Paul Shaffer

Paul Shaffer is known to millions as the musical director on the Late Show with David Letterman, who he has been associated with since 1982, but before that, Shaffer wrote music for Saturday Night Live and played in the house band under the leadership of fellow Canadian Howard Shore.

As a child growing up in Thunder Bay, Canada, Shaffer studied classical piano but later discovered rock when he became a fan of Neil Young and the Beatles. Though he planned to eventually join his father as a lawyer with his dad's firm, the allure of music was too strong and he opted to try his luck as a professional musician instead.

He earned a break in 1972 when he became the musical director of the legendary 1972 Toronto production of "Godspell," whose cast included future SNL-ers Gilda Radner and Martin Short. Work for National Lampoon's Radio Hour broadened his introduction to the comedy world, which led to a prominent place in the first SNL house band.

His work on SNL also allowed him to cut his comedy chops and he frequently appeared in sketches in the early days of the show. In 1977, he briefly left SNL to try his luck as a sitcom actor, but the show, "A Year at the Top," produced by music legend Don Kirshner (who Shaffer frequently impersonated on SNL) only lasted for six weeks. He returned to SNL soon after and became a full-fledged cast member in 1979.

In 1982, he was tapped by David Letterman to form the house band for his new, late-night talk show, but his resume doesn't stop there. Shaffer co-wrote the hit song, "It's Raining Men" in 1984 for the Weathergirls and has been involved with dozens of side projects and acting jobs ever since.

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