuredcover bands competing for the ultimate series win. Each week, Shaffer signed off with, "Just because you're in a cover band, it doesn't mean you're not a star." The show lasted 13 episodes and featured celebrity judges includingKevin Bacon,Nile Rodgers, Cyndi Lauper, andAce Frehley.
Shaffer served as musical director for 2001'sThe Concert for New York City, and accompaniedAdam Sandler's "Opera Man" sketch and theBackstreet Boys' "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)".
In 2002, he hosted the infamous Friars Club Roast ofChevy Chase onComedy Central in which the presenters' insults directed at the comedian were so vicious, Shaffer reportedly had to console him afterwards.[33][34]
Shaffer hosts the 60-second radio vignettes called "Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock".[35] These audio shorts were first produced for Envision Radio Networks and debuted in 2007 on New York stationWAXQ-FM.[36]
In 2008, Shaffer made a cameo appearance at the beginning of theLaw & Order: Criminal Intent season-seven episode "Vanishing Act".
In February 2013, he appeared in an episode of the sitcomHow I Met Your Mother titled "P.S. I Love You", in which the character of Robin (Cobie Smulders) is revealed to have been obsessed with him. The letters "P.S." in the episode title refer to Paul Shaffer.
Shaffer was the musical director forA Very Murray Christmas, a 2015 Netflix variety special starring Bill Murray in which Shaffer also appears and performs extensively.[37]
In December 2018, he made a cameo appearance in an episode of the Canadian sitcomSchitt's Creek, during which he played the piano at a Christmas party. The episode, titled "Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose," also reunited him with his formerGodspell colleagueEugene Levy.[38]
Shaffer competed on thesecond season of the TV seriesThe Masked Singer as "Skeleton".[39]
In 2019, Shaffer began hostingPaul Shaffer Plus One, a monthly talk show onSiriusXM andAXS TV that featured Shaffer interviewing colleagues in the music industry such asSammy Hagar,Graham Nash,ZZ Top'sBilly Gibbons, andDonald Fagen ofSteely Dan.[40]
Since 2002, he has been the national spokesperson for Epilepsy Canada. On September 29, 2005, Shaffer made a major contribution to Lakehead University to dedicate the fifth-floor ATAC boardroom to his father Bernard Shaffer, inaugural member of the board of governors. In June 2006, he received a star onCanada's Walk of Fame.[41]
In 2005, along withSteven Van Zandt, he organized a benefit forMike Smith (formerly ofThe Dave Clark Five), who had suffered a paralysing fall at his home in Spain. Shaffer cites Mike Smith as an early influence.
In 2012, Shaffer appeared in12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief, where Shaffer accompanied Adam Sandler. The concert raised money for the people who were affected byHurricane Sandy in October 2012.
Shaffer is a member of Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.[42]
Shaffer's memoir,We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives: A Swingin' Show-biz Saga (co-authored byDavid Ritz) was published on October 6, 2009. The same day, he made an appearance as a guest onThe Late Show.
TheNational Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame inducted Shaffer in 2002 for his part in opening doors in the entertainment industry for African-Americans.[43]
Shaffer was inducted into theOrder of Canada, Canada's highest honour, in 2007.[2]
In May 2015, theRide of Fame honoured Shaffer with a double-decker sightseeing bus in New York City to commemorate his long run as the leader of the CBS Orchestra for theLate Show with David Letterman.[44]
In 2002, a street that surrounds theThunder Bay Community Auditorium in his hometown was renamed Paul Shaffer Drive.
Shaffer has received two honorary doctorates, including one fromLakehead University. {cn}
Shaffer has been married to Cathy Vasapoli, a former talent booker onGood Morning America, since 1990.[6] Their daughter, Victoria, has worked as a production assistant and producer on various shows and was a producer and executive at Oso Studios where she produced web series and other content. More recently, she founded and operates Pup Culture Rescue, ananimal shelter inPasadena, California and produces, writes, and hosts content related to animal rescue.[45][46]
Born in Toronto by the way, at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Some of the names here will be familiar only to die-hard fans; others, like Murphy, defined what was funny for generations of viewers.
