Showbiz Sidekicks and Paul Shaffer

thousand and fifteen. Outside of television, Paul is a talented singer, a composer, an actor and a comedian. Paul and I got to know each other during my close to fifty appearances. Can you believe that with David Letterman over the years? Some Call Paul the greatest sidekick and television and it's a pleasure to have him here with me at my farm. Welcome to my podcast, Paul. Martha, I couldn't be more thrilled to be here at your modest little pad that

you have up here. It's absolutely fantastic and I was just saying that I'm thrilled to see that all the buildings are in Bedford Gray, so I can confirm that. Yes, she actually does use the color exclusively. Now it brings me to a question, and I know I realized not my show. You could ask me all the questions. It's been fascinating me since I read that you have opened a restaurant on the Strip in Las Vegas called the Bedford. Exactly. Yeah, well,

first question. Is it Bedford Gray? Much of the Interior is Bedford. It's a replica of my house, my house that you haven't come in yet. You you were invited for coffee, but we we kind of ran out of time. You'll come back up there. Thank you, Um. But yeah, it's a it's a really fun project and I would love to replicate a smaller version of it here in Bedford, Bedford, but I don't know if that will happen. Happen or not. What kind of menu is it? Oh, it's all my recipes.

It's recipes that you would love, recipes that I've served at my homes forever, all perfected for restaurants service, of course. And Uh, and it's doing well. Yelp gave it five stars. Yeah, we're all exciting. Anyway, congratulations on thank you. Well, anyway, I just want you to know that, Um, the greatest

sidekick in television. How did your tenure with David Letterman, who, by the way, is and was my favorite late night host, and I shouldn't really say that out loud, but but you know, I love all the other guys too, but

my favorite thing to do is David Letterman. I always had fun, I always loved seeing you and your and your band and I always, I always talked to you and I always waved to you and, yeah, and your music was always just like, so invigorating and so uh, such a great introduction to each segment on David Letterman. So Um, so it was. We probably played you on with Martha, my idea, by the sometimes you did dolls. Yes, well, you know, ob but how did your tenure with David Begin?

This is a long story. Just like you, it was. It was so much fun because he, I agree with you, although he and I both idolized Johnny Carson, of course, and that was David's model and he didn't make any secret of that. Johnny showed us all how to do it, but David, I think, in combining it with him, more of a Saturday night live type of nuttiness. Um, took it to another level. You know, I never got to be on Johnny Carson, so I never got to experience

that that genius. I was on Merv Griffin, which was like the competitor to to Johnny. But but I regret that so much because I loved watching his show too. And what we what do, he used to say, and it was true, if you watched it, was that, uh, if he made his guests look good, people would be talking about his show the next day. You know, did you see who Johnny had on that? And to him

that was the key, of course, so important. And the key is of those late night hosts and make the guests look good, sound interesting, make sure that they're promoting their latest work and uh, and I it's a hard job because because you have to, you have you do have to make them look good and David always made me look good and we always had fun and I think, I think he helped really build my brand in his way. That's nice of you to say he would be proud

and thrilled and I think it's true too. You were such a presence on the show. You were his certainly one of his favorites, his favorite, but you were his favorite sidekicks. Well, you know, he just Um, are you the first really famous band leader or what's the genre? Look back and when we see you know, Johnny Carson's last was doc Stevenson, but before that, who did he have? He had got sketched Henderson. These guys all had names because,

after all, they were on every every single night. But I want to be not I sort of was sketch and ed at the same time, because he didn't have an ED, he didn't have an announcer sitting white by. So I used to say I'm a combination doc and ED, I. E. Dead. But that was just a terrible joke and I'm still here. Um. So I got to talk and I got to banter with him, as they say. It wasn't written in the script. As a matter of fact, the first time I tried to say something on my mic it wasn't even turned.

