Tom Shales

I don't think Paul's popping off is all his doing. There are a phalanx of producers doing the show and they are the ones, with Dave's blessing, that say what goes and what doesn't. Paul has always liked the limelight and unlike Max, isn't satisfied just to play and be mostly quiet.

Someone please turn Paul's mic off.

"...his partnership with Shaffer goes way back 25 years to Letterman’s first show at NBC."

Actually, Letterman's first show at NBC was daytime's "The David Letterman Show."

Paul didn't talk at first. He had stage-fright, according to early stories (I'm talking early years of his Letterman alliance). It does seem he talks a bit more now, on his own.

However, you are WAY, WAY off as to who the best is in late night music! Scripts. Yeah, they seem like it! Weinberg can't adlib is all. Paul is creative, a genius, and I would put up with his intrusion any day of the week over Max.

Seems taking advice and Blog ideas from a 12-year old has done you a disservice.

Finally! I was wondering when someone was going to point that out. What an annoying little toad that man is. I used to hate it when he fawned over Letterman, coming across as cringingly obsequious. Now he's just trying to insert himself in every way he can. It's not about you, Paul! And it wouldn't be so bad if he was at least funny, or had something pertinent to say. He's just jarring and I wish he'd shut the fuck up.

To anyone who disagrees with me: Shut up, shut up, shut up. You don't watch as much as I do, and by the way, the ability to ad lib is NOT and should not be a part of a bandleader's duties. That remark was especially idiotic.

Thanks for your observations about Schaffer - it is about time someone had the courage to call attention to his rude interruptions and kitschy musical introductions.

But you forgot to mention that offensive announcer Alan Coulter, who periodically interrupts Dave with irrelevant, obscene rants. When are they going to fire that guy? And then there is that fat guy who walks on the stage pretending to be somebody famous. Poor Dave has to go along with it and interview him, but it is terribly embarrassing. And have you ever noticed that some of the items in the nightly top ten list seem to be just a little bit sarcastic? They really should get new writers.

I think Paul is hilarious and the best second banana working today. In fact, he has become funnier than Dave.

Paul Shaffer didn't have stage-fright early on, he had been appearing on Saturday Night Live for five years already (including a growing presence in sketches).

He may not have known how to be the combination Ed McMahon/Doc Severinsen at first, but he certainly didn't suffer from stage-fright.

Paul has been doing this for years. He did the same thing Monday night when Jim Carrey was on the show. Jim Carrey was promoting his new move "The Number 23" and whenver the number 23 was mentioned, Paul would play spooky music and yell "WOOOOOHOOOO". Letterman and Shaffer do this all the time. I've been watching Letterman since the early 90s and nothing seems different to me. I think like a typical journalist, you are looking to make a story out of nothing. If Letterman didn't want to deal with Pauls wacky antics, he wouldn't chat with him so much during the show.

No doubt that the "Max Weinberg 7" is THE best late night band. But the funny thing is that the band is TOTALLY at it's best when Max is gone and the band comes under the leadership of guitarist, Jimmy Vivino.

Paul Shaffer has been an obtrusive and annoying shill for WAY to long now. Time to give him a long time coming rest.

If there's a feud that would be unfortunate. Letterman without him would be Simon without Garfunkel, Lennon without McCartney, Van Halen without David Lee Roth.

This is one of those things that doesn't need fixing but if it's true Dave relies on middlemen to do his bidding, then some jackass will probably come along and poison the whole thing, ruin the dynamic and make the shoe uncomfortable to watch and then a change will have to be made.

This story is so way off that it's funny. Something you made up because you couldn't think of anything else?

Paul's comments are no more hit or miss than Dave's. And I like his off the wall intro themes to the crazy bits ! Compared to the other common "dead spots" in the show,
I'd vote for MORE input from Paul. Plus, he's gotten Dave out of more bad bits than he's
created. So leave Paul alone. He is as important to the chemistry of the show as anyone
else !

Plus, bring back Mujibar and Sirajul !!!

