Entertaining friends
Chris Serico • The Journal News • Jan. 30, 2010 • Photo courtesy of Tom Leopold
Almost 25 years ago, Paul Shaffer, Martin Short and Tom Leopold posed for a photo at the Los Angeles premiere of a Cinemax music and comedy special called “Viva Shaf Vegas.”
Now, these three amigos will reunite for more music and laughs at the White Plains Performing Arts Center on February 6, to raise funds for the Mount Kisco Hebrew Congregation’s educational programs. And they couldn’t be happier.
Although Shaffer says the show will feature “Marty and I working together for really the first time,” Short says the two are known to put on the most informal of shows on a whim.
“We were at the Monkey Bar (at Manhattan’s Hotel Elysée) the other night, and as we were leaving, Paul started playing and I sang a song,” Short says.
The three have taken very different paths since their early years together. With countless side projects and a new memoir, Shaffer has served as bandleader, sidekick and foil for talk-show host David Letterman since 1982. Short — famous for comedy on TV (“Saturday Night Live”), movies (“iThree Amigos!”) and Broadway (“Fame Becomes Me”) — now shows off his dramatic side on FX’s “Damages.” Leopold, a former TV writer for hits from “Cheers” to “Seinfeld,” has reinvented himself on the stand-up circuit.
Shaffer and his wife, Cathy, have lived in northern Westchester since the early ’90s and been members of the synagogue for about 15 years. When Cathy started planning this year’s fund-raiser, they called upon Leopold to open the show with stand-up and the man they call “Marty” to add even more star power.
“She’s now in full-throttle organizational mode, which means I won’t see her until it’s over,” Paul Shaffer says, deadpan. “Tom is the right man for the job. … (Short) is the sweetest guy, first of all, (and) a real good human being … as evidenced by the fact that he’s taken time out to do this for us and our little synagogue.”
In his second year serving as president of Mount Kisco Hebrew Congregation, David Pitkoff is excited the trio is lending support to a 105-year-old synagogue with a membership of about 100 families.
“We’re a small congregation,” he says. “So, to think that people of such incredible talent are offering their time to help us through these economic difficulties is just a wonderful thing.”
Shaffer, who calls Short his “best buddy,” became fast friends with him when they auditioned for a Toronto production of “Godspell” on March 25, 1972. While Shaffer snagged a spot as music director, Short was cast with future sketch-comedy and movie stars named Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas and Andrea Martin.
“(Short was) the funniest guy I’d ever come across,” Shaffer says of his first impression. “I was just sort of drawn to funny, clever people. And he can sing and dance, so he’s like a quadruple-threat when it comes to show business. But beyond that, he and I seem to have a similar sensibility.”
“Basically, we have a riot together and enjoy each other’s company,” Short adds. Not only were Short’s first impressions mutual, but he wasn’t alone in recognizing Shaffer’s talent when the musician played piano at the “Godspell” audition. “Godspell” composer Stephen Schwartz, was blown away, according to Short.
“They couldn’t believe this kid who was playing the piano,” Short says. “Stephen Schwartz was so blown away by Paul … and (Schwartz) didn’t like the pianist they’d hired, so they fired that guy and hired Paul. And then they made him the music director. It was because his talent made everyone’s head spin.”
Both have ties to “Saturday Night Live.” From the series’ 1975 inception through 1980, Shaffer was one of the bandleaders and made frequent cameos in sketches; Short joined the cast for the 1984-85 season.
After initially claiming he met Shaffer in “prison,” Tom Leopold says he and Shaffer became friends when the comedian was writing for Chevy Chase’s 1977 TV show.
“Paul did some musical stuff and we became best friends then, and we’ve been close friends ever since,” he says.
Leopold wrote some classic Seinfeld episodes including “The Café” (in which cafe owner Babu labels Jerry Seinfeld a “very, very bad man”) and “The Suicide” (featuring the first on-screen appearance of the nefarious Newman). Earning the respect of comedy fans wasn’t the only reward for TV writing.
“We got about 16 cases of Drake’s Cakes,” Leopold recalls.
Leopold and Shaffer collaborated with yet another “SNL” alumnus, Harry Shearer, for “Viva Shaf Vegas.” Their love for music and terrible theater inspired the special and bits that will be performed at the synagogue’s fundraiser.
“We want to do kind of a Rat Pack thing at the end, because they’re the reason we all got into show business,” Leopold says. “And I guess our chances of joining the Rat Pack are getting slimmer, because they’re all dead.”
Shaffer mentions the Mount Kisco Hebrew Congregation and his first synagogue in his memoir, “We’ll Be Here For the Rest of Our Lives.”
“There’s some stuff (in the book) about my early years, when I performed as a child up in Canada, and a funny story about learning the song, ‘Exodus,’ which was out at the time.” Shaffer says. “It was a huge song, especially for Jews. Once I learned that song and played it at the synagogue, I killed. I learned the meaning of killing in front of an audience. I think that I’ll play this song at some point at this show.”
He says there’s a certain energy that comes with playing his favorite songs with the CBS Orchestra and chatting on-air with Letterman, the “funniest, quickest guy in show business.”
“What’s great about my job is that I get to do all the things that I love, all at the same time,” he says.
