Paul Shaffer
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Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (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'' (1982–1993) and '' Late Show with David Letterman'' (1993–2015). Early years Shaffer was born in 1949 in Toronto, and raised in Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada, the son of Shirley and Bernard Shaffer. His father, a lawyer, was a jazz aficionado while his mother loved show tunes. When Shaffer was 12, his parents took him on a trip to Las Vegas where they took in Nat King Cole and other shows; this was an experience Shaffer described later as "life changing" and led to his decision to become a performer. 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 ...
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Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest, for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase, when the Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown, the British established the town of York in 1793 and later designat ...
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Tisziji Muñoz
Tisziji Muñoz (born July 15, 1946) is an American jazz guitarist. He served as drummer in the 440th U.S. Army band. He left the US Army in 1969. In the 1970s, he lived in Canada and New York City. He played in Pharoah Sanders' band. In 1978, he recorded his first album, on the India Navigation label: ''Rendezvous with Now''. In 1984, he moved to Schenectady. He plays in the Tisziji Muñoz Quartet with other jazz musicians, including the Late Show with David Letterman musical director Paul Shaffer. Along with other musicians, he performed at the 150th anniversary of the Steinway & Sons piano company, at Carnegie Hall, in 2003. He uses a single-line playing style, due to a childhood wrist injury. Shaffer, in his autobiography ''We'll Be Here For the Rest of Our Lives'', describes Muñoz as a mentor and inspiration for his musical career.''We'll Be Here For the Rest of Our Lives: A Swingin' Showbiz Saga'', Paul Shaffer, Doubleday/Flying Dolphin Press (2009), . pages 90-92, 93-94, ...
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Broadway Theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Theatre'' as the proper noun in their names (12 others used neither), with many performers and trade groups for live dramatic presentations also using the spelling ''theatre''. or Broadway, are the theatrical performances presented in the 41 professional theatres, each with 500 or more seats, located in the Theater District and the Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world. While the thoroughfare is eponymous with the district and its collection of 41 theaters, and it is also closely identified with Times Square, only three of the theaters are located on Broadway itself (namely the Broadwa ...
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Andrea Martin
Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''Wag the Dog'' (1997), '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (2001), ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), '' My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'' (2016), and ''Little Italy'' (2018). She has also lent her voice to the animated films ''Anastasia'' (1997), ''The Rugrats Movie'' (1998), and '' Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' (2001). Martin has been equally prolific in the world of theater, winning Tony Awards for both ''My Favorite Year'' and the 2013 revival of ''Pippin''. Martin also appeared on Broadway in '' Candide'', ''Oklahoma!'', '' Fiddler on the Roof'', ''Young Frankenstein'', ''Exit the King'', and '' Act One''. She has received five nominations for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, more than any other actress in the award's histor ...
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Dave Thomas (actor)
David William Thomas (born May 20, 1949) is a Canadian actor, comedian and television writer. He is best known for being one half of the duo Bob and Doug McKenzie with Rick Moranis. He appeared as Doug McKenzie on '' SCTV'', for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award out of two nominations, and in the film ''Strange Brew'' (1983), which he also co-directed. As a duo, they made two albums, ''The Great White North'' and ''Strange Brew'', the former gaining them a Grammy Award nomination and a Juno Award. His other notable acting credits include ''Stripes'' (1981), ''Love at Stake'' (1987), '' Moving'' (1988), ''Coneheads'' (1993) and ''Rat Race'' (2001). He provided the voice of Tuke in ''Brother Bear'' (2003), and ''Brother Bear 2'' (2006), and is also known for playing Russell Norton in the TV series Grace Under Fire (1993-1998). Early life David William Thomas was born May 20, 1949, in St. Catharines, Ontario. He is the eldest son of British parentsMoreen Duff Muir(May 4, 192 ...
