Ross Shafer

Ross Shafer
Shafer in 2010
Born
Ross Alan Shafer

(1954-12-10) December 10, 1954 (age 69)
McMinnville, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation(s)Television host, comedian, business speaker/consultant, author
Years active1983–present

Ross Alan Shafer (born December 10, 1954) is an American comedian, network television host, and motivational and leadership speaker/consultant. He has authored nine business books, and earned six Emmys as a network talk and game show host.[1]

Biography

Born in McMinnville, Oregon, Shafer graduated from Federal Way High School in Federal Way, Washington. As a high school All-Conference football player, he received a scholarship to play linebacker for the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, where he earned a business marketing degree.[1]

Shafer said, "I had trouble finding anything that I was passionate about, or that made me happy." He then opened a "combination pet and stereo store". His first act came in the form of a community play; afterward, he tried out for a stand-up comedy competition.[1]

From 1984 to 1989, Shafer hosted the local Seattle-based talk and comedy show, Almost Live!, and also hosted Fox's late night talk show, The Late Show.[2][3][4]

In the 1986–1987 season, Shafer hosted the Canadian game show Love Me Love Me Not. It also aired in the United States on the USA Network and ended after one season of 130 episodes.

From 1990 to 1991, Shafer hosted a short-lived revival of Match Game on ABC.

Ross works as a keynote speaker and leadership coach in the areas of market share growth, customer friction, and workforce motivator.[5][non-primary source needed]

Bibliography

  • Cook-Like-A-Stud (1991) ISBN 978-1880098172
  • Nobody Moved Your Cheese! (2003) ISBN 978-1553956587
  • The Customer Shouts Back! (2006) ASIN B004TY0W0Q
  • Are You Relevant? (2009) ISBN 978-0-615-26523-0
  • Grab More Market Share (2011) ISBN 978-1-118-13004-9
  • Shy to Confident (2013) ISBN 978-0-615-86614-7
  • Absolutely Necessary (2015) ISBN 978-0-692-27999-1
  • Behave Like a Startup (2016) ISBN 978-0-9975336-1-3
  • Success: It's on You (2016) ISBN 978-0-9975336-0-6
  • No More Customer Friction (2017) ISBN 978-0692-86063-2
  • Rattled (2021) ISBN 978-0-578-97246-6

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Jones, Tod. "Ross Shafer '75: Laughter is golden · University of Puget Sound". University of Pugetsound. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  2. ^ "A history of 'Almost Live!'". KING-TV. January 21, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  3. ^ Brodeur, Nicole (July 7, 2016). "A peek inside 'Almost Live!' and Seattle's unofficial history". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  4. ^ Weinstein, Steve (May 14, 1988). "Bakkers Grace 'The Late Show'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2023. "We're happy with Ross Shafer as host," said Brad Turell, vice president, publicity, at Fox.
  5. ^ Ross' Client List
Preceded by Host of Match Game
1990–1991 		Succeeded by