Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of '' Late Night with David Letterman ...

's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production compan ...

'' (1982–1993) and '' Late Show with David Letterman'' (1993–2015).

Early years

Shaffer was born in 1949 in Toronto, and raised in Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada, the son of Shirley and Bernard Shaffer. His father, a lawyer, was a jazz aficionado while his mother loved show tunes. When Shaffer was 12, his parents took him on a trip to Las Vegas where they took in

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

and other shows; this was an experience Shaffer described later as "life changing" and led to his decision to become a performer. 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 the University of Toronto, he began playing with jazz guitarist

Tisziji Muñoz Tisziji Muñoz (born July 15, 1946) is an American jazz guitarist. He served as drummer in the 440th U.S. Army band. He left the US Army in 1969. In the 1970s, he lived in Canada and New York City. He played in Pharoah Sanders' band. In 1978, h ...

, performing in bands around the bars there, where he found an interest in musicals, and completed his studies, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1971.; Michael Posner, "Paul Talk", ''Toronto Globe and Mail'', October 17, 2009 Shaffer appears briefly, playing an organ at an outdoor wedding, in ''

North of Superior ''North of Superior'' is a 1971 Canadian IMAX film directed by Graeme Ferguson. It is a travelogue of the area of Ontario, north of Lake Superior. It was commissioned for the then-new Ontario Place and was one of the first IMAX films made. Desig ...

'' (1971), an early IMAX documentary shot in

northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

Career

''Godspell'' to ''Saturday Night Live''

Shaffer began his music career in 1972 when Stephen Schwartz invited him to be the musical director for the Toronto production of '' Godspell'', starring

Victor Garber Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also ...

Gilda Radner Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian, and one of the seven original cast members of the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). In h ...

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...

, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, and

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and '' Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), '' ...

. He went on to play piano for the Schwartz

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

show '' The Magic Show'' in 1974, then became a member of the house band on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

's '' Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') television program from 1975 to 1980 (except for a brief departure in 1977). Though Shaffer was at the piano and appeared to be directing the band's actions, Howard Shore was credited as ''SNLs musical director, eventually turning the actual conducting of the band to Howard Johnson. Shaffer also regularly appeared in the show's sketches, notably as the pianist for

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

's Nick the Lounge Singer character, and as

Don Kirshner Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by ''Time'' magazine, he was best known ...

. He also appeared as a keyboardist on the 1978 album ''

Desire Wire ''Desire Wire'' is the debut album by singer-songwriter and musician Cindy Bullens, released in 1978 on United Artists Records. It was produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn. AllMusic's William Ruhlmann calls it "one of the great lost rock a ...

'', recorded by pop/rock star, musician, and backing vocalist

Cindy Bullens Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens; born March 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, who is best known for serving as backup vocalist on tours and albums with Elton John and Rod Stewart, as well as providing vocals on the soundtrack of ...

. 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 as the musical director for

John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his c ...

and Dan Aykroyd whenever they recorded or performed as the Blues Brothers. Shaffer was to appear in the duo's 1980 film, but as he revealed in October 2009 on ''

CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine television program that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and original hos ...

'', Belushi dropped him from the project. In a memo to fellow ''SNL'' 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 another ''SNL''-related project. Shaffer later reported that he was in (unrequited) love with

. He went on to appear in 1998's ''

Blues Brothers 2000 ''Blues Brothers 2000'' is a 1998 American musical comedy film directed by John Landis from a screenplay written by Landis and Dan Aykroyd, both of whom were also producers. The film, starring Aykroyd and John Goodman, is a sequel to the 1980 fi ...

''. In 1977, Shaffer played on the Mark & Clark Band's hit song " Worn Down Piano". Shaffer left ''SNL'' in 1977 for a few months to co-star with

Greg Evigan Gregory Ralph Evigan (born October 14, 1953) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He began his career in theater, appearing in the Broadway production of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', followed by a stage production of the musical '' Gr ...

in ''

A Year at the Top ''A Year at the Top'' is an American sitcom that aired for five episodes on CBS from August 5 to September 2, 1977. Produced by T.A.T. Communications Company, the series was created by Heywood Kling and co-executive produced by Don Kirshner an ...

'', a short-lived CBS sitcom in which Shaffer and Evigan play two musicians from

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

who relocate to Hollywood, where they are regularly tempted by a famous promoter (who is actually the devil's son), played by

Gabriel Dell Gabriel Dell (born Gabriel Marcel Dell Vecchio; October 8, 1919 – July 3, 1988) was an American actor and one of the members of what came to be known as the Dead End Kids, then later the East Side Kids and finally The Bowery Boys. Acting care ...

, 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 to ''SNL''. In the spring of 1980, Shaffer became the first person to say "fuck" on ''SNL''. That year, ''SNL'' parodied ''

The Troggs Tapes ''The Troggs Tapes'' is a bootleg recording of the English rock band the Troggs. It was originally recorded in 1970, and consists of band members arguing over the recording of a song, with frequent profanity. It has become one of the best-known spo ...

