Paul Shaffer - Other Activities

Other Activities

Shaffer has appeared in a number of motion pictures over the years, including a small role (Artie Fufkin of Polymer Records) 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. In addition, Shaffer lent his voice to Disney's animated feature and television series Hercules, as the character Hermes.

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 Gabriel Dell, 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 fall of 1979, Shaffer became the first person to say "fuck" on SNL. That year, SNL parodied the Troggs Tapes 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 spring). In the middle of a long tirade which 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 very first episode of Late Night.

In 1977, Shaffer played on the Mark & Clark Band's hit record Worn Down Piano.

In 1995, he appeared in Blues Traveler's video for the song "Hook".

Shaffer recorded the famous synthesizer solo in the 1982 hit "Goodbye to You" by the band Scandal. He used his trusty Oberheim OB-Xa to emulate a 1960s organ sound.

Around 1998 he was a square on Hollywood Squares.

In 2001, Shaffer hosted the VH1 game show Cover Wars with DJ/model Sky Nellor. The show featured cover bands competing for the ultimate series win. Each week, Shaffer would sign 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 2001's The Concert For New York City, and accompanied Adam Sandler's Opera Man sketch and the Backstreet Boys' "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)".

In 2002, a street which surrounds the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium in his hometown was renamed "Paul Shaffer Drive." Shaffer has also received two honorary doctorates, including one from Lakehead University.

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.

In 2005, along with Steve Van Zandt, he organized a benefit for Mike Smith (formerly of The Dave Clark Five), who had suffered a paralyzing fall at his home in Spain. Shaffer cites Mike Smith as an early influence.

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 7 episode "Vanishing Act".

Shaffer's memoir, We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives: A Swingin' Show-biz Saga (co-authored by David Ritz) was published by Flying Dolphin Press (an imprint of Random House Inc.'s Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group) on October 6, 2009. The same day, he made an appearance as a guest on The Late Show.

Paul Shaffer never returned the call which offered him the role of George Costanza in Seinfeld.

In 2010, Shaffer appeared with Bachman & Turner at the Roseland Ballroom in New York. His appearance was included on the live album recorded on that date.