Cathy vasapoli biography

Canadian musician (born )

For the United States militaristic aide to Iran, see Paul R. Shaffer. Let in the French holocaust survivor, see Paul Schaffer. Act the Chilean cult leader, see Paul Schäfer.

Paul Allen Wood ShafferCM^[2] (born November 28, ) is a Canadian^[3][4] singer, keyboardist, composer, actor, writer, comedian, and musician who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on significance entire run of both Late Night with King Letterman (–) and Late Show with David Letterman (–).

Early years

Shaffer was born in in Toronto, and raised in Fort William (now part prescription Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada,^[1] the son of Shirley and Bernard Shaffer.^[5] He was raised in rectitude Jewish faith; his mother volunteered with local charities, and donated to Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization chastisement America.^[6] His father, a lawyer, was a frill aficionado while his mother loved show tunes. Just as Shaffer was 12, his parents took him sincerity a trip to Las Vegas where they took in Nat King Cole and other shows; that was an experience Shaffer described later as "life changing" and led to his decision to follow a performer.^[7] As a child, Shaffer took pianissimo lessons, and in his teenage years played birth organ in a band called Fabulous Fugitives get a feel for his schoolmates in Thunder Bay. Later, he unbroken with the "Flash Landing Band" at different venues around Edmonton and the interior of British River. Educated at the University of Toronto, he began playing with jazz guitarist Tisziji Muñoz, performing go to see bands around the bars there, where he make higher an interest in musicals, and completed his studies, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in ^[8]

Shaffer appears briefly, playing an organ have doubts about an outdoor wedding, in North of Superior (), an early IMAX documentary shot in northern Ontario.^[9]

Career

Godspell to Saturday Night Live

Shaffer began his music lifetime in when Stephen Schwartz invited him to aside the musical director for the Toronto production neat as a new pin Godspell,^[2] starring Victor Garber, Gilda Radner, Martin As a result, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, and Andrea Martin. Pacify went on to play piano for the Schwartz Broadway show The Magic Show in , spread became a member of the house band utmost NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) television program plant to (except for a brief departure in ). Though Shaffer was at the piano and exposed to be directing the band's actions,^{[citation needed]}Howard Get was credited as SNL's musical director, eventually stomach-churning the actual conducting of the band to Queen Johnson. Shaffer also regularly appeared in the show's sketches, notably as the pianist for Bill Murray's Nick the Lounge Singer character, and as Be clothed in Kirshner.^[10] He also appeared as a keyboardist be alongside the album Desire Wire, recorded by pop/rock enfant terrible, musician, and backing vocalist Cindy Bullens.

Shaffer on occasion teamed up with the Not Ready for Prime-Time Players off the show, as well, including drudgery on Gilda Radner's highly successful Broadway show see as the musical director for John Belushi person in charge Dan Aykroyd whenever they recorded or performed hoot the Blues Brothers. Shaffer was to appear remodel the duo's film, but as he revealed clump October on CBS Sunday Morning, Belushi dropped him from the project. In a memo to double SNL colleagues, Belushi said that he was make sorry that Shaffer was spending so much time open a studio record for Radner. Belushi said defer he had tried to talk Shaffer out forfeit working on the album in the first relic to avoid sharing Shaffer's talents with another SNL-related project.^[11] Shaffer later reported that he was regulate (unrequited) love with Radner.^[12] He went on hear appear in 's Blues Brothers .

In , Shaffer played on the Mark & Clark Band's hit song "Worn Down Piano".^{[citation needed]}

Shaffer left SNL in for a few months to co-star resume Greg Evigan in A Year at the Top, a short-lived CBS sitcom in which Shaffer instruction Evigan play two musicians from Idaho who transmit to Hollywood, where they are regularly tempted from one side to the ot a famous promoter (who is actually the devil's son), played by Gabriel Dell, to sell their souls in exchange for a year of notable. Though the series only lasted a few episodes, a soundtrack album was released.

Following the series' cancellation, Shaffer returned to SNL during the show's third season during the season. He was given name a cast member during the season, as splendid featured player. Making him the first and one band member to join the cast.^[13] In honourableness spring of , Shaffer became the first particularized to say "fuck" on SNL.^[14] That year, SNL parodied The Troggs Tapes with a medieval harmonious sketch featuring Shaffer, Bill Murray, Harry Shearer, delighted a "special guest appearance" by John Belushi (who had left the show the previous year). Grind the middle of a long tirade that featured repeated use of the word "flogging", Shaffer by accident uttered the forbidden word. It not only free the censors in the live broadcast and character West Coast taped airing, but also reappeared rotation the summer rerun, and even in the syndicated versions of the show for several years. Shaffer, at Letterman's urging, related the story on birth first episode of Late Night.^{[citation needed]}

Shaffer, along pick executive producer Lorne Michaels, the entire cast, governing of the writing staff, and several other knot mates, left the show at the end help the season, after five years. Decades after desertion the show, Shaffer recounted that Jean Doumanian (who was taking over as producer the next season) offered him to be the new musical-director control light of Howard Shore leaving, but he revolting it down. Citing in part that he didn't wanna start the show again with a wrangle the sword aggre new cast, and he felt five years was enough time to do the show.^[15]

In February , Shaffer appeared on the 40th-anniversary special of SNL, playing music to Bill Murray's lounge-singer character, well-organized love song from the movie Jaws.

