Late night TV legend is unmasked on 'Masked Singer'

It was a bone-crushing defeat this Wednesday for the Skeleton, who apparently didn’t hold the keys for long-term Masked Singer success. See what I did there?? KEYS?? Yes, just as I previously guessed, this skeletal showman was none other than piano-playing David Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer. Shaffer was one of the Season 2 cast’s great razzle-dazzle entertainers, and he has an impressive, decade-spanning résumé that includes co-writing “It’s Raining Men”; playing in Robert Plant’s Honeydrippers; serving as the musical director for both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the 1996 Olympics’ closing ceremony; and performing in the Saturday Night Live band in the ‘70s. But vocally, he could not compete with the Flamingo, Black Widow, Leopard, Butterfly, or Thingamajig, who all sang this week. (Some would argue — and by “some,” I mean “me” — that he should have never survived over Johnny “The Egg” Weir two weeks ago.) And so, after rattling his rock ‘n’ roll bones to Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” this Wednesday, Shaffer got his ass kicked, much like another comedic character he once portrayed, Artie Fufkin. Oh well. Maybe the Skeleton can still get a deal with Polymer Records. I mentioned that I had correctly guessed the Skeleton’s identity when he first performed. I have to gloat about that, because America’s most bonkers new guessing game is a lot tougher in Season 2, with tighter “military-grade” security and vaguer clues, now I will celebrate my rare victories whenever I can. But now that I’ve seen some of the celebrities perform twice, I’m feeling more confident in my guesses. Let’s look at this week’s performances and clues packages, and try to keep my winning streak going.