I had to go to the engineer and say, you know, you should turn my microphone. Well, I don't think they wanted on while I had to of course they wanted on. I had to get sort through that and when I got it on and finally said a couple of things, David was very encouraging and he said he did more of that. That was funny and I used to know what was this two when? Okay, so that was that was on. That was on NBC. You followed. You were

the late, late show, after the late we were. We were called the late show because Johnny was called it tonight night show. That we followed Johnny. We were the late. No, we were called late night, late night with David. Let him in, late night with David, and that's what the Seth Seth is doing. Now. Seth Myers has that and he follows Mr Fallon, who, of course is doing the tonight show. So we were the late show. David wanted that tonight show really badly. I remember that, and he

deserved it. And then all of a sudden this upstart called Jay Leno gets the job. Why? What happened there? Um, we were there. You were there. Well, I was there. I wasn't really privy to all those things. I did see that crazy movie that they made about the late show. Wars Um awfully accurate. I thought it was what I knew, except Dave said they had a scene of me throwing a football at a target. Who would ever throw a football at a tar you throw your bowling Arrow order talk.

That's what really upset Him. I don't not throw a football otherwise. But didn't you throw eggs into a fan? Well, and I stood in front of the damn. Oh you did, and you got eggs. You Got Egg on your face, egg on my face, literally, and I had to be a good spot, but really I was just soaking and wanted to get out of that thing. But got a big laugh, of course. That's when I started to realize. You know, right there, Jeez, if you you know, if the people laugh, it's a good feeling, it sure is.

And especially at late night when you've had a hard, horrible day, you get into bed and you turn on the TV and you want to be entertained. And you guys were the ultimate entertainers, I mean really, and you were a part of it too, and Dave. What Dave wanted from a guest to someone who was dependable and would come on with having done a little preparation. That's all he asked. And of course you were prepared. Well, I was always over prepared. Do you remember? I got

cream all over Dave's suit? Well, he wasn't crazy about that, I know, but they said I could do it. The producers said I could do it and I think I was the first person allowed to sully his outfit. You may have been the first and last probably. It just strucks me you're talking late show and stuff. I've got a story about King Charles, our current king, the new King of England. He was prince then. Right, okay, so

telling us what I mean. Well, it was right in the eighties, after the led him in show had started and I had to ask day for a day off because I got invited to when when it was Prince Charles and lady die they were in Vancouver, BC, Canada, opening the world's fair, and the two guys in the Prime Minister's office were let him in fans and they said Paul's Canadian, let's send him an invitation just for kids whose I accepted it and Dave gave me the day off and I was calling in. I think you

know a Dave. I forgot my formal socks, my silk socks. I've got to go shopping for them. No, nobody ever. My Dad taught me that. And and the Prince and the princess were there and they were there to open the thing and there was a state dinner and the guys running at the logistics for them were so thrilled that I was there. They said we're going to get you a picture with your Canadian too. So you belonged there.

You were like you were like a favorite son of Kenna exactly, and I was well, I had a lovely uh email, a conversation with Justin Trudeau just the other day. You did, yes, because at all I had to sort of UH politic him about the we're all conservatory of Music. Can they have a little more money for their budget and stuff? And when I wrote in a form letter, as you know, asked the doctor Simon who runs this conservative I got a lovely letter right back from the

prime minister, Justin. Of course, his father had been my prime minister when I was in college here. Trudeau. Anyway, back to they wanted to get a picture of me with Lady Dye. They said we're going to get this picture. I said you don't have to, but I feel a tap on my shoulder. I'm sitting at the state dinner with all Canadians, strangers. They said, come with us. They

take us into a room. They take me into a room where there's a receiving line going on and the prime minister is introducing the two royals to all of their all of the premiers of the province. They're like the governors, I guess, that we have here. So they're coming down the line and the prime minister and here's the right honorable premiere of Manitoba. He is, you know, construct how? Why? And they get to me and it's

Prime Minister Mulrone. He doesn't know who I am and he looks at me and nobody he doesn't say anything, and nobody says anything and all I know is you don't talk and listen until the royals talk. At least I know that. But nobody was talking, so I had to talk and I said Hello, your Highness. Um, I'm Paul Schaeffer from the late night with David Letterman show from New York. And he said who did it? How late?

