Harry Shearer#External links

Shearer was born December 23, 1943,{{cite book|title=Current Biography Yearbook 2001|page=502|publisher=H. W. Wilson Company|year=2002|isbn=978-9990016994|quote=Shearer, Harry Dec. 23, 1943 – Satirist; nonfiction writer; radio talk-show host; actor; director; musician; playwright}} in Los Angeles, California, the son of Dora, a bookkeeper, and Mack Shearer, a trained opera singer who ran a gas station.{{Cite magazine |last= |first= |date=December 2002 |title=Harry Shearer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7V0EAAAAMBAJ&q=harry%2520shearer%2520parents%2520austria%2520and%2520poland&pg=PA172 |magazine=Los Angeles Magazine |publisher=Emmis Communications |page=172 |language=en}} His parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Austria respectively. His parents escaped Nazi-occupied Europe and met in Havana, Cuba. As a child, Shearer and his family often listened to radio programs such as Bob and Ray and the weekly show for the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. His father died when he was 12 and he had his Bar Mitzvah the following year.{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/10145493/Harry-Shearer-I-dont-think-Obama-is-the-genius-he-likes-to-think-he-is.html | title=Harry Shearer: 'I don't think Obama is the genius he likes to think he is' | date=8 July 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=8329 |title=Shearer Enjoyment |work=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles |access-date=April 30, 2009 |date=March 28, 2002 |author=Pfefferman, Naomi |archive-date=November 11, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031111013340/http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=8329 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/31034/edition_id/581/format/html/displaystory.html |title=j. – 'Hi-diddly-ho, Marin!' Man of many voices Harry Shearer comes to JCC |work=Jewish Weekly |access-date=April 30, 2009 |date=December 1, 2006 |author=Eskenazi, Joe |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930022249/http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/31034/edition_id/581/format/html/displaystory.html |url-status=live }} Shearer grew up in the neighborhood of West Adams.{{cite web | url=https://americanarchive.org/exhibits/le-show/2-harry-shearer-creative-life | title=Harry Shearer's Creative Life | American Archive of Public Broadcasting }} Starting when Shearer was four years old, he had a piano teacher whose daughter worked as a child actress. The piano teacher later decided to make a career change and become a children's agent, since she knew people in the business through her daughter's work. The teacher asked Shearer's parents for permission to take him to an audition. Several months later, she called Shearer's parents and told them that she had gotten Shearer an audition for the radio show The Jack Benny Program. Shearer received the role when he was seven years old.{{cite web |title=Interview with Harry Shearer (Part 1 of 4) |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/02/10/interview-with-harry-shearer-part-1-of-4 |author=Plume, Kenneth |website=IGN |date=February 10, 2000 |access-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715064429/http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/02/10/interview-with-harry-shearer-part-1-of-4 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 15, 2018 }} He described Jack Benny as "very warm and approachable ... He was a guy who dug the idea of other people on the show getting laughs, which sort of spoiled me for other people in comedy." Shearer has stated that one person who took him "under his wing" and was his mentor during his early days in show business was voice actor Mel Blanc, who voiced many animated characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Barney Rubble; Blanc was a regular on The Jack Benny Show. He also befriended Blanc's son Noel.{{Cite web |last=Spera |first=Keith |date=2023-12-08 |title='Let's Talk' with Harry Shearer: 'Spinal Tap' sequel, 'Le Show' at 40, 'Simpsons' secrets |url=https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/movies_tv/harry-shearer-talks-spinal-tap-sequel-the-simpsons-le-show/article_ce56575a-9486-11ee-84f6-9fc1174bfdfa.html |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate |language=en}}{{cite news |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=5&entry_id=11888 |title=Chronicle Podcasts : New Orleans economy stillborn, says Harry Shearer |date=August 25, 2007 |access-date=April 30, 2009 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |archive-date=April 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411015612/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=5&entry_id=11888 |url-status=dead }} Shearer made his film debut in the film Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953), in which he had a small part, and appeared in The Robe (also 1953). Throughout his childhood and teenage years, he worked in television, film, and radio.{{cite news |url=https://www.avclub.com/harry-shearer-1798208271 |title=Harry Shearer |last=Rabin |first=Nathan |date=April 23, 2003 |work=The A.V. Club |access-date=March 8, 2009 |archive-date=September 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925182714/http://www.avclub.com/articles/harry-shearer%2C13807/ |url-status=live }}