Paul is so much more natural and comfortable in front of the camera. Max Weinberg looks like a deer in headlights half the time when Conan tries to interact with him. Max can't improvise to save his life. He stiffly reads what's on the cards and that's about it.

When Max Weinberg leaves to go on tour with Bruce, you can hardly tell he's not there. On the rare occasion that Paul Shaffer takes a night off, the dynamic of the show is a lot different. Paul is genuinely funny and gets people to laugh because he's humorous. I find myself laughing AT Max and his stiff, robot like delivery.

This from the man who thought the Fox News "comedy" show wasn't half bad? Ehh, that tells us all we need to know about your pathetic sense of humor.

This is typical of Shales logarrhea; much of the schtick on LATE SHOW is tired, but none of it as tired as the smarmy tone of perhaps the least-deserving Pulitzer-winner thus far. Perhaps the 12yo godson could take over the blog, or, better, his POST colleague Lisa de Moraes.

Um, no... Shales... no. The suffered when it switched from Late Night to Late Show for several reasons, big among them was the mysterious silence of Paul. For true lovers of classic Letterman, Paul and Dave's repartee was part of the legend. Dave is such an honery cuss he may well be irritated by Paul but it seems more like their schtick--Paul rattles on, Dave expresses thinly veiled bemusement/irritation/frustration. It's a breath of fresh air and it's great to have Paul back finally. Shales, have you seen the way you dress, the way you wear your hair, your choice of glasses? You don't have any taste in those, what makes you magically think you have taste in comedy of all things?

Tom, "Calling Doc Severinsen", now why hasn't someone thought of this before, and I mean LITERALLY. Doc still practices 4+ hours a day and is appearing somewhere all the time. Doc's Tonight Show band was one of the best stage bands EVER, IMO, and easily the best late night TV band (yes, better than Max Weinberg's band). Wow, there's even some history there with Johnny Carson preferring Letterman over Leno as his replacement.

To PGage:

Clearly, you don't understand Letterman's shtick. Alan's rants are scripted. The fat guy's interviews are scripted. The Top 10 lists are supposed to be sarcastic. That is, and always has been, Dave's style.

Paul is, and always should be, a vital part of the show. I agree that Paul has gotten Dave out of more than a few tight spots, simply by saying something off the wall, or playing some bit of music that breaks the tension.

To Shales:

I agree that sometimes Paul goes over the top. In those instances, it is also OK for Dave to express his displeasure on camera. However, they have worked together so long that it seems like part of the show. Leave them alone. They are fine.

Some people get it, some people don't. For a reviewer like Shales to think that Paul just throws things out willy-nilly is very naive. These programs are scripted and produced to the "nth" degree. I'm sure some of Paul's comments are off the cuff, but the majority of his banter with Dave is all part of the plan.

I hope PGage was being sarcastic when he said "poor Dave has to go along with it" and interview the fake guests they bring on from time to time. Nothing happens on this show without Dave's OK. This is not a bunch of college kids throwing things up to see what sticks. I do agree with Shales that many of the songs Shaffer comes up with for the various comedy segments of the show are getting stale. It seems they are often just a different variation on a theme, instead of something new.

That said, Letterman and Shaffer are by far the best thing on late-night television. Letterman is the only late-night host who can do a "hard" interview when it is called for. Leno's fawning over politicians and Governor Arnold in particular is just so offensive. He is a light-weight when it comes time to do a "real" interview. And his music director is a good guy I'm sure, but adds nothing to the show.

Dave and Paul are CRAP. They could never make it on MY SHOW. Oh, OOPS, they used do my show everyday until CBS bought out Dave and Paul. Thanks, Dave, for jumping ship over to CBS. Now, I have your show and soon I will be taking over Jay's time period and then I, Conan O'Brien, Max Weinberg, and La Bomba will take over the WORLD! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!!!! Keep up the good work, Paul, and keep irritating Dave! HA, HA, HA, HA, HAAAAA!

