Stand-up career

Inspired by his parents' work in comedy and show business, a 17-year-old Shore made his stand-up debut at the Alley Cat Bistro in Culver City. "Everyone else in school was filling out their SAT applications, but I just passed mine back. I knew I wasn't going to go to college."^[4] Shore was mentored by Sam Kinison and opened several of his sets. While touring the comedy club circuit, Shore cultivated an alter ego persona called "The Weasel". "The Weasel" involved Shore speaking in a surfer parlance, heavily peppered with dudespeak slang such as "edged", "melons" and "grinding" as well as his catchphrase, "Hey, BU-DDY."^[5]

MTV

Shore's big break came as an on-air MTV VJ, a position he held from 1989 to 1994. At the height of his MTV fame, Shore had his own show, Totally Pauly, serving as a host on MTV's annual Spring Break parties. He also released a music video, "Lisa, Lisa, the One I Adore".^[5]

Film career

In 1992, Shore starred in Encino Man, which was a modest hit. The film's success propelled Shore to star in additional films, albeit increasingly less successful: Son in Law (1993), In the Army Now (1994), Jury Duty (1995), and Bio-Dome (1996). All five films received sharply negative reviews, with the last three each holding a rating below 10% at Rotten Tomatoes; in addition, each of the films grossed less at the box office than the one before. Describing Shore's performances in these films, film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "Shore bypasses all categories to achieve a kind of transcendent fingernails-on-the-blackboard effect."^[6] In 1997, Shore starred in the eponymous TV show Pauly, which was cancelled after five episodes aired. Shore made a cameo appearance in the American rock band Limp Bizkit music video "N 2 Gether Now"^[7][8] as a pizza deliveryman and a briefer appearance in "Break Stuff".^[9] The Golden Raspberry Awards has recognized Shore's film performances several times, awarding him Worst New Star of the Year for Encino Man, Worst Actor of the Year for Bio-Dome, Worst New Star of the Decade for the 1990s, and nominating him for Worst Actor of the Century (which he lost to Sylvester Stallone).^[10]

In 2003, Shore produced, wrote, directed and starred in Pauly Shore Is Dead, a semi-autobiographical mockumentary, and in 2005, starred in the short-lived reality television series Minding the Store. In 2010, Shore starred in Adopted, which sees him traveling to Africa to adopt a child.^[11]

In March 2018, Shore appeared as himself in episode 10 of the TV series Alone Together.

In January 2024, following a fan campaign, Shore revealed a teaser for a short film, starring himself as Richard Simmons titled The Court Jester.^[12] Simmons released a statement revealing that he did not give permission for the short.^[13]