I said well, and this is a first, Guy said well, you know, we followed Johnny Coast at the twelve thirty and count me out. So there, Martha, was my conversation. Well, the King, how about that? Now? The King? Yeah, funny, I was thinking. You know, they said we'll get you a picture with lady dot because she was, of course, the big celebrity. Then he should have realized he's going to be the king. That would have been a shot, but I do have a shot. How Great? Yes, it

is great. Well, that's a sad story. Hair was as good as yours. As far as the people who have the best hair and show, I think it's you, then. Lady Dot Paul, is totally are you totally bold now? Totally. Well, but you look great. You Look Great. You know what, Martha, thanks for saying so I never had the right hair and when I had here, yeah, and here. You know, since the Beatles it was always so important for guys,

but this is better for me. Yeah, you look great, you know, and you were and you don't look exhausted. I mean, isn't late night just the most Austin thing on earth? How do you know that? Oh, well, I worked till late at night. I worked from early Morn till late at night, so I know how exhausting it is doing the show every night. I didn't realize it until it ended and it took me about two years to get readjusted. My Body clock was such that screwed up.

There was, and there's, a show every time every day. So five am might be up. Bang. What time is the show? You know my show time. I'm exhausted. I was always tired, absolutely just like you said you were. You rehearsed every day, you and the rehearsal was really, really important, but also extraordinary. Great production and very little time. And the only producer I really got to know on your show was Robert Morton. Yeah, morty or Morty Pie,

he was notorious. Yeah, how how long was he a producer? Well, quite a few years. He took over as producer just before we made that big move to CBS, so he was part of that. So let's go back there first of all. So what year was it when CB and when NBC said sorry, Dave, it's going to know, it's going to Jay left, I think. Well, I think we were twelve years on CBS, so that would take us

in to about ninety four. Okay, so then they said no to David and they gave him one more year and then he moved straight to to CBS in the time slot, in the time slot that he wanted anyway, eleven thirty and uh, and that was called. And then he was followed by Conan, yes, and that's when he became the late show, late show with David Letterman of late night, and had beautiful theater, which I loved. I loved going there because the dressing rooms were so nice

and they each had a private bathroom. You didn't have to go down the hall and Uh and it was and there was always nice things to eat and drink in the in the dressing rooms. Have you. Nonetheless, it was short of the same way it was when Etzel and was doing this show. The plumbing was Old New York kind. That's okay, as long as it worked. Cold beart show. Yet, Stephen Cole, I love the cold beart show. Yeah, I do too. Backstage, so and I was, I was lucky enough to be a guest. Um, it's like a

cool club he's got going on. Yeah, it is. Backstage. The lighting is yeah, it's so fun. It's so fun. Bathrooms are now sort of like the Morrigan hotel or something, you know, everything redesigned. It's amazing. Now. Well, he has a great taste and he's and he's a funny he's a fun person to be on with. But the most fun right now, I would get. Who Do you like now? I mean who do you watch? You Watch everybody. I

watch a little bit of everything. I missed Conan O'Brien, to tell you the truth, I loved kind on, you know. He really was the guy who laughed when things were funny. Yeah, that's what I well, I got him to dress up and ride a horse with me. Had put a red wig on in an open satin shirt and he rode uh on on my black steed and he was so he was up for anything. Did you come up here to do that? Yeah, wow, good for him. He was great. Red Wig, though his hair is like no, but he

he wanted to. who was he looking like he was? He was emul emulating Fabio. It's such an obligation to be a late night host like that and also to be the sidekick and the musician of the show. So so it started with it started with Johnny Carson. Did he bring the music to late night? Is that what he did? Well, he had a big band, sketch and doc, whom we were just mentioning. How many? Howe? How many

you have? I had started with four. Yeah, and you know when I learned afterwards, just from launching those late night shows, movie about the late night wars and stuff that Johnny Corson had a meeting with Dave and his original producer. Said now I want the show to be different. You can't have the same guests, you can't have dom deloise, because that's who I had, and David Fine with that. You know, we want to have our own restaurant and you can't have a big band. I have a big band.

