Funny Boy: The Richard Hunt Biography

"The most sensational, perpetual teenager in the world." --Jim Henson

"To know him was to love him, and we do." --Mark Hamill

Funny Boy: The Richard Hunt Biography tells the life story of a gifted performer whose gleeful irreverence, sharp wit and generous spirit inspired millions. Richard Hunt was one of the original main five performers in the Muppet troupe. He brought to life an impressive range of characters on The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and various Muppet movies, everyone from eager gofer Scooter to elderly heckler Statler, groovy girl Janice to freaked-out lab helper Beaker, even early versions of Miss Piggy and Elmo. Hunt also acted, directed and mentored the next generation of performers. His accomplishments are all the more remarkable in that he crammed them all into only 40 years.

Richard Hunt was just 18 years old when he joined Jim Henson's company, where his edgy humor quickly helped launch the Muppets into international stardom. Hunt lived large, savoring life's delights, amassing a vivid, disparate community of friends. Even when the AIDS epidemic wrought its devastation, claiming the love of Hunt's life and threatening his own life, he showed an extraordinary sense of resilience, openness and joy. Hunt's story exemplifies how to follow your passion, foster your talents, adapt to life's surprises, genuinely connect with everyone from glitzy celebrities to gruff cab drivers - and have a hell of a lot of fun along the way.

Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Published: 03/15/2024
Pages: 346
ISBN: 9781978836716


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 12/18/2023

About the Author

JESSICA MAX STEIN teaches writing and literature at Hunter College of the City University of New York. Her writing has garnered accolades from Poets & Writers Magazine's Amy Award to the Independent Press Association's Ippie Award and was shortlisted for the Hazel Rowley Prize from the Biographers International Organization. She is a former editor of the New York newspaper The Indypendent, for which she still writes.