Paul Allen Wood Shaffer CM (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian
singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist
who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and
sidekick on the entire run of both Late Night with David Letterman
(1982â€"1993) and Late Show with David Letterman (1993â€"2015).Shaffer
was born and raised in Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay),
Ontario, Canada, the son of Shirley and Bernard Shaffer, a lawyer. 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, 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.Shaffer appears
briefly, playing an organ at an outdoor wedding, in North of Superior
(1971) an early IMAX documentary shot in northern Ontario.
singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist
who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and
sidekick on the entire run of both Late Night with David Letterman
(1982â€"1993) and Late Show with David Letterman (1993â€"2015).Shaffer
was born and raised in Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay),
Ontario, Canada, the son of Shirley and Bernard Shaffer, a lawyer. 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, 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.Shaffer appears
briefly, playing an organ at an outdoor wedding, in North of Superior
(1971) an early IMAX documentary shot in northern Ontario.
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