Shut Up, Little Man! is the title of audio vérité recordings of two argumentative and violent alcoholics, Peter J. Haskett and Raymond Huffman in San Francisco. Bananafish magazine arranged for a commercial release of the tapes in 1992.
Contents
The recordings were made by "Eddie Lee Sausage" and "Mitchell D.", who lived in a bright pink apartment building dubbed the "Pepto Bismol Palace" in San Francisco's Lower Haight district. Eddie Lee and Mitchell moved into the apartment in 1987, and discovered that their neighbors, Haskett and Huffman, argued nearly constantly, with Peter often shouting "shut up, little man!" at Ray. Eddie and Mitchell began tape recording the arguments, and distributing copies among their friends. Eddie Lee and Mitchell sometimes goaded Ray and Peter with prank telephone calls.
In 1992, Huffman died of a heart attack brought on by colon cancer, pancreatitis, and alcoholism. Haskett died in 1996 of liver problems due to alcoholism.
Reception
The first Shut Up, Little Man! compact disc was released in early 1993. A number of other volumes were issued later. The recordings quickly gained a cult following, and were adapted into comic books, zines, a theatrical production and the 2002 independent film Shut Yer Dirty Little Mouth, starring Gill Gayle and Glenn Shadix as Ray and Peter, respectively.
The recordings found fame far beyond San Francisco. Lee reports that:
Documentary film
In 2010 a feature documentary called Shut Up Little Man! – An Audio Misadventure was selected for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival as part of the World Documentary section, where it had its world premiere.