Ross Shafer - Biography

Ross Shafer was reared in the rugged timberlands of the Pacific Northwest; where he showed no promise as an accordion prodigy. The sound hurt his ears and it just wasn't the make-me-popular-at-a-campfire instrument he dreamed it would be.

In Junior High, Ross mowed enough lawns to switch instruments and buy an electric guitar. Unfortunately, he didn't mow enough lawns to buy an amplifier. So his talent went largely unnoticed.
As a senior in High School, Ross made an unlikely Student Body President. His only true political aspiration was to fight for the right to sing the unabridged lyrics to "Louie, Louie."

A High School All Conference football player, Ross was awarded a scholarship to play for the University of Puget Sound - a small NCAA-II school whose pride became swollen when they defeated famed Slippery Rock State. Although he was often the player voted most likely to be "shaken up on the play," he did obtain a Business Marketing BA degree within four years…an achievement he's convinced is a school record.

In college, Ross and fellow linebacker, Ron Reeves, (whose name is mentioned here for the express purpose of embarrassing him) tried to make extra money as a singing comedy duo. However, Ron abandoned the team at the first sight of a real job and Ross was forced to joke solo. His occasional income had to be supplemented by writing ad copy for desperate carpet companies. "3 Rooms for $399" was his writing peak. He also blew his savings on what he was sure would be the "next big thing." Ross invested everything in America's Only Stereo and Pet Shop. Yeah, right. It was about as successful as chocolate bicycle tires and soon folded.

Business failures aside, his jokes still managed to get laughs. In fact, he won the 1983 Showtime Comedy Laugh Off…and virtually overnight (six grueling years) major nightclubs and corporations were duped into hiring Ross to open shows for Dionne Warwick, Eddie Rabbitt, Crystal Gayle, Neil Sedaka, and other famous people with good voices.
In the summer of 1984, a Seattle television station (KING-TV) had the notion to produce a weekly comedy/talk show called, "Almost Live with Ross Shafer" and launched a search for a comedian with that name. Imagine Ross' amazing luck.

In the four years Ross was at the helm of Almost Live, the show collected almost 40 Emmy Awards; six going to Ross for his work as Host, Actor, and Writer - and the prestigious IRIS award for the "Best Entertainment Series" in the United States; which can only be explained as a typo.

These were busy times for Ross; who also hosted a daily four-hour afternoon drive radio program on KJR-AM. He never played accordion music.

Ross also became a regular contributor to Dick Clark's "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" and appeared with Dick as a guest when Ross successfully changed the Official Washington State Song to "Louie, Louie." Ross could finally get some sleep.
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For a while, critics claimed that with his massive head of hair, Ross looked more like a game show host than a comedian. So, in a semi-hostile takeover, the USA Network hired Ross to host their game show, "Love Me, Love me Not." He also taped game show pilots for NBC and ABC. A disturbing and almost profitable pattern was developing.

Under the illusion that Game Shows were somehow culturally important, Ross was offered (2) Ross Shafer Comedy TV Specials, plus a recurring role on Fox Television's "21 Jump Street."
About the same time, the Fox network lost Joan Rivers as the host of their flagship late night program, "The Late Show." It competed against Johnny Carson and David Letterman and came complete with scenery, a band, and comfortable talk show seating for six. After a bevy of rotating hosts, Ross was hired as the permanent guy. He chatted it up with celebrities and enjoyed an upscale daily cheese tray.
Ross continued to perfect his stand-up act and told jokes on, "Evening At The Improv" "Comic Strip Live," "The A List," and a cavalcade of others.

Next came, "Days End, a nightly ABC entertainment magazine co-hosted by Ross and Matt Lauer. The show lasted 6 months and Ross has always wondered whatever became of Matt?
Ross also became a published author with the comedy cookbook, "Cook Like A Stud"…38 recipes men can prepare in the garage using their own tools. And he wrote and produced the highly acclaimed comedy CD, "Inside the First Family," a send up of the Clinton Scandals. You're right if you think Ross had too much time on his hands.

Oh yes, and there was the successful run as the host of ABC-TV's "Match Game." The show still plays every morning on the Game Show Network.

All along, Ross has continued to perform for corporate audiences worldwide. Two new careers came from his corporate exposure. He found that many top company executives are plagued with stage fright. So, Ross is frequently asked to work one-on-one as an executive Public Speaking Coach. Secondly, he has taken a special interest in the decay of Customer Service in this country. With as much traveling as he has done, he found that good customer service was as rare as a five-legged chicken. So, rather than complain about it, he has written and produced a dozen funny HR Training Films on the subject; which are now distributed all over the world.
What about comedy? Besides his speaking schedule, Ross is a comedy and game show consultant for the USA network, Bravo, Comedy Central, Broadway Video, and TNN. And has co-created a new Comedy talk/game show for the USA Network - set to launch in 2002.

Bottom line? Ross still says he prefers the exhilaration of performing before a Live audience. Just as long as he doesn't have to accommodate accordion requests.