I have been a long time Late Night viewer and have always thought that Paul's laugh is annoying but I put up with it because I like Dave's sarcastic wit and all the wacky stuff that is on the Letterman show like "will it float." Brief Paul/Dave interactions are okay but his constant blathering and cackling are times I use the "mute" on my remote!

David & Paul, Paul & David....They are the Letterman Show....Alan Kalter is a good announcer period. The bad "Anger Bits" never work, he can not act and should not. Mc Mahan was always McMahan on Carson and nobody else. More power to Letterman, he is today's Paul Dixon on a much bigger scale.

Hello. I've watched Letterman practically every night for a decade. Yes, literally. This might not mean anything, but I feel it does qualify me to know more than most people about Dave, Paul and the show in general.

Knowing this, I have a 1 sentence reply to your entire blog post followed by 2 additional sentences to explain the first. These sentences will then be followed by a very short paragraph that I included for my own entertainment.

You're a f***ing idiot.

The thing where Paul goes off babbling on and on about God knows what followed by Dave "putting him in his place" is something that happens practically weekly regarding a variety of subjects and is considered by anyone with a brain or that has ever watched the show before as nothing more than "comedy shtick." Paul acts like an annoyingly disruptive dope nightly on purpose because that is once again... his "comedy shtick."

Hey, I was watching The Three Stooges the other night. Larry and Curly were acting stupid, so Moe smacked them around a little. So... obviously... they too are feuding.

Paul is annoying?? Geez, let's talk letterman being annoying!

I quit watching years ago b/c he just seemed like such a grump - not his normal, funny grump. Just bad boring. Nothing worse than boring. I attempted to watch him a couple times this year and couldn't stomach more than 5 minutes before reaching for the remote.

To CulPurple...
Yes - I was being sarcastic. To unpack that for you, my point was that Mr. Shales' misunderstanding of Paul Schaffer's role on the show was as gross and unfortunate as taking any of the other bits on the show literally.

I can understand a difference of opinion about the comedic value of Dave & Paul - I dig it, but reasonable people can disagree. I do not understand how a professional television reviewer can so badly mis-perceive what they are doing....unless, perhaps, Shales' entire comment was meant to be ironic?

I've been watching Letterman since the first daytime show in 1980... and if anybody thinks there is any real angst between Dave and Paul, you're nuts. It's just part of their act. It's. Just. What. They. Do. Finbib and in10 know what I'm talking about.

Wait... so someone is actually excited about Ventriloquist Week? Besides the wooden dummies? Paul speaketh the truth!

You know Tom, most times you get it but this time you missed it by a mile. Paul's interrupting with his "Show Biz" trivia is an integral part of their dynamic. For Dave, Paul is the connection to Johnny, to Jack, to Steve and all of the talk show Gods that Dave reveres 'cause Paul is Mister Show Biz. He channels the entire Rat Pack (with the possible exception of angie Dickinson). And Dave would no more do without Paul than he will stop doing the Thanksgiving Pie updates with his Mom.

I was just thinking the same thing last night. The whole "make up a song that has it's lyrics the name of the skit" crap is getting old. Conan/Max do it , too. At first, it is funny, because it's supposed to be camp. Then, after 10, 20 years it becomes very tired. Just like the pencil throw/ glass break. That shit got old fast. It is just laziness, if you ask Me.

How dare you call Ricky Layne and Velvel "obscure"?
.
Furthermore, I'll bet Letterman knows exactly who they are/were.

And, as much as I enjoy Conan, he and his writers put Max Weinberg through all sorts of indignities that Letterman -- who gets off on making people uncomfortable -- would never make Shaffer suffer through.

We should all have Paul Shaffer's job security.

Tom, You are usually right on and I love your observations. But I'll take the off-the-wall, unusual anbd many times funny reactions from Paul and Alan over Max Weinberg, who never has one interesting thing to say! That's scripted? Bland as bland can be, and I hate bland.

Kimmel has the best late show anyway.