You'RE gonna have four pieces. So so that's so. Johnny made a four piece span. That was great with me because I grew up doing rock and roll bands and four piece bands and I didn't really wasn't so comfortable with horns at the time. So this is perfect for me. And I got three guys who just knew all the songs that I knew. So if Martha Stewart was got Markam my dear Rochy of a, and I didn't have to write it out. We all just bump, Bom, bom boom, we hit it. You knew it, you knew it. Yeah,

and that that when I had the most fun. So so now of all the bands, who do who do you like the most? Now on the late night Z uh? You know, they're all good for some reason. Of course, quest love and the roots. Fantastic to see, you know, them taking really kind of what I did. I I brought it the thing into the Rock and roller did they have brought it late night into the hip hop era, and it's striking. And he with food too. I mean he writes cookbooks. Now he's he's a he's making a brand.

He's a Foodie, you know, and he was doing it. Well, you started this whole branding thing, didn't? Well, I'm one of I'm one of the starters of it. You know, Pete Davidson, he goes out with Kim Cadati. Well, he did, he did. That's broken up now. Yeah, but the brand, oh no, he he is now Pete Davidson. He's Pete Davidson. All Right, I'm he's he's so cute. He's a he's a cute, Young, Nice Guy, but but he's uh, Kim Kim, I think, has moved on, swallowed up by the DASHIANS.

Spit out right. What are you gonna do? Um, so when you're on Letterman, UM, every night is different and guests are so different. Who is your favorite guest on Letterman? What? What? What? What? What are your fondest memories? Of course, you know, as the band leader, Mike. My thoughts would go to the music and James Brown. The very first time he did it.

I never got over it and I my little four piece, but he brought two horns and played with my four piece ban and we never played so well in our lives. But once he started singing and dancing and shaking that, you know what it was just you had to play. And he did it many times after that and every time was like a music lesson. So he's charming, isn't he? He was charming and won a performer and he didn't know. I mean he couldn't read or write music, but he

just sang. You know, he was singing the hip of stuff and the band had to just whatever he's sang. You play, you know, and if he didn't, he find you. That was, I think, the real deal. If he made a mistake in James Brown's band, he would find you ten, five, ten bucks. Yeah, I never got fine, luckily I never got. You know, he has to see me after the first time he did play because it was such a smash and when I went in there knocked on the door,

he was under the hair dryer. Uh, after the show, with that, with that hairdrew of his yes, but not a blow dry. I'm talking about a full helmet on a chair the carriage, right, because he was sweaty or wouldn't well, his hair all would come down. Yeah, and it's very important to him. You know, hair got he used to say, hair and teeth. If you have those things you can be a star, and I think he

was right. But talking to me under the head right, he's like he's hard to understand anyway, but with this I'm down there are, you know, trying to listen to I was down on my knees in front of him and it was like he was on a throne and that hair dryer. But that's the way it should have been, I really so. Who Else? Who? Um? Well, I mean when Robin Williams did it, you could relax and you wouldn't look forward to the show because he you know,

he took over. He was on my show too once and boy, I mean he just he had the fastest mind in in the comedy, in the comedy world, the fastest a computer mind right, yes, and he was like how on on on the spaceship? Yes, he was. One thing would set him off and he'd go into a whole different, whole different Vive and and a different language and a different accent. And I mean he was the fastest, but I loved him. I loved him. Do you remember

any disasters on Letterman? Well, sure there were some disasters. I certainly had my share of disasters. One time, Um Anthony Newley, whom I loved, and he buto and fool a man. That's only one of the great as song. As he wrote it and we had him he was going to do a big favorite for us and sing our little theme for the viewer male segment. View a male, view a male, and then I wrote a little thing

in for him. Everyone laughs, said to view a male clown, because he was he could just make any but when when I went into the to the big ending view a male, I was in the wrong key. I took him up about a good fourth or fifth higher because I hadn't written it down. I thought it was so smart I could just remember and his ear was so good that he followed me into the Doo key and

