Marc Shaiman, the composer and lyricist behind “Hairspray” and “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,” will look back on five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood in his new memoir “Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories From a Sore Winner.” The book is slated for publication by Regalo Press on Jan. 27, 2026.
Shaiman, whose credits include the scores for “When Harry Met Sally,” “City Slickers” and “A Few Good Men” and who co-created the stage musicals “Catch Me If You Can” and “Some Like It Hot” alongside his longtime co-lyricist Scott Wittman, describes himself as a “Tony, two-time Grammy, two-time Emmy Award winner and a seven-time Academy Award loser.”
In the book, Shaiman, “charts the personal highs and heartbreaks that have shaped him — spending his teenage years in community theater, starting a decades-long collaboration with Bette Midler in the ’70s, surviving the AIDS crisis of the ’80s, his award-winning film music career in the Hollywood of the ’90s, right up to the peaks (and valleys) of creating Broadway musicals from 2000 on.”
Shaiman said, “’Never mind the happy,’ my mother always says, but how could I not be happy about nearly 50 years in show business, where I have been blessed with startling successes (and yes, a few dire disappointments). So I figured it was time to write my memoir before I completely forget what I’ve done — or worse, before everyone else forgets! Whether movies, television or on Broadway, I guess my longevity actually proves that…You can’t stop the beat!”
Regalo Press said it will support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS as part of the roll out.