Hmmm... it seems that in the world of late night TV, the program host has frequently had a foil. Think of Johnny and Ed, for example. Au contraire, Carson's predecessor was skilled at captivating a studio audience without any sidekick; you rock, Jack Paar. Maybe Dave should keep not only Paul, but also hire a McMahon-esque buddy at the end of the couch. And, why not make than buddy a woman? Now, there' a concept...

Shales said this happened on the "first night of Letterman’s recent mock-event “Ventriloquist Week II”. Actually, it was on Wednesday night's show, which would make it the third night, not the first. Not a big deal except that you would think a journalist would get his facts straight. Also, Dave showed the photos of the obscure ventriloquist after the commercial break. At that point, the subject was dead and could have easily remained that way, so for Dave to bring it up again, how upset could he have been? You tell me.

The "obscure ventriloquist" Paul Shaffer was talking about was Ricky Layne, whose
dummy was named Velvel. Layne was unique among vents because he was Jewish and didn't hide it, using a thick Yiddish accent and skewing his material the same way. He was a big Catskill/ nightclub attraction and probably appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" as many times as Senor Wences. Paul's comments were germane since the Letterman show is done in the Sullivan theater. Furthermore, Shaffer is not just a fan, but an authority on old-time show biz, as is Martin Short. They satirize what they love. I liked Ricky Layne when I was a kid for the same reason I liked Lenny Bruce,
because I always dug Yiddish humor. Layne was not "obscure" at all. In his day, he was a star .He was the ventriloquist Jackie Mason.

Another Crazy Dave

It's obvious from this review that Tom Shales just doesn't get it. He doesn't understand that Shaffer is continuing to play his role on the show, and that's to be the weird, wacky lounge dude who knows how to make Dave laugh when the show can really use a laugh. Shales is a weird, wacky out of touch television reviewer, at least when it comes to reviewing the Shaffer-Letterman relationship. When Letterman gets mad at Shaffer, it's just part of the schtick. It's really not that hard to understand.

Two words: Hank Kingsley

I've been watching the different variations of Letterman's shows since the the early years of "Late Night" (as a 12 year-old whose sense of humor was molded by him, SNL and the Zucker Brothers, but I digress). Mr. Shayles, being at least 20 years your junior, I cannot claim to have watched (or to currently watch) as much TV as you, but I have enough knowledge of his on-air relationship with Paul to say that "it works." Though I will concede that Paul's interjections have become rather long and rambling these past couple of years, their banter has always been one of the defining factors of the show. Max Weinberg's quieter role as bandleader on Conan had been established from the start and it continues. Also, don't forget that Max has always been in the background as a drummer - be it for Springsteen or for Conan. Paul was a "showman" of sorts on SNL and other related projects, sometimes with lines of dialogue. If you notice, many of Dave's older comedic guests (i.e. Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Tom Hanks) often give a nod to Paul as they walk in...and sometimes even make small-talk with him, as well. It's because he's got history with those performers. To suddenly minimize Paul's role on "Late Show" would be doing a disservice to him and to all us fans who know his place in entertainment and pop culture.

But yeah, he needs to reel it in sometimes.

Doesn't Shales usually comment on things that have actually happened? Since when does he engage in spreading rumors (in this case, a rumor apparently created by . . . Tom Shales)? The Max Weinberg 7 is the best late-nite band, and Max does well in scripted segments; but, Paul is still tops when it comes to interacting -- and ad libbing --with a show's host. Also, it's extremely naive to presume that Paul is somehow out-of-control. He does what he's allowed to do. Obviously, Dave and the producers give him a lot of latitude; as a result, some of his comments work and some fall flat. It's always been this way between him and Dave.

I'll give Shales this much: many of Paul's musical intros are lame, even annoying. But, so what? Sometimes, that very lameness makes them funny, inviting a quip from Dave. And, tell me this: Is there anyone that watches Dave on a regular basis who can't pull up the theme for "Will It Float" from memory?

Paul's talent lies in being a musician and bandleader. His one hit (It's Raining Men") doesn't qualify him as a great and prolific songwriter, and he is not a natural comedian. Guess what? Neither was (is) Doc Severinsen. Luckily for us, the viewers, those talents are NOT a requirement for the position.