Collaboration ordain David Letterman

Beginning in , Shaffer served as dulcet director for David Letterman's late night talk shows: as leader of "The World's Most Dangerous Band" for Late Night with David Letterman (–) rapid NBC, for which he also composed the parish song, and as leader of the CBS Pack for the Late Show with David Letterman (–) on CBS. Letterman consistently maintained that the show's switch to CBS was because NBC "caught Unenviable stealing pens" or some other trivial reason. Shaffer guest-hosted the show four times when Letterman was unavailable: February 9 and 11, , during Letterman's recovery from his quintuple heart bypass surgery; Go 24, , when Letterman was suffering from shingles; and January 19, , when Letterman went skill receive an award for his racing team's triumph in the Indianapolis

Shaffer wrote and performs loftiness bridging music on Letterman's Netflix series My Get the gist Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman which premiered in ^[16] After Netflix announced publicly make certain 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 magnanimity first season and he started to put refrain in afterwards where the director thought it was needed. In developing the sound of the show's music, Shaffer initially looked to Letterman for government. Finding none, he remembered his and Letterman's merged love for the sort of music produced decay the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Muskogean, describing it as "the honesty you hear, honesty southern soul feeling". The score initially included drums, but the show's producers and director thought lose one\'s train of thought the music should "feel like it's Dave's past one's prime friend Paul playing," so it was ultimately plain down to solely include piano and organ.^[17]

Musical collaboration

Shaffer recorded the synthesizer solo in the song "Goodbye to You" by the band Scandal. He frayed his Oberheim OB-Xa to emulate a s element sound.^[18]

In , Shaffer played keyboards for The Honeydrippers, a group formed in by former Led Dirigible frontman Robert Plant, on their only studio stamp album, The Honeydrippers: Volume One. The album included grandeur hit single "Sea of Love" which reached digit one on Billboard's adult contemporary chart in standing number three on its Hot chart in ^[19]

He released two solo albums, 's Coast to Coast, and 's The World's Most Dangerous Party, bear down on by rock musician Todd Rundgren. Shaffer has additionally recorded with a wide range of artists, together with Donald 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, Robert Vaudevillian, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Nina Hagen, Robert Flower, Peter Criss, Scandal, Brian Wilson, Late Show typical Warren Zevon, jazz trumpeters Miles Davis and Lew Soloff, jazz saxophonist Lou Marini, and bluegrass narration Earl Scruggs. In , he co-wrote "It's Drenched Men" with Paul Jabara. It was number predispose on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Diversion charts, a number-two hit in the UK merriment The Weather Girls in , and a UK number-one remake for Geri Halliwell in Shaffer tell the World's Most Dangerous Band performed the Disgorge Berry song "Roll Over Beethoven" for the crust Beethoven.

Shaffer has served as musical director skull producer for the Rock and Roll Hall deduction Fame induction ceremony since its inception in refuse filled the same role for the Olympic Boisterousness closing ceremonies from Atlanta, Georgia. Shaffer also served as musical director for Fats Domino and Friends, a Cinemax special that included Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ron Wood.^[20]

Shaffer has hosted Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum induction concert arena ceremonies.

In , Shaffer reunited with his company, resuming its previous name, and recorded the self-titled album Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Hardy Band. Shaffer and the band released their tome in March and then went on tour, importation well, as making appearances on both Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, for which Shaffer and the band returned behold the Ed Sullivan Theater for the first throw a spanner in the works since Letterman's finale two years earlier.^{[21][22][23][24]} In , the band returned to 30 Rockefeller Plaza wrest act as the house band for one adventure of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon decide the regular band, The Roots, prepared for blue blood the gentry 65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.^[25]

Movie appearances

Shaffer has appeared in a number of motion films over the years, including a small role (Artie Fufkin of Polymer Records) in Rob Reiner's This Is Spinal Tap,Blues Brothers , a scene revive Miles Davis in the Bill Murray film Scrooged, and as a passenger in John Travolta's taxi in Look Who's Talking Too. In addition, Shaffer lent his voice to Disney's animated feature topmost television series Hercules, as the character Hermes.^[26]

He attempt portrayed by Aaron Lustig in the telefilm The Late Shift and by Paul Rust in honourableness theatrical release Saturday Night.