saying this note that was higher than any human had everything. Oh, I felt so bad and after he went off from backstage and we can swear you could just say this is what I heard after you went out, saying, Oh my God, I felt so terrible, but I wrote him a long letter. You always heard the one you love, and he he wrote a lovely letter back. There was my one of my worst is. Let's see, you see the the ordinary viewer has no idea what goes on in those shows, how difficult, how difficult and how how

intense they are. They are really just because you're one hour to get everything in that has to get in and make everybody look good, sound good, feel good, blah, blah, blah. Right. I think that you know Martha from doing it so much that if you had uttered one thing that Dave gave an idea, he would change the whole show. Let's cancel that, let's Martha said that. Let's bring in a horse, can we? How fast can we get a horse? And everything would just change on the drop of a dime,

or whatever you said. I don't know if the other shows really are like that. Oh, I loved when you went to the Delhi. Did you ever go to the Horse? Yes, Ruper G and May, and they were so great because they weren't trying to beat yeah, they weren't trying to be funny on camera or got the laughs, but the laughs just came naturally and I went. I participated. The city awarded them a lovely thing. They're being a you know, a small business, and honor. I was there to honor

Ruper G and May. So what about the Oprah stuff? That was crazy, wasn't it? Yeah, you know, I don't know. They didn't always tell me the whole story, but my recollection is that we were in Chicago doing a week of shows. Oprah came on and the audience was kind of mean to her. The audience was waiting for Dave to insult her, and that's my recollection. And somebody even said ripper Dave or something like that. Wow, yes, and it wasn't Dave's fault, and then it just explodes. But

she took it as Dave's fault. Maybe, yeah, maybe. So, yeah, because I I never knew the story and I was always wondering why, why? What is this controversy and and why WON'T OPRAH COME on? David Letterman, yeah, you know, a good feud as always, as we know from Jack Benny and Fred Allen. You had a good feud. Is Worth Ratings. And when they finally did reconcile and I think they did a super bowl add together. It was fabulous. Everybody was throwing Leno to everybody was thrilled to see

them all together. But did anybody else in your recollection refuse to come on your show? Sure people. Some people were afraid of Dave. They didn't want to come on. Yeah, kind of a sad story. Come reminds me the Great Don Everley of the everly brothers did. He just died recently, like last year, but before the year before I had done an award show with him in Nashville and he

was talking to me any about his brother. He's still kind of resented his brother Phil Everley, and said, well, one of the things he says, you know, he wouldn't do let him and he wouldn't let us do let him. When I was dying to do it. He was afraid day was going to bring up something from our past and he wouldn't do it. And so there are one example of people who wouldn't you know, we would have had a great time playing with the everly pethers. Boy

Did I love the everly brothers growing up. That's high school music. Wow, they were so, so influential, even on the Beatles. Yeah, they were Beatles stuff. Yeah, guitars. Some of those mergey beat guitar stuff that they played came right from the everly brothers. I loved listening to them and and I think, I think I actually saw them play live someplace, someplace in New York. How often do you see dave now? I seemed quite a bit very um and I'm very touched by the fact that he

really wants our friendship to continue. So we speak on the phone often, we get together when we can. Well, he's live in the same hood. We're basically in the same hood. Yeah, he's a little bit farther away from the city and you and I are. I live in close to you, Martha. Yeah, I know you don't know, but the people may not know, but that's kind of an here here right around Bedford, Bedford, uh and Bedford village, is five little towns that make up Bedford. I don't

think people know that. Cross the River Bedford, Bedford Hills, Katona and UH, MON CISCO. Yeah, we're all in the same little area and UH and so dave is up a little farther north, but I do drive up there once in a while and we have at dinner and talk about the old times and the same things, the same jokes. I still enjoy I'm enjoying all his interviews that he does too. It's really just really fascinating. So you're a band leader for for how many years? Then

then with the two net she was thirty three. Thirty three, that's a lifetime of work, it really is. It is. And what about your band were? They were all everyone doing different things. Um, Felicia Collins, my female guitarist, you remember, spending most of the time with their mother in Albany, but she and I both sat in with a great band that we love called King's x during the summer