As the once main influence to Letterman forty years ago from Cincinnati's WLWT and seen on the WLW stations in Dayton, Columbus and Dave's native Indianapolis, let us not loose sight of levity, show biz and hammy mid-west humor of which I was the cornball TV king for over twenty-five years before I died in 1974.

Ride on David, ride on.

From "Knees Ville",
Paul Baby

Dave often looks "annoyed" on the show. It's one of his best comedic bits. He happens often with Alan Kalter, "TV's Uncle Jerry." I have watched Letterman every night for the last seven or eight years. This is nothing. Later in that show, Dave talked about the very ventriloquist Paul brought up and the facts about his life. He mentioned that the man had died about a year before. If Dave was so annoyed with the story, why bring it back up? Oh wait, he wasn't annoyed by it.

David Letterman is indeed the king of late night television. The legacy of Johnny Carson, the man who did not define, but definitevely refined the talk show format, resides in him. Johnny knew it. That's why he contributed jokes to Dave. Leno is not good. O'brien is twice as bad. To say he and Weinberg are a great team is folly. The idiotic thought is that a bandleader doesn't need to be an integral part of a show in an adlib AND scripted format. Doc & Ed could do both with aplomb. The ability to think on your feet is essential in order to keep a show organic and flowing naturally. Weinberg is pathetic at that, and the show stops in its tracks when he does. Conan, who is paid to ad lib as part of the job description, is nearly as bad. Listen to ANY interview he's ever done. Not only does the camera constantly catch him looking at his sweat-curled blue cards looking for a sense of direction, but when he converses with guests, they are the ones filling in the gaps. I'll grant that Dave is definitely feeliing his age, and some shows are called in, but Conan at this stage is his on-stage career is miles behind where Dave was. Conan has terrific writers & bit players, but with all due respect to certain godsons, his show pales in comparison to the king of late night. If it wasn't for him being in HD & Kimmel and Ferguson not being in HD, I'd have much less ammunition for this reply. I am so not looking forward to 2009 when that guy supplants Leno and becomes some sort of late night royalty by acclimation. I'm looking even less forward to 2010 when Dave's contract is up.
At that point we will officially enter the Cubic Zirconia Age of Television.

Shales is a big tittie-baby...

Some of Paul's interjections are pre-planned, some are not. You'll note he wears an IFB, so the producers can feed him material, corrections, give music cues...or tell him to keep quiet. You'll note he has an open mic for most of the show, that can easily be turned off if Dave or anyone finds him annoying. So, no, I don't buy Mr. Shales premise that Dave has had it with Paul. In fact....look at who Dave plays to for much of the desk material. His eye contact is mostly with Paul, not the audience, not the camera.

However, he bits with staff & Coulter are misguided and truly not funny, except maybe to those who work on the show. A waste of air time. Maybe they're just trying to amuse themselves on the job.

Geez, Paul Dixon types well for a dead man. Stale bits? They're part of the familiarity that makes the show work... like use a high school chum's nickname of 'Booger' at the 20th reunion.Yes, Shaffer seems to be interjecting more, but David seems to be enjoying it more. I've seen him laugh out loud at Shaffer's comments more often in the last two years than in the previous ten.

I am watching an episode of DL right now (among the guests Kirsten Dunst), and it's Kirsten who keeps me staying tuned. Paul has been extremely annoying for quite a while, interrupting Dave whenever he feels like it. Dave's "Thanks, Paul!" after Paul screamed one of his extremely annoying songs (right now "Small Town News") while hugging the mic, doesn't even sound sincere anymore.
It goes to show that Dave knows...

Can anyone tell me the name of the beautiful, dark-haieded female singer who perfomred on the Letterman Show about two weeks ago. The song she did was quite long, with sophisticated lyrics. Kind of Anita Baker-ish, but more playful, upbeat. Part of the hook/chorus was (somenthing like) "When I get my fingers on you..."

Tonight, the same song weas used as background for a scene on "The Unit."

How 'bout it?