Editing Paul Shaffer (section)

==Early years==
Shaffer was born in 1949 in [[Toronto]], and raised in [[Fort William, Ontario|Fort William]] (now part of [[Thunder Bay]]), [[Ontario]], Canada,<ref name="The National" /> the son of Shirley and Bernard Shaffer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/73/Paul-Shaffer.html |title=Paul Shaffer Biography (1949–) |website=Filmreference.com |access-date=November 25, 2010}}</ref> He was raised in the Jewish faith; his mother volunteered with local charities, and donated to [[Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/whats-next-for-paul-shaffer/amp/ |title=What's next for Paul Shaffer? |date=July 11, 2014 |newspaper=[[Jewish Standard]] |access-date=June 28, 2023}}</ref> His father, a lawyer, was a [[jazz]] aficionado while his mother loved [[show tune]]s. 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.<ref name="birnbach">{{cite news |last1=Birnbach |first1=Lisa |title=Paul Shaffer: Life After Letterman |url=https://www.newsweek.com/2015/05/22/paul-shaffer-life-after-late-show-david-letterman-331127.html |access-date=October 28, 2020 |work=Newsweek |date=May 13, 2015}}</ref> 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 "Flash Landing Band" at different venues around Edmonton and the interior of British Columbia. Educated at the [[University of Toronto]], he began playing with [[jazz]] guitarist [[Tisziji Muñoz]], performing in bands around the bars there, where he found an interest in musicals, and completed his studies, with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in sociology in 1971.<ref name="King">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-shaffer-emc |title=Shaffer, Paul|last=King|first=Betty Nygaard |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Music in Canada|publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia|access-date=2009-01-02}}; Michael Posner, "Paul Talk", ''Toronto Globe and Mail'', October 17, 2009</ref>

Shaffer appears briefly, playing an organ at an outdoor wedding, in ''[[North of Superior]]'' (1971), an early [[IMAX]] documentary shot in [[northern Ontario]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=316904|title=I talked to Paul Shaffer today! - Straight Dope Message Board|website=Boards.straightdope.com|date=May 17, 2005 |access-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref>