Paul Shaffer
Born	Paul Allen Wood Shaffer November 28, 1949 (1949-11-28) (age 58) Fort William, Ontario
Spouse(s)	Cathy Vasapoli (1990-)

Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM^[1] (born November 28, 1949 in Fort William, now Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian and composer currently seen as the bandleader on the Late Show with David Letterman. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. The Order of Canada is the highest civilian honour within the Canadian system of honours, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the order's Latin For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. Thunder Bay ( 2006 census population 109140 formerly the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur, is a City in and the seat of Thunder Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films television series animated shorts and Video games) and An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance A bandleader is the leader of a band of Musicians The term is most commonly though not exclusively used with a group that plays Popular music as The Late Show with David Letterman is an Emmy Award -winning American late-night Talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS

Musical career

Shaffer began his musical career in 1972 as the musical director for the Toronto production of Godspell. The title of music director or musical director is used by many Symphony orchestras to designate the primary conductor and artistic leader of the orchestra Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario This article is about the musical For the movie see Godspell (film. ^[1] The production starred Victor Garber, Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas and Andrea Martin. Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a six-time Emmy Award -nominated Canadian film stage and television Actor and Singer Gilda Susan Radner ( June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an Emmy Award -winning American Comedienne and Actress Martin Hayter Short, CM (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian Comedian, Actor, writer, Singer and Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian Emmy - and Grammy Award -winning Actor, Television director See the David Thomas disambiguation page for other people with this name Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15 1947) is an American - Canadian Actress and comedienne. He went on to play piano for a Broadway show called The Magic Show in 1974, then became the musical director for NBC's popular Saturday Night Live television program from 1975 to 1980, though briefly leaving the series in 1977. The Magic Show is a musical in one act composed and with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Bob Randall (who also wrote The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Saturday Night Live ( SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American Sketch comedy / Variety show based in New York City Though Shaffer was at the piano and appeared to actually be directing the band's actions, Howard Shore was credited as musical director on SNL during the 1975-1980 time frame. Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy Award -winning Canadian Composer Shaffer eventually made regular appearances in the show's skits.

Shaffer occasionally teamed up with the Not Ready for Prime-Time Players off the show as well, including work on Gilda Radner's highly successful Broadway show, and a time spent as the musical director for John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, whenever they recorded or performed as The Blues Brothers. The following is a list of Saturday Night Live cast members past and present Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located John Adam Belushi ( January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American Comedian, Actor and Musician Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM (born July 1, 1952) is an Academy Award -nominated and Emmy Award -winning Canadian-American The Blues Brothers are a Grammy Award -nominated American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd Shaffer also appeared in Blues Brothers 2000 movie from 1998. Blues Brothers 2000 is a 1998 musical / Comedy Film and Sequel to the 1980 film The Blues Brothers He was to appear in the original The Blues Brothers in 1980, but he was appearing with Radner in Gilda Live! at the time of filming. The Blues Brothers are a Grammy Award -nominated American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd

Since 1982, Shaffer has served as musical director for David Letterman's late night talk shows: as leader of "The World's Most Dangerous Band" for Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993) on NBC, for which he also composed the theme song, and as leader of the CBS Orchestra for the Late Show with David Letterman (1993—) on CBS. David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American late-night Talk show host and Comedian and the host since 1993 Late Night with David Letterman was a nightly hour-long comedy Talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. The CBS Orchestra is the House band that plays for David Letterman 's CBS late-night Talk show The Late Show with David Letterman is an Emmy Award -winning American late-night Talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Letterman consistently maintains that the show's switch to CBS was because NBC "fired Paul for stealing chalk" or some other facetious reason. Shaffer has also guest-hosted the show a few times when Letterman was unavailable, including during Letterman's January 2000 medical leave that resulted from his quintuple heart bypass surgery, and during the birth of Letterman's son, Harry Joseph, in November 2003. January 2000: &larr - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure November 2003: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August -

