“I had the most fun I’ve ever had in my life,” proclaimed Paul Shaffer after he was unmasked as the Skeleton during last week’s episode of “The Masked Singer.” During his post-show interview with Fox (watch above), the Grammy-winning musician stated, “I have done a bunch of nutty things in my career, [like being] hit by 17 dozen eggs with a giant fan on Letterman. This takes the cake.” Shaffer was eliminated during the fifth episode when he lost the audience vote against Black Widow, Butterfly, Flamingo, Leopard and Thingamajig.
Shaffer called Fox’s wild and wacky reality TV show “hilarious” and “so much fun” before adding, “When this thing is seen I don’t know what’s gonna happen to my reputation.” He’s perhaps best known as David Letterman‘s band leader and comedic sidekick on both NBC’s “Late Night” and CBS’s “Late Show,” until Letterman’s retirement in 2015.
Like all of this season’s eliminations so far, Shaffer noted he “never claimed to be a singer, although I’ve been shouting out rock and roll ever since I was 15 years old.” He expressed slight worriment at the idea of competing against professional singers, continuing, “I just thought, am I going to be able to come off like somebody who could sing? The jury’s still out, let’s put it that way.”
Throughout the Skeleton’s run, the show’s panel of judges — Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke — guessed Shaffer might be such famous names as Jon Cryer, Dana Carvey and Martin Short. “Ken comparing me to Martin Short, who is my best friend and makes me laugh just by opening his eyes, was a great honor for me. He is truly a master of comedic business, and I was trying my hand at it, too.”
“Somehow the Skeleton didn’t make it,” Shaffer concluded with a sad smile. “It has nothing to do with me. A Skeleton came in and somehow has to go home and I feel bad for the Skeleton. Here’s a message for all my Skeleton fans: it was short, but it was sweet, closer to the bone, sweeter is the meat. Good night, everybody!”