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Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. From 1976 until 1984, he appeared in the Canadian television sketch comedy series '' SCTV''. He has also appeared in the '' American Pie'' series of films and the Canadian sitcom ''Schitt's Creek''. He often plays flustered and unconventional figures. He is a regular collaborator of actor-director Christopher Guest, appearing in and co-writing four of his films, commencing with ''Waiting for Guffman'' (1996). In 2004, Levy won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media for "A Mighty Wind" from the film of the same name that he co-wrote. Levy received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in 2008. He was appointed to the Order of Canada on June 30, 2011. From 2015 to 2020, he starred as Johnny Rose in ''Schitt's Creek'', a comedy series that he co-created with his son and co-star Dan Levy. In 2019 and 2020, he was nominated for the Primetime ...
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Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is known for his work on the television programs '' SCTV'' and ''Saturday Night Live''. Short created the characters Jiminy Glick and Ed Grimley. He also acted in the sitcom ''Mulaney'' (2014–2015), the variety series ''Maya & Marty'' (2016), and '' The Morning Show'' (2019). He has also had an active career on stage, starring in Broadway productions including Neil Simon's musicals ''The Goodbye Girl'' (1993) and '' Little Me'' (1998–1999). The latter earned him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the former a nomination in the same category. He has starred in comedy films such as ''Three Amigos'' (1986), ''Innerspace'' (1987), ''Three Fugitives'' (1989), ''Captain Ron'' (1992), '' Clifford'' (1994), ''Mars Attacks!'' (1996), ...
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Gilda Radner
Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian, and one of the seven original cast members of the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). In her routines, Radner specialized in parodies of television stereotypes, such as advice specialists and news anchors. In 1978, she won an Emmy Award for her performances on the show. She also portrayed those characters in her highly successful one-woman show on Broadway in 1979. Radner's ''SNL'' work established her as an iconic figure in the history of American comedy. She died from ovarian cancer in 1989. Her autobiography dealt frankly with her life, work, and personal struggles, including her struggles with that illness. Her widower, Gene Wilder, carried out her wish that information about her illness would be used to help other cancer victims, founding—and inspiring the founding of—organizations that emphasize early diagnosis, attent ...
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Victor Garber
Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also been nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards along with the casts of the critically acclaimed films ''Titanic'' (1997), ''Milk'' (2008), and ''Argo'' (2012); he won for ''Argo''. Garber originated roles in the Broadway productions of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (1979–1980), ''Noises Off'' (1983–1985), which earned him a Drama Desk Award along with the cast, ''Lend Me a Tenor'' (1989–1990), ''Arcadia'' (1995), and ''Art'' (1998–1999). He received his first Tony Award nomination for his role in '' Deathtrap'' in 1978. He continued to receive nominations for his performances in the Neil Simon musical '' Little Me'' in 1982, the comedic play ''Lend Me a Tenor'' in 1989 and the musical comedy revival of '' ...
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Godspell
''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ appearing briefly near the end. ''Godspell'' began as a project by drama students at Carnegie Mellon University and then moved to the off-off-Broadway theater La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan. The show was rescored for an off-Broadway production, which opened on May 17, 1971, and became a long-running success. Many productions have followed worldwide, including a 2011 Broadway revival. An abbreviated one-act version of the musical designed for performers aged 18 and under also exists, titled ''Godspell Junior''. Several cast albums have been released over the years. " Day by Day", from the original cast album, reached #13 on the '' Billboard'' pop singles chart in the summ ...
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Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including ''Pocahontas'' (1995), ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996), ''The Prince of Egypt'' (1998, music and lyrics), and '' Enchanted'' (2007). Schwartz has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards, and has been nominated for six Tony Awards. He received the 2015 Isabelle Stevenson Award, a special Tony Award, for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent. Early life and education Schwartz was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Sheila Lorna (née Siegel), a teacher, and Stanley Leonard Schwartz, a businessman. He grew up in the Williston Park area of Nassau County, New York, where he gra ...
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Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Province of the Canadian Shield, a vast rocky plateau located mainly north of Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), the French River, Lake Nipissing, and the Mattawa River. The statistical region extends south of the Mattawa River to include all of the District of Nipissing. The southern section of this district lies on part of the Grenville Geological Province of the Shield which occupies the transitional area between Northern and Southern Ontario. The extended federal and provincial quasi-administrative regions of Northern Ontario have their own boundaries even further south in the transitional area that vary according to their respective government policies and requirements. Ontario government departments and agencies such as the Growth Pl ...
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