In 1957, Shearer played the precursor to the Eddie Haskell character in the pilot episode of the television series Leave It to Beaver. After the filming, Shearer's parents said they did not want him to be a regular in a series. Instead they wanted him to just do occasional work so that he could have a normal childhood. Shearer and his parents made the decision not to accept the role in the series if it was picked up by a television network.

In the summer of 1960, Shearer volunteered as a driver for the Democratic National Convention during the 1960 U.S. presidential election where he was regularly assigned trips to Disneyland.{{Cite web |last=Saroyan |first=Strawberry |date=2005-04-29 |title=Harry Shearer |url=https://variety.com/2005/scene/people-news/harry-shearer-1117921805/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Variety |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515030701/https://variety.com/2005/scene/people-news/harry-shearer-1117921805/ |url-status=live }}

Shearer graduated from Los Angeles High School and attended UCLA as a political science major in the early 1960s. He decided to quit show business to become a "serious person".{{cite web | url=https://www.myneworleans.com/harry-shearer/ | title=Harry Shearer | date=October 25, 2006 | access-date=December 23, 2022 | archive-date=December 23, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221223140914/https://www.myneworleans.com/harry-shearer/ | url-status=live }} However, he says this lasted approximately a month, and he joined the staff of the Daily Bruin, UCLA's school newspaper, during his first year. He was editor of the college humor magazine (Satyr), including the June 1964 parody Preyboy.{{cite web |url=http://www.mindsnackbooks.com/bookreviews/preyboy%20ucla.html |title=Preyboy UCLA |website=Mindsnackbooks.com |date=February 4, 2016 |access-date=January 15, 2019 |archive-date=November 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110125228/http://mindsnackbooks.com/bookreviews/preyboy%20ucla.html |url-status=live }} He also worked as a newscaster at KRLA, a top 40 radio station in Pasadena, during this period. According to Shearer, after graduating, he had "a very serious agenda going on, and it was 'Stay Out of the Draft'." He attended graduate school at Harvard University for one year and worked at the state legislature in Sacramento. From 1967 to 1968, he was a high school teacher, teaching English and social studies. He left teaching following "disagreements with the administration".

From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member of The Credibility Gap, a radio comedy group that included David Lander, Richard Beebe, and Michael McKean.{{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p149 |title=The Credibility Gap |access-date=January 2, 2008 |author=Deming, Mark }} The group consisted of "a bunch of newsmen" at KRLA 1110, "the number two station" in Los Angeles. They wanted to do more than just straight news, so they hired comedians who were talented vocalists. Shearer heard about the group from a friend, so he brought over a tape to the station and nervously gave it to the receptionist. He found out he was hired that same day. The group's radio show was canceled in 1970 by KRLA and in 1971 by KPPC-FM, so they started performing in various clubs and concert venues. While at KRLA, Shearer also interviewed Creedence Clearwater Revival for the Pop Chronicles music documentary.{{Cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1692086/m1/|title=Pop Chronicles Interviews #41 – John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival|first1=John|last1=Gilliland|first2=Harry|last2=Shearer|date=October 11, 1969|website=UNT Digital Library|access-date=June 25, 2020|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224183000/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1692086/m1/|url-status=live}}{{Gilliland |title=Index to Interviews |access-date=January 2, 2008 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131065845/http://www.library.unt.edu/music/special-collections/john-gilliland/e-l}}

In 1973, Shearer appeared as Jim Houseafire on How Time Flys, an album by The Firesign Theatre's David Ossman. The Credibility Gap broke up in 1976 when Lander and McKean left to perform in the sitcom Laverne & Shirley. Shearer started working with Albert Brooks, producing one of Brooks' albums and co-writing the film Real Life (1979). Shearer also started writing for Martin Mull's television series Fernwood 2 Night. In the mid-1970s, he started working with Rob Reiner on a pilot for ABC. The show, which starred Christopher Guest, Tom Leopold and McKean, was not picked up.

