Funny Boy

"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.'" ~Publishers Weekly

"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." ~Library Journal

"If you were wondering when Miss Piggy and the AIDS epidemic might finally meet in the pages of a book, then you're sure to love Funny Boy. . . . Stein's biography recounts Hunt's life as full of joy and community, even in the midst of an ongoing AIDS crisis that would claim many of his friends and loved ones." ~POZ

"I met Richard Hunt while touring the Muppet Show and we became instant friends for life. Everything about him was larger than life: His personality, his humor, his energy, his talent and his great big heart. My family never knew when he might show up in his big black Checker cab, but we did know we were in for another wonderful adventure with the guy my kids call 'Uncle Richard' to this very day. To know him was to love him, and we do." ~Mark Hamill, actor

"At last! It's the long-awaited story of one of Muppet history's most beloved performers! With Funny Boy, Jessica Max Stein brings us a nuanced, compassionate, and deeply researched biography of Richard Hunt, exploring his remarkable life as one of Muppetdom's most enthusiastic and energetic performers, while putting that same life in context with a complicated and often dark time in our cultural history. Tapping into interviews with those who were there, and packed full of stories you've never heard before, Funny Boy is all at once entertaining, interesting, inspiring, wacky, and heartbreaking--just like Richard Hunt himself." ~Brian Jay Jones, author of Jim Henson: The Biography

"Stein captures the creative process behind many Muppet milestones along with plenty of personal anecdotes." ~PASSPORT Magazine, Best Books for Spring 2024

"Jessica Max Stein's biography of performer and puppeteer Richard Hunt is humorous, touching, and engagingly written. Funny Boy illuminates Hunt's life as a stunning example of how to live and die with community, frivolity, dignity, and purpose."
  ~Theodore (Ted) Kerr, coauthor of We Are Having This Conversation Now: The Times of AIDS Cultural Production

"I worked with Richard Hunt for 18 years, but there was a lot I didn’t know. Jessica Max Stein's powerful biography of Hunt is a great read. Stein spent years meticulously researching Hunt’s intensely public and fiercely private life. Here is the authentic story of Hunt’s journey to the top of his field, but more importantly, his quest for self-knowledge and finally, self-acceptance. I know Richard better now."
  ~Dave Goelz, Muppet performer for 50+ years