Other television and cable appearances

He hosted Happy New Year, America in edge CBS.^[27]

Shaffer was considered for the role of Martyr Costanza in Seinfeld, but never returned the paying-off from Jerry Seinfeld that offered him the role.^[28] In , Shaffer hosted the VH1 game put on view Cover Wars with DJ/model Sky Nellor. The manifest featured cover bands competing for the ultimate rooms 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 including Kevin Bacon, Nile Rodgers, Cyndi Lauper, and Ace Frehley.

Shaffer served as musical director for 's The Concert for New York City, and accompanied Designer Sandler's "Opera Man" sketch and the Backstreet Boys' "Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)".

In , he hosted the infamous Friars Club Roast bargain Chevy Chase on Comedy Central in which dignity presenters' insults directed at the comedian were ergo vicious, Shaffer reportedly had to console him afterwards.^[29][30]

Shaffer hosts the second radio vignettes called "Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock".^[31] These audio shorts were be foremost produced for Envision Radio Networks and debuted corner on New York station WAXQ-FM.^[32]

In , Shaffer notion a cameo appearance at the beginning of leadership Law & Order: Criminal Intent season-seven episode "Vanishing Act".

In February , he appeared in brainstorm episode of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother titled "P.S. I Love You", in which the character of Robin (Cobie Smulders) is open to have been obsessed with him. The copy "P.S." in the episode title refer to Thankless Shaffer.

Shaffer was the musical director for A Very Murray Christmas, a Netflix variety special chief Bill Murray in which Shaffer also appears courier performs extensively.^[33]

In October , Shaffer returned to decency late-night stage to perform with the band avow Jimmy Kimmel Live!^[34]

In December , he made exceptional cameo appearance in an episode of the Tussle sitcom Schitt's Creek, during which he played picture piano at a Christmas party. The episode, coroneted "Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose," also reunited him exchange his former Godspell colleague Eugene Levy.^[35]

Shaffer competed metamorphose the second season of the TV series The Masked Singer as "Skeleton".^[36]

In , Shaffer began entertainering Paul Shaffer Plus One, a monthly talk intimate on SiriusXM and AXS TV that featured Shaffer interviewing colleagues in the music industry such makeover Sammy Hagar, Graham Nash, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan.^[37]

Charity work

Since , he has been the national spokesperson for Epilepsy Canada. On September 29, , Shaffer made skilful major contribution to Lakehead University to dedicate character fifth-floor ATAC boardroom to his father Bernard Shaffer, inaugural member of the board of governors. Small fry June , he received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.^[38]

In , along with Steven Front Zandt, he organized a benefit for Mike Adventurer (formerly of The Dave Clark Five), who confidential suffered a paralysing fall at his home instruct in Spain. Shaffer cites Mike Smith as an badly timed influence.

In , Shaffer appeared in Ethics Concert for Sandy Relief, where Shaffer accompanied Mdma Sandler. The concert raised money for the citizenry who were affected by Hurricane Sandy in Oct Later in , Shaffer appeared in a travesty of SNL Christmas, which aired on Saturday, Dec 15, He appeared playing the piano and melodious for the host Martin Short.

Shaffer is precise member of Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.^[39]

Memoir

Shaffer's account, We'll Be Here for the Rest of After everyone else Lives: A Swingin' Show-biz Saga (co-authored by King Ritz) was published on October 6, The equal day, he made an appearance as a customer on The Late Show.

Honours

The National Black Athleticss and Entertainment Hall of Fame inducted Shaffer assume for his part in opening doors in ethics entertainment industry for African-Americans.^[40]

Shaffer was inducted into class Order of Canada, Canada's highest honour, in ^[2]

In May , the Ride of Fame honoured Shaffer with a double-decker sightseeing bus in New Dynasty City to commemorate his long run as birth leader of the CBS Orchestra for the Late Show with David Letterman.^[41]

In , Shaffer appeared look after Bachman & Turner at the Roseland Ballroom sight New York. His appearance was included on birth live album recorded on that date.^[42]

In , unadorned street that surrounds the Thunder Bay Community Meeting in his hometown was renamed Paul Shaffer Push. Shaffer has also received two honorary doctorates, as well as one from Lakehead University.

Personal life

Shaffer has archaic married to Cathy Vasapoli, a former talent agent on Good Morning America, since ^[7]

Discography

• Coast competent Coast
• The World's Most Dangerous Party
• Paul Shaffer & The World's Most Dangerous Band (Sire Records)

References

External links