and I got to see her. Willie von, good looking bass guitarist, busier than ever worldwide, and then getting on the Internet and playing Bass for people over the Internet and everything in between. Some guys kind of retired, other guys, uh, it never works harder. So Nikki Schwartzberg's my makeup artist and this is her dad, knows you, very old friend of mine, Nikki Schwartzberg. She got married, though, didn't? Oh yeah, she's now. She's now Nicole Toy t o y. She

married this fabulous Chinese hairdresser. Well, Alan, her father was one of the Great Studio Drummers, having played on so many records it's hard to count, from tie a yellow ribbon through the disco era and never can say goodbye. And he's still playing and he still play and he's still playing and somebody just sent me a record by Sharone,

the the French drummer, that he and I played on together. Anyway, he told you know, and I've known both of his daughters, Nicole and Simona, since they were born, and he told me what it was like when you came over during Nicole's house. Do I think that Susan, his wife, cleaned up a little bit? Oh my God, you before you got they were they were still cleaning when I got there, coming to their house. That must have been something. Well, that embarrasses me when people don't think they have to

clean for me, because I don't care. I'll clean for them, I know, I will all Polish their corner. But you've got a brand and a cred you know, and a Rep. so you grew up in Canada. A lot of show is comes from Canada. It's funny. A lot of people come from there. As currently right now with the Saturday night live wave of comedy. A lot of comics in that genre. But you started. You were on Saturday night live also. Yes, what I was as a pianist for

Howard shore. He was the band leader. I was a writer of special musical material because I knew a lot of the kids, like Guilda, Belushi, Billy Murray. I knew them from before. Some of them were Canadians, like Danak right. I knew very natural for me to start working with them and writing with them and by the fifth season I even became a what they call the featured player.

I was in sketches. I was dying to get on camera all through that time, sneaking on and Lowen was amazing in that, just the piano player, I had all access. He would everybody does him now, but he would say, Paul, come on in, you know it's Paul Simon and on and Trevy. We're trying to figure out the opening for next week and I'm just a piano but I'm in there with them trying to figure that stuff out. It

was it was fantastic. I'll always be great for the Lord. Well, Chevy is also a neighbor and so you get to see him off quite a bit and I officiated recently at his daughter's, his second daughter's wedding. For fifteen dollars on the Internet, I became a minister and then I was able to buy a clerical caller for another seven fifty, I think, and I conducted this wedding and I haven't played so many weddings as an organist. I knew what to do. How great it was? Pretty good, of course,

you're very good. What are you talking about? And then Tom Leopold, who was a friend of a friend of your. I don't know if she's your Matt Production Manager or what out here, but he gave me a line to use. The groom went to Chevy to ask for the bride's hand and Chevy said Hell, take the whole girl. So that went over very well. How do I s you're so you're you're very busy. I mean not like I was five shows a week. I'll never be that busy,

thank goodness. Yeah, but still keeping up things, doing, Um, some symphony shows. This is my latest passion. Really like. What's what's The symphony show? Well, it's when I appeared with a symphony orchestra. I've done for so far. Started with the one in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a great symphony. More recently did Long Beach, California, and I do all pop stuff in R and B. I started out with Barry White.

Love Unlimited Orchestra. I have the Great Valerie Simpson, who wrote to you're all I need to get buy and so many issues. My special guest and that I just got a new agent and I'm hoping to get some more bookings. Well, that's very interesting. Yes, I love it. I'd love you to come. I'd love to if I play around here. Yeah, it's really a big kick for me. Can you play a caramore? I would. I would sure love to do yeah, why haven't you played there? Let's

make a call after them. Well, I'm I'm very friendly with whole operation there. For for those of you listening, Karamour is a music festival that is directly across the street from my driveway and uh and I can just sit in my yard out of my terrace and listen to the concerts at night. I can hear them here. It's so nice, but I do go. Also, living by the Hollywood bowl. UH, in a way it is um and they have lovely, lovely performances. I went to hear

