David Letterman
DOWN BEAT: Paul Shaffer and David Letterman (inset) shocker. (
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UPDATE: Paul Shaffer says he did not mean to say he was quitting in a statement tonight.
“In an interview with a reporter, I made two unrelated points which, joined together, seem to say something that isn’t true. It’s true that the show was recently extended for two years, and yes, someday when it’s all over, I will most likely take a nap. But I hope that day never comes. As long as the show goes on, I will be there for as long as Dave wants me on it.”
Is Paul Shaffer ready to leave David Letterman’s show after three decades?
“The Late Show’s” longtime musical director said over the weekend that he is seriously considering quitting when his current contract expires in 2014.
“We’ve been on 30 years so now we’ve got another two years,” he told TV Guide Canada. “I’m going to be certainly ready to lie down after that, take a nap.”
“But life is nutty,” he conceded. “Anything can happen. I’ve been so lucky and blessed to be working this long in show business. And whatever happens now is just gravy to me.”
Shaffer, 62, admits it won’t be easy to give up the job that pays a reported $5 million a year and made him an international celebrity.
“I love to be the center of attention,” he jokes. “My oversized ego craves it and needs it. It’s more of a sick need to be loved and have everyone paying attention to you.”
A father of two, Shaffer was the only candidate Letterman talked to when he was looking for a sidekick for his late night show, then on NBC, in 1982.
“Paul is essential,” Letterman told CBS News in 2009. “It’s a long trip. And Paul is the funny flight attendant.”
“I knew he was great musically, (but) I didn’t know he was so funny. And I didn’t realize he would become one of my best friends.”
Still, Shaffer has told friends that Letterman has, in all their years together, never visited him before or after the show. The only time they see each other is onstage, in front of the cameras.
A representative for “The Late Show” declined to comment yesterday.
Shaffer — who has been married to former “Good Morning America” talent booker Cathy Vasapoli for 22 years — began his career as musical director for the Toronto production of “Godspell” in 1972.
Three years later, he became a member of the house band for “Saturday Night Live.”
According to a TV Guide network special, Shaffer was originally offered the role of George Costanza on “Seinfeld” — but he never returned the call.