Funny boy : the Richard Hunt biography / Jessica Max Stein.

By:

Stein, Jessica Max

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, 2024Description: viii, 333 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9781978836716
1978836716

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

DDC classification:

791.5/3092 B 23/20231003

LOC classification:

PN1982.H8366 S75 2024

Summary: "Funny Boy: The Richard Hunt Biography is the life story of Muppet performer Richard Hunt. As one of the "Original Five" performers in the Muppet troupe, Hunt's characteristic irreverence was an integral part of Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, three major Muppet movies, a handful of short-lived shows, countless specials and even a couple of non-Muppet films. Hunt died in the AIDS epidemic at just 40 years old, predeceased by many friends as well as the love of his life. Yet day after day, in the face of grief and tragedy, Hunt showed up to work and was reliably funny. Was he just that talented, that driven, that resilient, or what? Yes, yes, and yes. And yet this caustic smart mouth was hardly the sanitized saint of many AIDS narratives. Hunt would sneer at being called "inspiring" but his life story exemplifies how to follow your passion, 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"-- Provided by publisher.

List(s) this item appears in: New Adult Nonfiction

Average rating: 5.0 (1 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Non-Fiction	New Books	791.53092 STE	Checked out	05/15/2024	36748002554808

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"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.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Funny Boy: The Richard Hunt Biography is the life story of Muppet performer Richard Hunt. As one of the "Original Five" performers in the Muppet troupe, Hunt's characteristic irreverence was an integral part of Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, three major Muppet movies, a handful of short-lived shows, countless specials and even a couple of non-Muppet films. Hunt died in the AIDS epidemic at just 40 years old, predeceased by many friends as well as the love of his life. Yet day after day, in the face of grief and tragedy, Hunt showed up to work and was reliably funny. Was he just that talented, that driven, that resilient, or what? Yes, yes, and yes. And yet this caustic smart mouth was hardly the sanitized saint of many AIDS narratives. Hunt would sneer at being called "inspiring" but his life story exemplifies how to follow your passion, 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"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Prelude (1)
1 Jersey Boy (7)
2 Making a Career (17)
3 Apprentice (29)
4 Sunny Days (45)
5 Camaraderie (57)
6 Affectionate Anarchy (73)
7 Muppetmania (87)
8 Millions of People Happy (111)
9 Endings and Beginnings (127)
10 Top of the World (147)
11 Making Connections (165)
12 Changes (181)
13 Three Terrible Things (193)
14 Magic Be with You (207)
15 Resilience (221)
16 Moving On (235)
17 Saying Goodbye (247)
18 Sage (263)
19 A Whole New Adventure (281)
20 Legacy (291)
Afterword (299)
Acknowledgments (303)
Sources (307)
Illustration Credits (319)
Index (321)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Stein (writing and literature, CUNY Hunter Coll.) delivers a meticulously detailed biography of Muppets puppeteer Richard Hunt (1951--92). Performing came naturally to Hunt, who grew up in New Jersey in a large family that participated in local theater. He was interested in puppets as a teenager and a fan of the Muppets on Sesame Street. After graduating from high school, he cold-called Jim Henson's company and asked if he could audition. His timing was felicitous, as Henson was beginning to expand his operations and later developed the TV series The Muppet Show in 1976. Hunt started out working the right hands of puppets voiced by Henson and Frank Oz. He later developed the voices of Beaker, Don Music, Forgetful Jones, and numerous others. He continued to work with the company on Muppet films and other television series including Fraggle Rock until he died at the age of 40 of HIV/AIDS-related complications. VERDICT Exemplary research, culled from a plenitude of interviews with Hunt's family, friends, and coworkers, reveals a talented artist with tireless energy, enthusiasm, wit, and personality.--Phillip Oliver

Publishers Weekly Review

Stein, an English lecturer at Hunter College, traces in her affectionate debut biography the life and work of Richard Hunt (1951--1992), one of the "Original Five" performers who propelled the Muppets to international acclaim in the 1970s and '80s. Growing up in post-WWII New York and New Jersey, Hunt was part of a large, boisterous family who encouraged his love of performing. Success during his teenage years as a children's birthday party puppeteer hinted at his future career, which began when he cold-called Muppets creator Jim Henson's entertainment company, "bounded like a big puppy into his June 1970 audition," and was hired as a puppeteer for The Muppets, then a bare-bones enterprise with segments on such TV shows as Sesame Street. Hunt began by operating the right hands of puppets voiced by Jim Henson and his longtime creative partner Frank Oz, but soon started developing and voicing his own characters, including Janice, the hippie singer in the Electric Mayhem band, and Beaker, the long-suffering assistant to Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Mining interviews with Hunt's friends, colleagues, and family, Stein perceptively captures how the puppeteer's edgy energy and unique, irreverent humor proved instrumental to the show's success, particularly as The Muppets transitioned toward more adult-centered programming in the 1970s. The result is a nuanced and meticulously detailed tribute to the artist once described by Jim Henson as "the most sensational, perpetual teenager in the world." (Mar.)