Shaffer has served as musical director and producer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony since its inception in 1986 and filled the same role for the 1996 Olympic Games closing ceremonies from Atlanta, Georgia. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland Ohio, United States The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, were an International The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule Shaffer also served as musical director for Fats Domino and Friends a Cinemax Session with Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and Ron Wood. Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino (born February 26, 1928 in New Orleans Louisiana) is a classic R&B and Rock and roll Ray Charles Robinson ( September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) known by his Stage name Ray Charles, was an American Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American Rock and roll and Country music Singer, Songwriter Ronald David "Ronnie" Wood (born 1 June 1947 in Hillingdon London) is an English rock Guitarist and Bassist best known

Shaffer has released two solo albums, 1989's Grammy nominated Coast to Coast, and 1993’s The World's Most Dangerous Party. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The World's Most Dangerous Party was Paul Shaffer 's second album released as a double CD in July 1993 Shaffer has also recorded with a wide range of artists, including Grand Funk Railroad, Diana Ross, B.B. King, Cyndi Lauper, Carl Perkins, Yoko Ono, Blues Traveler, Cher, Chicago, Robert Burns, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Robert Plant, Scandal, Late Show regular Warren Zevon, jazz trumpeter Lew Soloff, jazz saxophonist Lou Marini and bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs. Grand Funk Railroad (also known as Grand Funk) is an American rock band Diana Ross (born March 261944 is an American twelve-time Grammy and Oscar -nominated singer Record producer and actress whose musical repertoire B B King (born Riley B King, September 16 1925 is an American Blues Guitarist and Singer-songwriter. Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22 1953 is an American Grammy - and Emmy award winning Singer-songwriter and Carl Lee Perkins ( April 9, 1932 &ndash January 19, 1998) was an American pioneer of Rockabilly music a mix of Rhythm born in Tokyo on February 18 1933 is a Japanese Artist and Musician. Blues Traveler is an American rock band formed in Princeton New Jersey in 1987 Cher ( IPA: /ʃɛr/ born Cherilyn Sarkisian, May 20 1946 Chicago is a Rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago Illinois. The band began as a politically charged sometimes experimental rock band and later moved to a predominately Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796 (also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire William "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a Funk Bassist, Singer Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948 West Bromwich, England) is an English rock singer and songwriter famous for his membership in the Warren William Zevon (January 24 1947 &ndash September 7 2003 was a Grammy Award -winning American rock Singer-songwriter and Musician Lew Soloff (born February 20, 1944 in New York City) is a Jazz Trumpeter, Composer and Actor. Lou Marini Jr (aka "Blue Lou" (born May 13, 1945) is an American Saxophonist, arranger and composer Earl Eugene Scruggs (born January 6, 1924) is a musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger style (now called Scruggs style) on the 5-string He wrote and produced, with Paul Jabara, the song "It's Raining Men" which was a #2 hit in England for The Weather Girls in 1984 and a UK #1 remake for Geri Halliwell in 2001. Paul Jabara ( January 31, 1948 – September 29 1992) was an American Actor, Singer and Songwriter. " It's Raining Men " is a song written by Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer in 1979 and originally recorded by The Weather Girls in 1982 The Weather Girls are an American Girl group that formed in 1982 Geraldine Estelle "Geri" Halliwell (born 6 August 1972 is an English pop Singer-songwriter, Children's author, Actress Shaffer and The World's Most Dangerous Band perform the Chuck Berry song "Roll over Beethoven" for the 1992 film Beethoven. Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18 1926 in St Beethoven is a 1992 American Family film, directed by Brian Levant and starring Charles Grodin.

Other activities

Shaffer has appeared in a number of motion pictures over the years, including a small role in Rob Reiner's This is Spinal Tap, Blues Brothers 2000, a scene with Miles Davis in the Bill Murray film Scrooged and as a passenger in John Travolta's taxicab in Look Who's Talking Too. Robert "Rob" Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American Actor, director, producer, Writer, and This Is Spın̈al Tap (officially spelled with a non-functional umlaut over the letter 'n' and dotless 'i' is a 1984 mock Rockumentary Blues Brothers 2000 is a 1998 musical / Comedy Film and Sequel to the 1980 film The Blues Brothers Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26 1926 &ndash September 28 1991 was an American Jazz Trumpeter, Bandleader, and Composer. For the British actor see Billy Murray (actor. William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an Scrooged is a 1988 Comedy film, a modernization of Charles Dickens 's Novella, A Christmas Carol. A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of Public transport for a single passenger or small group of passengers typically for a non-shared ride In addition, Shaffer lent his voice to Disney's animated feature and television series Hercules, as the character Hermes. Hercules is a 1997 Animated feature, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June