In August 1979, Shearer was hired as a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live, one of the first additions to the show's original 1975 cast. Recommended by Al Franken to Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels,{{harvnb|Shales|Miller|2002 |p=170}} the acquisition of Shearer was seen as an unofficial replacement for John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, who were both leaving the show.{{cite web |title=Interview with Harry Shearer (Part 2 of 4) |url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/035/035861p1.html |author=Plume, Kenneth |website=IGN |date=February 10, 2000 |access-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522132612/http://movies.ign.com/articles/035/035861p1.html |url-status=live }}

Shearer describes his experience on the show as a "living hell" and "not a real pleasant place to work." He did not get along well with the other writers and cast members and states that he was not included with the cast in the opening montage (although he was added to the montage for later episodes of the 1979–80 season) and that Michaels had told the rest of the cast that he was "just a writer".{{harvnb|Shales|Miller|2002 |p=171}}

Michaels left Saturday Night Live at the end of the fifth season, taking the entire cast with him.{{harvnb|Shales|Miller|2002 |p=176}} Shearer told new executive producer Jean Doumanian that he was "not a fan of Lorne's" and offered to stay with the show if he was given the chance to overhaul the program and bring in experienced comedians, like Christopher Guest. However, Doumanian turned him down, so he decided to leave with the rest of the cast.{{harvnb|Shales|Miller|2002 |p=210}}

{{quote box |width=30em |bgcolor=transparent |align=right |halign=left |quote=When I left, Dick [Ebersol] issued a press release, saying "creative differences." And the first person who called me for a comment on it read me that and I blurted out, "Yeah, I was creative and they were different."|salign=right |source=—Harry Shearer}}

In 1984, while promoting the film This Is Spinal Tap, Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean performed on Saturday Night Live. All three members were offered the chance to join the show in the 1984–1985 season. Shearer accepted because he was treated well by the producers and he thought the backstage environment had improved but later stated that he "didn't realize that guests are treated better than the regulars."{{harvnb|Shales|Miller|2002 |p=261}} Guest also accepted the offer while McKean rejected it, although he would join the cast in 1994.

Dick Ebersol, who replaced Lorne Michaels as the show's producer, said that Shearer was "a gifted performer but a pain in the butt. He's just so demanding on the preciseness of things and he's very, very hard on the working people. He's just a nightmare-to-deal-with person."{{harvnb|Shales|Miller|2002 |p=260}} In January 1985, Shearer left the show for good, partially because he felt he was not being used enough.{{harvnb|Shales|Miller|2002 |p=287}} Martin Short said Shearer "wanted to be creative and Dick [Ebersol] wanted something else. ... I think he felt his voice wasn't getting represented on the show. When he wouldn't get that chance, it made him very upset."{{harvnb|Shales|Miller|2002 |p=288}}

Shearer co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in Rob Reiner's film This Is Spinal Tap (1984). Shearer, Reiner, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest received a deal to write a first draft of a screenplay for a company called Marble Arch. They decided that the film could not be written and instead filmed a 20-minute demo of what they wanted to do. It was eventually greenlighted by Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio at Embassy Pictures. The film satirizes the wild personal behavior and musical pretensions of hard rock and heavy metal bands, as well as the hagiographic tendencies of rockumentaries of the time. The three core members of the band Spinal Tap—David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel—were portrayed by McKean, Shearer and Guest respectively. The three actors play their musical instruments and speak with mock English accents throughout the film. There was no script, although there was a written breakdown of most of the scenes, and many of the lines were ad-libbed. It was filmed in 25 days.