Yo Yo Ma this year. That was wonderful. Yo Yoma is an amazing performer and he was on Letterman a few times. Quite yeah, very wonderful, wonderful, normal kind of guy, but he likes all music, which I was really not just classical. He really loves all kinds of music. and Uh so, who are your favorite musicians, other than other than yourself, of course, but who do you who do

you listen to on a regular basis? So many. I still like listening to the soul music of my youth and on Saturday and Sunday morning Sun the jazz station WB G O, they play all soul music and I'm in heaven, whether it's Wilson Pickett or Salmon Dave or the supremes, the four tops. I love those voices and I'm still digging that. That all soul music and still, you know, in my I do a lot of it in my symphony show too, and which which is particular

musicians saying the instruments. We just lost Ramsey Lewis last week and he was a big influence on me in ninety six, I think, when he came out with instrumental version of I'm in with the in crowd, playing very simply and soulfully on the piano, and that's I picked that up when I was a kid from him. He was one of my favorites. Um, Jimmy Smith on the organ. I love the Hammond Jazz Oregan. Um. We lost another

one of those greats to Dr Lonnie Smith. Uh, the greats are, one by one, leaving US greats of this era, you know, and and with them I think goes wrong. Can Roll the shout out to say I think maybe dad. Well, we have what's coming up. We have hip hop and rap. I'm listening to rap. Yeah, you know where I listened to it most? In traffic jams on the on the Sawmill. You just open your window and every car is playing wrap.

Everybody's wrapping. Kind of might make you too excited and I want to get out of that traffic, of course. And you start keeping started, keeping your horn. You're associated with brings things down at a very relaxed level. Yeah, he does. He's really we love snoop and and I just got I just got a picture of you know, you can't even believe that I'm I'm actually friends with these people. Okay, I do believe, I know, I really have.

They know how to trick you know when they see Dre just sent me pictures of his garden yesterday and the garden is all marijuana and that the largest bushiest plants I have ever seen. And I asked for the strains. He didn't send me the names of the strains that he's growing. But it's so fun to to see what people do, I mean what you great, great musicians are up to. And did you watch the Super Bowl with

those guys? Fantastic. Yeah, they were great, right, fantastic. Yeah, I was out there and listen what, I went to the Super Bowl. It was a lot of fun. They adhere to the same principles of show Biz, and they do, and they're all fine musicians and they know a lot like you. I mean you know music inside and out, which is what what astonishes me is that during your education you really did learn music, you did learn instruments, you did learn how to play. So who encouraged you

and did you have to? Did you have to persuade your parents to let you do show Biz? Well, Um, you know, they were the kind of Jewish parents, even in northern Ontario, Canada. We had them Thunder Bay, Ontario and they said that kid is meaning me. He's going to learn how to play piano if it's the last thing I do. You know, wanted you to play and they had a strange duality. They loved show business and they loved music. My mother show tunes and Chopin and

my dad the greatest jazz vocalist. He really turned me on to Billy Eckstein and even Ray Charles, my file. And so they had a secret. You know, boy, if Paul was ever a musician, but really too far fetched. They really would have wanted me to have a real profession, and I was. I graduated from the University of Toronto and sociology, which leads, you know, not exactly anywhere, but I said, you know, the sociology is good. I mean it came in handy, especially I was a band leader.

I absolutely interpersonal relations. Right, sure, but when I said to my dad, I think I got to take a year after graduating and just see if I can you know what music is like, he said, well, you know, it just doesn't surprise me or your mother, and I think they were secretly your only child. Yeah, I think they were secretly thrilled and, of course, very proud of me when I got on Letterman, and they could bet they were. They could tune in every night or at

least the next day. How often did they come down to see you? Quite a bit, they did quite a bit, and they would come to the show. I remember the first time. My boss, Letterman, didn't know my parents yet. My mother sitting in the audience with a big mink code and Letterman is out there doing an audience piece and he and my mother Wright to his left and he said to her, are you in the right studio, because she seemed like she was dressed for a night of a thousand stars. Anyway, that was my mom and

dad and yeah, they sure her proud of me. So you've written music to you write music, you play music, you perform, you're you're you're all around performer. So not so much writing. Um, I wrote one song. It's raining man. I co wrote that with a great Paul Trebar, who was no longer with us, but what a talent, and he won an Oscar for writing last dance for Donna summer and then sure as and after that he called me up and said let's write one now for Donna summer,

you and me. How about the title? It's reigning man, and I said I'll be right over, I'm going to go out and letting myself get absolutely so king wet. And it was, Um, you know, a sort of a fantasy that was set. Worked for the gay community very well. That seemed to be something that they related to. Imagine men reigning out of the sky. If you were the kind of guy who liked men, that's perfect, you know. And so it was kind of written for that crowd.

