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Skeleton reveals his true identity on 'The Masked Singer' season 2
The judges had a hunch that a comedian was the funny bones behind the mask, but couldn’t quite figure out which celebrity had them dying of laughter.
LOS ANGELES - Another week, another masked celebrity bites the dust, and this time it was the skeleton, who had to bury his dreams of victory and reveal his true identity.
The fourth episode of Season 2 of “The Masked Singer” marked the end of the road for the skeleton, who revealed himself to be Grammy Award-winning Saturday Night Live comedian and musical director and sidekick to David Letterman for more than 30 years, Paul Schaffer.
“I had the most fun I’ve ever had in my life,” Schaffer said after the reveal.
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Host Nick Cannon couldn’t help but shout out, “The legend!” before announcing Schaffer’s name during the on-stage reveal.
“I’ve done a bunch of nutty things in my career,” Schaffer said backstage, citing an example from his Letterman days, “Hit by 17 dozen eggs with a giant fan on Letterman. This takes the cake.”
Though Schaffer claims he’s not a singer, he has an extensive career in music as an instrumentalist. On top of performing with the band on SNL and serving as the music director on Letterman’s late night shows, Schaffer has also released several albums, recorded with some of music’s greatest stars, served as musical director for Broadway shows and even co-wrote The Weather Girls’ mega hit “It’s Raining Men.”
“When this thing gets seen, I have no idea what’s going to happen to my reputation,” Schaffer said with a smirk.
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The judges had a hunch that a comedian was the funny bones behind the mask, but couldn’t quite figure out which celebrity had them dying of laughter. They threw out guesses such as John Cryer, Dana Carvey and Martin Short — the last of whom judge Ken Jeong was utterly convinced was behind the skeleton, saying, “I can feel it in my bones!”
But Schaffer managed to keep his identity a secret until the very end.
“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 because he is truly a master of comedic business,” said Schaffer.
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He’s the fifth contestant to peel back the mask on Season 2.“It was short. It was sweet,” Schaffer reflected. “The closer to the bone, the sweeter it is to me.”
“The Masked Singer” airs Wednesdays on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/PT.