Shearer said in an interview that "The animating impulse was to do rock 'n' roll right. The four of us had been around rock 'n' roll and we were just amazed by how relentlessly the movies got it wrong. Because we were funny people it was going to be a funny film, but we wanted to get it right." When they tried to sell it to various Hollywood studios, they were told that the film would not work. The group kept saying, "No, this is a story that's pretty familiar to people. We're not introducing them to anything they don't really know," so Shearer thought it would at least have some resonance with the public. The film was only a modest success upon its initial release but found greater success, and developed a cult following, after its video release. In 2000, the film was ranked 29th on the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 comedy movies in American cinema{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/laughs.aspx |title=AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs |date=June 14, 2000 |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615021804/http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/laughs.aspx |archive-date=June 15, 2008}} and it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/film/titles.html |title=Films Selected to The National Film Registry, Library of Congress 1989–2008 |publisher=Library of Congress |year=2009 |access-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-date=April 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407133410/http://www.loc.gov/film/titles.html |url-status=live }}

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Shearer, Guest and McKean have since worked on several projects as their Spinal Tap characters. They released three albums: This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Break Like the Wind (1992) and Back from the Dead (2009).{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/spinaltap/discography |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=May 1, 2009 |title=Spinal Tap: Discography |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309202710/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/spinaltap/discography |archive-date=March 9, 2009 |url-status=dead }} In 1992, Spinal Tap appeared in an episode of The Simpsons called "The Otto Show".{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page22.shtml |title=The Otto Show |access-date=May 1, 2009 |author1=Martyn, Warren |author2=Wood, Adrian |year=2000 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=July 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709072011/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page22.shtml |url-status=dead }} The band has played several concerts, including at Live Earth in London on July 7, 2007. In anticipation of the show, Rob Reiner directed a short film entitled Spinal Tap.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/this-is-climate-change/2007/04/26/1177459821738.html |title=Spinal Tap reunite |work=The Age |date=April 26, 2007 |access-date=April 30, 2009 |location=Melbourne |archive-date=November 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116080408/http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/this-is-climate-change/2007/04/26/1177459821738.html |url-status=live }} In 2009, the band released Back from the Dead to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of the film.{{cite news |title=Spinal Tap to return with new album |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/04/spinal-tap-record-new-album |work=The Guardian |date=February 4, 2009 |author=Michaels, Sean |access-date=April 30, 2009 |location=London |archive-date=September 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922222843/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/04/spinal-tap-record-new-album |url-status=live }} The album features re-recorded versions of songs featured in This Is Spinal Tap and its soundtrack, and five new songs.{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Review of Back from the Dead |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1575008 |website=AllMusic |access-date=August 18, 2009 |archive-date=January 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104035201/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1575008 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |first=Sandy |last=Kaczmarski |title=Unwigged and Unplugged: Spinal Tap Unwiped |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sandy-kaczmarski/unwigged-and-unplugged-sp_b_209526.html |work=Huffington Post |date=May 31, 2009 |access-date=August 18, 2009 |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106183322/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sandy-kaczmarski/unwigged-and-unplugged-sp_b_209526.html |url-status=live }} The band performed a one-date "world tour" at London's Wembley Arena on June 30, 2009. The Folksmen, a mock band featured in the film A Mighty Wind that is also made up of characters played by Shearer, McKean and Guest, was the opening act for the show.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7985487.stm |title=Spinal Tap announce 'world tour' |date=April 6, 2009 |work=BBC News |access-date=April 7, 2009 |archive-date=April 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409093944/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7985487.stm |url-status=live }}

