Paul Shaffer is an American musician and bandleader with a net worth of $30 million & Salary of $5 million per year. Paul Shaffer is best known for being David Letterman’s musical director, band leader, and sidekick from 1982 until the end of the show in 2015. Shaffer has not only played with musical guests on Letterman’s show, but he has also put out albums and helped with other projects.
| Net Worth: | $30 Million |
| Salary: | $5 Million |
| Date of Birth: | Nov 28, 1949 (72 years old) |
| Gender: | Male |
| Profession: | Musician, Actor, Voice Actor, Author, Comedian, Singer, Film Score Composer, Composer, Bandleader, Music Director |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
Early Life Details
He was born on November 28, 1949, in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Shirley and Bernard Shaffer raised him in Fort William. He came from a family that liked music. His father liked jazz, and his mother liked show tunes. Shaffer says that seeing Nat King Cole in Las Vegas when he was young made him want to be a performer.
As a child, he took classical piano lessons. Later, when he heard the Beatles and Neil Young, he joined a rock band. Shaffer wanted to get a law degree and work for his father’s law firm at first, but he couldn’t give up the music while he was a psychology major at the University of Toronto. He started playing jazz with the guitarist Tisziji Munoz and played in local bars with bands. In 1971, he finished his studies and got a Bachelor of Arts in sociology.
Career
Shaffer’s first time on screen was only for a short time. In 1971, he played the organ at a wedding outside. In 1972, he got a job as the musical director for a show in Toronto called Godspell.
Shaffer soon started working in radio, including on National Lampoon’s Radio Hour. He also played on the demos and recording sessions of other artists and on commercial jingles.
In 1975, he joined the comedy show Saturday Night Live. After that, he was a regular in the show’s sketches. One of his most famous roles was as the pianist for Nick the Lounge Singer, a character played by Bill Murray.
In 1977, he left SNL to be a co-star in the short-lived CBS sitcom “A Year at the Top.” He went back to SNL after the show was canceled. In the spring of 1980, he made history by being the first person to accidentally say the F word on SNL.
In 1982, he got his big break when he became the musical director for David Letterman’s Late Night show and the leader of the World’s Most Dangerous Band.
Shaffer led Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra on “Late Show with David Letterman.” During his time there, he also led the show four times as a guest host.
Personal Life:
In interviews, Shaffer has talked at length about the “unrequited love” he had for Gilda Radner back when they worked together. Since 1990, Paul has been married to Cathy Vasapoli. Will and Victoria are their two kids.
Quotes from Paul Shaffer
“I lived at the Gramercy Park Hotel for about 10 years. It was terrific. It was a pleasantly run-down hotel of the ’70s and ’80s with a mix of older, rent-controlled apartment dwellers, Europeans, and new wave and punk bands. The room service was great, the hamburger was terrific, and they had a doctor who made house calls.” – Paul Shaffer
“I actually met Deadmau5 for the first time on the red carpet in Hollywood for the Grammys. I was there with my daughter, and he introduced himself to me. He said, ‘Hey, I’m from Toronto.’ I had a little conversation with him, and then I realized I’m talking to a guy with a giant mouse head.” – Paul Shaffer
