“Gnarly,” “munchin’ on some grindage” and “looking for some Betty’s” are all classic phrases coined by Paul Shore in early ‘90s. Shore, who has made his mark as a stand-up comedian in television and in the movies, will bring his unique vocabulary and style to Fayetteville on Wednesday, Aug. 10 at It’z Comedy Zone.
Born and raised in Hollywood, which he considers “kind of weird because most people are from small towns and come to Hollywood,” Shore’s childhood revolved around celebrites such as Elvis Presley, Sammie Davis Jr. and Tony Bennet.
His parents, Sammy and Mitzi Shore, were in the business, and operated one of Hollywood’s biggest comedy clubs, The Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard. It was there, while hanging around backstage, that Shore began to develop his own style while watching some of the greats — Robin Williams, David Letterman and the late Sam Kinison.
Like many young Hollywood teens, Shore attended Beverly Hills High School — the school made famous by Beverly Hills 90210 — but probably more so by its alumni including Angelina Jolie, Lennie Kravitz, Nicholas Cage, and of course, Shore.
At the age of 17, he began to write and perform his own comedy, introducing the character of The Weizel, a laid-back, Valley-talking dude who coins his own phrases and looks at the world in a totally different way than most.
Shore says that comedy is in his blood.
“I was destined to do this,” he says on his Website. “I feel almost like I’m the Frankenstein of comedy. My mom developed me in the comedy club and my dad had the gene. Then they put them together and then there’s Pauly.”
While his parents may have put him in the environment, it was his own hard work that got him his shot on the national scene.
His comedy connected with a whole generation, and MTV was anxious to entertain that generation, so they brought Shore on board with his own show — Totally Pauly, which had a four-year run. In 1993, he performed his first televised stand-up comedy show on HBO call Pauly Does Dallas.
The success of that show led to a three movie deal with Disney, which spawned Encino Man, Son-In-Law, In the Army Now, Jury Duty and Bio-Dome. In 1997, FOX cast him as the freeloading son of a wealthy businessman in the short-running sitcom Pauly.
Shore’s career atlined briefly, and in 2003 he produced, wrote, directed and starred in the critically acclaimed, Pauly Shore Is Dead, a semi-autobiographical mockumentary in which he satirizes the perils of Hollywood. In the fi lm, Pauly loses everything and decides to fake his death in a quest for post-mortem adulation. Ironically, one of the many celebrities who perform cameos on the show is Charlie Sheen, who is shown giving Shore career advice. 
Most recently, Shore performed in the sketch comedy movie Natural Born Komics, for which he received the 2008 Entertainer of the Year Award from the Entertainment Merchants Association. With several projects in the works, Shore is taking some time to hit comedy clubs all over the United States
.“I’m single, I don’t have a girlfriend. My girlfriend is my mom and work; that’s where my love is,” he said. “I’m obsessed with my work. I love to come up with stuff. That’s kind of the beauty of the business, you don’t need anything but your mind and my mind is always going, going, going.”
When Shore hits the stage at It’z Comedy Zone, be prepared for side-splitting laughter and a raucous good time. Tickets are now on sale for $25. The show starts at 8p.m. To purchase tickets, visit www.itzentertainmentcity.com/comedyzone.htm or call (910) 826-2300.
It’z Entertainment City is located at 4118 Legend Ave.