'' 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, at Letterman's urging, related the story on the first episode of ''Late Night''. In February 2015, Shaffer appeared on the 40th-anniversary special of ''SNL'', playing music to Bill Murray's lounge-singer character, a love song from the movie ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

''.

Collaboration with David Letterman

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" 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 Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band is an American musical ensemble led by Paul Shaffer. It was David Letterman's house band for 33 years. The band formed in 1982 to serve as house band for NBC's ''Late Night with David Letterman'' ...

for the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' (1993–2015) on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. 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 quintuple

heart bypass surgery Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage") is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest pai ...

; March 24, 2003, when Letterman was suffering from shingles; and January 19, 2005, when Letterman went to receive an award for his racing team's victory in the

2004 Indianapolis 500 The 88th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 2004. It was part of the 2004 IndyCar Series season and the ninth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Buddy Rice won the po ...

. Shaffer recorded the synthesizer solo in the 1982 song " Goodbye to You" by the band Scandal. He used his

Oberheim OB-Xa The Oberheim OB-Xa was the second of Oberheim's OB-series polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizers, replacing the OB-X with updated features. History The OB-Xa was released in December 1980, replacing the OB-X after only a year on the mark ...

to emulate a 1960s organ sound. Shaffer wrote and performs the bridging music on Letterman's current Netflix series ''

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman ''My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman'' (commonly referred to as ''My Next Guest'') is an American talk show hosted by David Letterman that premiered on January 12, 2018, on Netflix. The series consists of interviews with one ...

'' which premiered in 2018. 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 the

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, 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.

Musical collaboration

In 1984, Shaffer played keyboards for

The Honeydrippers The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s, deriving their name from Roosevelt Sykes, an American blues singer also known as "Honeydripper". Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to sati ...

, a group formed in 1981 by former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, on their only studio album, '' The Honeydrippers: Volume One''. The album included the hit single " Sea of Love" which reached number one on ''Billboards adult contemporary chart in 1984 and number three on its Hot 100 chart in 1985. He released two solo albums, 1989's ''Coast to Coast'', and 1993's '' The World's Most Dangerous Party'', produced by rock musician

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. Shaffer has also recorded with a wide range of artists, including Donald Fagen, Ronnie Wood,

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succe ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

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Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

, Yoko Ono,

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler (formerly known as "The Establishment" or "The Black Cat Jam" or "The Establishment Blues Band") is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. They are known for extensive use of segues in live performance ...

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, Chicago, Luba,

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, George Clinton,

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, Robert Plant,

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is a retired American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established The Ca ...

, Scandal,

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, ''Late Show'' regular Warren Zevon, jazz trumpeters Miles Davis and

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, jazz saxophonist

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, and bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs. In 1982, he co-wrote "

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" with

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. It was number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play charts, a number-two hit in the UK for

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in 1984, and a UK number-one remake for

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in 2001. Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band performed the

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined a ...

song "Roll Over Beethoven" for the 1992 film ''Beethoven''. 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 The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

closing ceremonies from Atlanta, Georgia. Shaffer also served as musical director for ''

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and Friends'', a Cinemax special that included

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ron Wood. Shaffer has hosted Musicians 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 album ''Paul 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 both ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's ...

'' and ''

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'', for which Shaffer and the band returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater for the first time since Letterman's finale two years earlier.

Movie appearances

Shaffer has appeared in a number of motion pictures over the years, including a small role (Artie Fufkin of Polymer Records) in

Rob Reiner Robert Norman Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1971–1979), a performa ...

's ''

This Is Spinal Tap ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (also known as ''This Is Spınal Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi'') is a 1984 American mockumentary film co-written and directed by Rob Reiner (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Christopher Guest, M ...

,'' ''Blues Brothers 2000'', a scene with Miles Davis in the

film ''

Scrooged ''Scrooged'' is a 1988 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Based on the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens, ''Scrooged'' is a modern retellin ...

'', and as a passenger in

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' (1 ...

's taxicab in ''

Look Who's Talking Too ''Look Who's Talking Too'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film and a sequel to director Amy Heckerling's 1989 comedy ''Look Who's Talking''. The film stars the original cast members John Travolta and Kirstie Alley as James and Mollie Ubriacco, ...

''. In addition, Shaffer lent his voice to

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

animated feature and television series ''

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,'' as the character

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. Around 1998, Shaffer was on '' Hollywood Squares''. The following year, he appeared in

's video for the song " Hook".

Other television and radio appearances

He hosted '' Happy New Year, America'' in 1994 on CBS. Shaffer was considered for the role of

George Costanza George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American Television program, television Situation comedy, sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecur ...

in '' Seinfeld'', but never returned the call from Jerry Seinfeld that offered him the role In 2001, Shaffer hosted the VH1 game show ''Cover Wars'' with DJ/model Sky Nellor. The show featured

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. Ne ...

s 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 including

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller ''JFK'' (1991), the legal drama ''A Few Good Men'' (1992), the ...