But then it crossed over. It turned out to be the perfect temple for Aerobic exercise and women used to use it in their classes and they they got to like it too. So it became, you know, and it's still got legs fifty years later, I think. May, no, maybe forty. Forty years later. And then your paths crossed with the rat pack, Sammy Davis Jr, those guys just that. He was one of my favorites, and I of the rat pack. I to work with Sammy. He may have

been the only one that really that. I really did work with Joey Bishop briefly, but Sammy again, a music lesson every single time. Um, and he didn't want to rehearse. UH, he wanted it to be spontaneous really, but my wife was booking the show at the time, Kathy Vassipoli, an old show town co editor from the seventies, and she said you make him rehearse, and when he did, he said, you know how much fun this would have been if we hadn't rehearse, and I said, Damn, I U was right.

You know that? That's how he was. Very spontaneous. Spontaneous. Yes, yes, I'll tell you what, I'm very handsome, very handsome man too. He sure was. So do you have any experience with him? No, just just watching him, because I found him of that of that genre that that grew. He was just the most most appealing to me. Yes, he was. And of course the stage patter so elegant. It was almost British. Yeah, it was. He was very gentleman. With your compermission. Yeah,

very dapper. Yeah, I still say that with your confirmission. People think I'm nuts, but it's not. You know, it's days. It's nice to do that. So what about Broadway? Do you go to you go to Broadway? Do you go to see shows? What have you seen? Did C Billy Crystal on Broadway. Yeah, fantastic. He lived next door to my daughter, so I got to see him quite often. No, no, he wasn't try back and he was so, such a delight all the time, always funny, always just as the

daughter that said. Whatever, Martha Right, every day. That's right. Yes, I remember her, of course. Yeah, I knew her, partner to Jennifer. Yeah, the two of them bad girls. Yeah, I want to tell tell you about my daughter though, because, oh, yeah, how was your daughter? She's got Martha's got to hear about this because she she'll be interested. My daughter is

is twenty nine now, living in California. I got a son twenty three too, but my daughter has her own rescue association, Dog Rescue, called pop culture pup, and she works twenty four seven on it, rescuing animals, rescuing dogs sometimes, but in California, in Los Angeles, Um, and she wrote a book which I sent you, I think some time ago, my wife sent you anyway, talking about her experiences at rescuing and she reminds me of you because she really has the energy to make it into what I think

you might call a brand. She is really what's the name of her company, pop culture, culture. Yeah, okay, Jocelyn. We have Jocelyn here, one of our producers, and Jocelyn is our pet expert and she's uh, and she so remember about pup check. Check her out. Check her out. What's your son doing? She's funny too. My son is in the second year of a Master's program which will hopefully lead him to medical school on net. He's applied.

He's in Boston now, Boston. You doing this program and he's applied to forty different schools and we, you know, we only asked again. You need more doctors. We definitely need more doctors. He is a type of doctor who wants to help everybody. How Great. So two kids on their way to my wife shows all the credits. You did a great job of raising them right up here in bed. How Great. How Nice? And the schools were great. Yes, well, we have covered a lot of ground and uh, and

I think that your career is one memorable. I mean we'll never ever forget the letterman show with Paul Schaefer right there in the headlines. And I and I really love talking to you and being with you this morning. I have had a gas and good to see your operation up here is is breathtaking and you were always so nice to me all through the many years and let him in this and you were nice to me. We're the we're the ones. We're scared stiff going on that show. Find to get over here and now be

on your show with you. Thank you, Paul, thank you.