Shearer is known for his work as a voice actor on The Simpsons. Matt Groening, the creator of the show, was a fan of Shearer's work, while Shearer was a fan of a column Groening used to write.{{cite web |title=Interview with Harry Shearer (Part 3 of 4) |url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/035/035862p1.html |author=Plume, Kenneth |website=IGN |date=February 10, 2000 |access-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522141427/http://movies.ign.com/articles/035/035862p1.html |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |url-status=dead }} When approached by Groening to be in the series, Shearer was initially reluctant because he thought the recording sessions would be too much trouble. He felt that voice acting was "not a lot of fun" as, traditionally, voice actors record their parts separately. He was told that the actors would record their lines together, and after three phone calls for executive producer James L. Brooks, Shearer was convinced to join the cast of The Simpsons.{{cite news |url=http://www.thejc.com/arts/arts-interviews/interview-harry-shearer |title=Interview: Harry Shearer |last=Round |first=Simon |date=October 10, 2008 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013070111/http://www.thejc.com/arts/arts-interviews/interview-harry-shearer |access-date=February 13, 2009|archive-date=October 13, 2013 }} Shearer's first impression of The Simpsons was that it was funny. He – who thought it was a "pretty cool" way to work – found it peculiar that his fellow cast members were adamant about not being known to the public as the people behind the voices.

Shearer provides voices for Principal Skinner, Kent Brockman, Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, formerly Dr. Hibbert until 2021, Lenny Leonard, Otto Mann, Rainier Wolfcastle, Scratchy, Kang, Dr. Marvin Monroe, and Judge Snyder, among others.{{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997 |pp=178–179}} He has described all of his regular characters' voices as "easy to slip into. ... I wouldn't do them if they weren't easy." Shearer modeled Mr. Burns's voice on the two actors Lionel Barrymore and Ronald Reagan.{{cite news |title=Real People are Models for 'Simpsons' Voices |publisher=Times-Union |date=April 28, 1994 |author=Marder, Keith |page=C4}} Shearer says that Burns is the most difficult character for him to voice because it is rough on his vocal cords and he often needs to drink tea and honey to soothe his voice.{{cite web|url=http://www.cineplex.com/Movies/FamousNews/FamousMagazine/July%202007.aspx?FamousArticles=4395 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026153459/https://www.cineplex.com/Movies/FamousNews/FamousMagazine/July%202007.aspx?FamousArticles=4395 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 26, 2007 |title=Burns, Baby, Burns |access-date=May 5, 2008 |date=July 2007 |author=Dittman, Earl |publisher=Cineplex Entertainment }} He describes Burns as his favorite character, saying he "like[s] Mr. Burns because he is pure evil. A lot of evil people make the mistake of diluting it. Never adulterate your evil."{{cite web |url=http://www.thejc.com/node/6832 |title=Interview: Harry Shearer |access-date=November 4, 2008 |date=October 10, 2008 |author=Round, Simon |work=The Jewish Chronicle |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012084310/http://www.thejc.com/node/6832 |url-status=dead }} Shearer is also the voice of Burns' assistant Smithers, and is able to perform dialogue between the two characters in one take. In the episode "Bart's Inner Child", Shearer said "wow" in the voice of Otto, which was then used when Otto was seen jumping on a trampoline.Jean, Al (2002). Commentary for "Blood Feud", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Ned Flanders had been meant to be just a neighbor that Homer Simpson was jealous of, but because Shearer used "such a sweet voice" for him, Flanders was broadened to become a Christian and a sweet guy that someone would prefer to live next to over Homer.Jean, Al (2003). Commentary for "When Flanders Failed", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Dr. Marvin Monroe's voice was based on psychiatrist David Viscott.Groening, Matt (2001). Commentary for "There's No Disgrace Like Home", in The Simpsons: The Complete First Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. Monroe has been largely retired since the seventh season barring a few cameo appearances because voicing the character strained Shearer's throat.Jean, Al (2001). Commentary for "Some Enchanted Evening", in The Simpsons: The Complete First Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.