, Nile Rodgers, Cyndi Lauper, and

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wit ...

. Shaffer served as musical director for 2001's ''

The Concert for New York City The Concert for New York City was a benefit concert, featuring many famous musicians, that took place on October 20, 2001 at Madison Square Garden in New York City in response to the September 11 attacks. Aside from performing for charity, the c ...

'', and accompanied

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's " Opera Man" sketch and the

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' " Quit Playing Games (with My Heart)". In 2002, he hosted the infamous Friars Club Roast of

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of '' Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

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in which the presenters' insults directed at the comedian were so vicious, Shaffer reportedly had to console him afterwards. Shaffer hosts the 60-second radio vignettes called "Paul Shaffer's Day in Rock". These audio shorts were first produced for Envision Radio Networks and debuted in 2007 on New York station WAXQ-FM. In 2008, Shaffer made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' season-seven episode " Vanishing Act". In February 2013, he appeared in an episode of the sitcom '' How I Met Your Mother'' titled " P.S. I Love You", in which the character of Robin (

Cobie Smulders Jacoba Francisca Maria "Cobie" Smulders (born April 3, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring role as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014) and as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in the Ma ...

) 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 for '' A Very Murray Christmas'', a 2015 Netflix variety special starring Bill Murray in which Shaffer also appears and performs extensively. In October 2017, Shaffer returned to the late-night stage to perform with the band on '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' In December 2018, he made a cameo appearance in an episode of the Canadian sitcom ''

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,'' during which he played the piano at a Christmas party. The episode, titled " Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose," also reunited him with his former '' Godspell'' colleague Eugene Levy. Shaffer competed on the second season of the TV series '' The Masked Singer'' as "Skeleton". In 2019, Shaffer began hosting ''Paul Shaffer Plus One'', a monthly talk show on

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

and

AXS TV AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat sport ...

that featured Shaffer interviewing colleagues in the music industry such as Sammy Hagar, Graham Nash,

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

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, and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan.

Charity work

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 on

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame (french: link=no, Allée des célébrités canadiennes) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a ...

. In 2005, along with

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandol ...

, he organized a benefit for Mike Smith (formerly of The 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 in '' 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief'', where Shaffer accompanied Adam Sandler. The concert raised money for the people who were affected by

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

in October 2012. Later in 2012, Shaffer appeared in a skit of ''SNL Christmas'', which aired on Saturday, December 15, 2012. He appeared playing the piano and singing for the host

. Shaffer is a member of Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.

Memoir

Shaffer's memoir, ''We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives: A Swingin' Show-biz Saga'' (co-authored by

David Ritz David Ritz (born December 2, 1943 in New York City) is an American author. He has written novels, biographies, magazine articles, and over a hundred liner notes for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Nat King Cole. He has coauthore ...

) was published on October 6, 2009. The same day, he made an appearance as a guest on ''The Late Show''.

Honours

The National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame inducted Paul Shaffer in 2002 for his part in opening doors in the entertainment industry for African-Americans. Shaffer was inducted into the Order of Canada, Canada's highest honour, in 2007. In May 2015, the

Ride of Fame The Ride of Fame is a continuing series of mobile monuments in New York City honoring public figures for being exemplary “New Yorkers” and representing the city in a positive light over the course of their lives. Ride of Fame alumni have also ...

honoured Paul Shaffer with a double-decker sightseeing bus in New York City to commemorate his long run as the leader of the CBS Orchestra for the ''Late Show with David Letterman''. In 2010, Shaffer appeared with

Bachman & Turner Bachman & Turner was a musical project formed by Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, which followed the dissolution of Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Band history The collaboration started out as a Randy Bachman solo project, but Bachman decided to try ...

at the

Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan. The venue, according to its website, accommodate ...

in New York. His appearance was included on the live album recorded on that date. In 2002, a street that surrounds the

Thunder Bay Community Auditorium The Thunder Bay Community Auditorium is a 1,511 seat performance arts centre, located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It opened on October 16, 1985 and is home to the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. The Community Auditorium hosts 150,000 patrons annua ...

in his hometown was renamed Paul Shaffer Drive. Shaffer has also received two honorary doctorates, including one from

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradu ...

Personal life

Shaffer has been married to Cathy Vasapoli, a former talent booker on '' Good Morning America'', since 1990. They have two children, Victoria and Will. In 2020, both Shaffer and his wife contracted COVID-19, with Vasapoli being hospitalized with the condition.

Discography

*1989: ''Coast to Coast'' *1993: ''The World's Most Dangerous Party'' *2017: ''Paul Shaffer & The World's Most Dangerous Band'' (

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehre ...

)