- Born
- Birth namePaul Montgomery Shore
- Nickname
- The Weasel
- Height5′ 7½″ (1.71 m)
- Stand-up comic Pauly Shore (né Paul Montgomery Shore) tasted super-stardom in 1990 when his precedent-setting MTV show Totally Pauly (1990) hit the airwaves to major fan approval. The show ran for four years, opening the door wide for him for television and film roles. In 1993, he wrote and starred in a one-hour HBO television special, Pauly Does Dallas (1992), which drew in even more loyal fans.
He had roles in films from 1988, providing supporting comedy relief, but it was the wildly popular Encino Man (1992), partnered with Sean Astin and Brendan Fraser, that put Pauly squarely on the map. Manic showcases followed, including Son in Law (1993), In the Army Now (1994), Jury Duty (1995), Bio-Dome (1996) and The Curse of Inferno (1997). However, Shore was met with an increasingly hostile reception and his lunacy was dismissed as crude, tasteless, dumb and, for the most part, unfunny and his film career quickly tanked.
This downhill spiral was not helped by the abrupt cancellation of his failed Fox sitcom Pauly (1997). A bust with both critics and media, he was forced to lie low and ride out the storm. Shore didn't completely abandon the spotlight, however, as he provided voices in animated features such as Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997) and An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000).
At the beginning, Pauly's first comedy album, "The Future of America," was named Best Comedy Album by the college music journalists in 1991, while the National Association of Record Merchandisers nominated his second album, "Scraps from the Future," for a Best Sellers Award. His third album, "Pink Diggly Diggly," was taped live at his mother Mitzi Shore's famed Los Angeles improv club The Comedy Store, where Pauly received his stand-up comedy initiation.
Pauly has been a recurring guest on Howard Stern's late-night show, as well as David Letterman's and Craig Kilborn's talk shows and has toured most the country with his stand-up act. He's been surrounded by show business all his life. In addition to mother Mitzi, father Sammy Shore was a well-known comedian who once opened for Elvis Presley during the Vegas years, while older brother Peter Shore has delved into producing/directing TV endeavors.
In a career that skyrocketed quickly only to make a serious crash landing, never-say-die Pauly's latest bid for a comeback is the self-mockumentary Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003), which he directed and co-wrote. Other millennium film credits include a bit in Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg comedy The Wash (2001); a top role in the comedy Opposite Day (2009); another bit part in the comedy Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011); another vanity satire with Pauly playing himself in Adopted (2009) that he wrote and directed; another bit in the Adam Sandler comedy Sandy Wexler (2017); and a more recent top role in the comedy Guest House (2020). He also has found occasional guest shots on TV shows including "Entourage" (as himself), "Cubed" and "Hawaii Five-0."- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- Parents
- RelativesPeter Shore(Sibling)
- Known for his spaced-out delivery in a surfer accent, and stretching out certain words, like "bud-dy"
- His mother, Mitzi Shore, owned The Comedy Store, a legendary comedy club.
- Was considered for the role of Leonard Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory (2007).
- Good friends with Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith.
- Along with Pia Zadora, Madonna, Sylvester Stallone and Demi Moore, one of the few people who have "won" back to back awards at the Razzies in successive years. He "won" Worst Actor of 1996 for his performance in the film Jury Duty (1995), then again the next year he tied with Tom Arnold in Big Bully (1996), Carpool (1996) and The Stupids (1996) for Worst Actor of 1997 with his performance in Bio-Dome (1996).
- Through his mother, he was a good friend of Richard Pryor, who influenced him choosing comedy.
- I'm Jewish. I've always had a thing where it's okay to dance with the devil, just don't become the devil. Even at my peak, I never went too over the top.
- [on the TV show Entourage] It's like the mafia: Either you're in the family or not. A lot of the guys who run the show are my friends. I'm friends with Kevin Dillon and all those guys. So it wasn't like that gig came through my agent.
- [on the decline of MTV] It's not just MTV, it's pretty much all the channels. America seems to be fascinated with people who are not talented. America wants to see "Duck Dynasty" and "Storage Wars." It's not MTV's fault it's the viewers fault.
- I won't say I love everything I ever did, but I have to say, I honestly like all the stuff I starred in. I really like "Bio-Dome" and "Jury Duty," even though they didn't do as well as the other ones. "Bio-Dome" has become sort of a cult classic over the years. I'm proud of those movies, and when people come to the shows, they've usually seen every one of them. People love those movies, probably more now.
- [on his 90's films] It's better to have someone know me for something than have them not know me for anything. The films were good films. They hold up, they constantly play and they're a reason why I still have an audience to be quite honest.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content