In 1977, Shaffer left SNL for a few months to co-star with Greg Evigan in A Year at the Top, a short-lived CBS sitcom in which Shaffer and Evigan play two musicians from Idaho who relocate to Hollywood where they are regularly tempted by a famous promoter (who is actually the devil's son), played by Mickey Rooney, to sell their souls in exchange for a year of stardom. The year 1977 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 1977. Gregory Ralph "Greg" Evigan (born October 14, 1953) is an American actor who has appeared in over 14 TV productions and more than 18 feature A Year at the Top was a Sitcom which aired for five episodes on CBS in 1977 produced by T CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. The State of Idaho ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr; September 23, 1920) is an American Film Actor and Entertainer whose Though the series only lasted a few episodes, a soundtrack album was released. Following the series' cancellation, Shaffer returned to SNL. In the fall of 1979, Shaffer became the first person to utter the "F"-Word, during a medieval musical sketch featuring himself, Bill Murray, Harry Shearer, and a "special guest appearance" by John Belushi (who had left the show the previous spring). In the middle of a long tirade which featured numerous repetitions 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, making it if not the definitive first, at the very least the most repeated, appearance of the dreaded word on network broadcast TV.

In 1977, Shaffer was also present on the Mark & Clark Band's hit record Worn Down Piano. " Worn Down Piano " is a song by the North-American Mark & Clark Band, from their album Double Take. In 1995, he also appeared in Blues Traveler's video for the song "Hook". Blues Traveler is an American rock band formed in Princeton New Jersey in 1987 "Hook" is a song by Jam band Blues Traveler, from their 1994 album Four.

In 2001, Shaffer hosted the VH1 game show Cover Wars along with a co-host, DJ/model Sky Nellor. The year 2001 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 2001. VH1 (known as VH-1 Video Hits One from 1985 to 1994 and VH1 Music First until 2003) is an American Cable television Sky Nellor By combining her natural beauty and contagious personality with her extreme talent Sky Nellor is one individual that proves it’s all in the mix In this show, cover bands would compete against each other to become the ultimate winner of the series. A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. Each week Paul would sign off by saying "Just because you're in a cover band, it doesn't mean you're not a star. " The show lasted thirteen episodes and featured celebrity judges like Kevin Bacon, Nile Rodgers, Cyndi Lauper, and Ace Frehley. Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8 1958 is a Golden Globe - and Screen Actors Guild Award -nominated American Film and Theater Nile Gregory Rodgers (born September 19 1952, in New York City) is an American musician Composer, Arranger, and Guitarist Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22 1953 is an American Grammy - and Emmy award winning Singer-songwriter and Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (born April 27 1951 is an American Guitarist best known as an original member and lead guitarist for the rock

In 2002, a street which surrounds the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium in his hometown was renamed "Paul Shaffer Drive". The Thunder Bay Community Auditorium is a 1511 seat Performance arts centre located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Shaffer has also received two honorary doctorates. An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa ( Latin: 'for the sake of the honour' is an Academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding

Since 2002, he has been the national spokesperson for Epilepsy Canada.

On September 29, 2005, Paul 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. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lakehead University ( LU) is located in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

In June 2006, he received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. Canada's Walk of Fame, Toronto, Ontario is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians

On Wednesday, July 11, 2007, The New York Times reported that Shaffer is currently working on his memoir, which will be published by Flying Dolphin Press (an imprint of Random House Inc.'s Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group) in 2009. Events 911 - Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. for other uses see Memoir (disambiguation As a literary Genre, a memoir (from the French: mémoire Random House Inc is the world's largest English-language general trade book publisher [1]

Personal life

Since 1990, Shaffer has been married to Cathy Vasapoli, with whom he has two children: Victoria (born 1993), William (born 1999).

References

External links

• Paul Shaffer Bio at CBS - Late Show
• Late Show UK - fansite
• Paul Shaffer at the Internet Movie Database
• Paul Shaffer at NNDB
• Paul Shaffer at Godspell.ca