In 2004, Shearer criticized what he perceived as the show's declining quality: "I rate the last three seasons as among the worst, so season four looks very good to me now."{{cite news |first=Chris |last=Leggett |title=Harry Shearer |publisher=UK Teletext |date=August 4, 2004}} Shearer has also been vocal about "The Principal and the Pauper" (season nine, episode two, 1997), one of the most controversial episodes of The Simpsons. Many fans and critics reacted negatively to the revelation that Principal Seymour Skinner, a recurring character since the first season, was an impostor. The episode has been criticized by both Shearer and Groening. In a 2001 interview, Shearer recalled that after reading the script, he told the writers, "That's so wrong. You're taking something that an audience has built eight years or nine years of investment in and just tossed it in the trash can for no good reason, for a story we've done before with other characters. It's so arbitrary and gratuitous, and it's disrespectful to the audience."{{cite web |url=http://www.sfweekly.com/2001-04-25/culture/shearer-delight/ |title=Shearer Delight |author=Wilonsky, Robert |date=April 27, 2001 |access-date=May 1, 2009 |work=SF Weekly |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610122552/http://www.sfweekly.com/2001-04-25/culture/shearer-delight/ |url-status=dead }} In a December 2006 interview, Shearer added, "Now, [the writers] refuse to talk about it. They realize it was a horrible mistake. They never mention it. It's like they're punishing [the audience] for paying attention."{{cite news |title=Tapping into the many roles of Harry Shearer |date=2006-12-07 |page=8E |work=The Boston Globe |last=Goldstein |first=Meredith}}

Due to scheduling and availability conflicts, Shearer decided not to participate in The Simpsons Ride, which opened in 2008, so none of his characters have vocal parts and many do not appear in the ride at all.{{cite news |url=http://www.tmz.com/2008/04/15/mr-burns-sucks-in-real-life-too/ |title=Mr. Burns Sucks in Real Life Too |access-date=April 30, 2009 |date=April 15, 2008 |work=TMZ |archive-date=October 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014152756/http://www.tmz.com/2008/04/15/mr-burns-sucks-in-real-life-too/ |url-status=live }} In a 2010 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Shearer alluded that the reason he was not part of the ride was because he would not be getting paid for it.{{cite news |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHUZ55Tx0ys&t=35m4s | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903231828/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHUZ55Tx0ys&feature=youtu.be&t=35m4s| archive-date=2015-09-03 | url-status=dead|title=Harry Shearer on The Howard Stern Show (March 3, 2010)|access-date=May 20, 2015 |date=March 3, 2010|publisher=YouTube}} Similarly, Shearer was unable to appear in the Family Guy crossover episode "The Simpsons Guy" due to further scheduling conflicts. Therefore, his characters are again mute. When asked about how he felt about the crossover, Shearer replied, "Matter and anti-matter."{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/08/08/harry_shearer_on_revolutionizing_comedy_and_why_nixon_was_the_last_great_character_of_our_time/|title=Legendary comic Harry Shearer: Nixon was the last great tragicomic character of our time|last=Gupta|first=Prachi|work=Salon|date=August 8, 2014|access-date=March 22, 2015|archive-date=March 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320095432/http://www.salon.com/2014/08/08/harry_shearer_on_revolutionizing_comedy_and_why_nixon_was_the_last_great_character_of_our_time/|url-status=live}}

Until 1998, Shearer was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. The dispute, however, was resolved and Shearer received $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/02/1080544690429.html |title=Simpsons actors demand bigger share |access-date=February 5, 2009 |date=April 3, 2004 |author=Glaister, Dan |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |archive-date=November 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116081914/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/02/1080544690429.html |url-status=live }} The dispute was resolved a month later,{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/simpsons-cast-goes-back-to-work/ |title='Simpsons' Cast Goes Back To Work |access-date=February 5, 2009 |date=May 1, 2004 |work=CBS News |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110113625/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/01/entertainment/main615066.shtml |url-status=live }} and Shearer's pay rose to $250,000 per episode.{{cite news |title=Meet the Simpsons |date=May 6, 2004 |work=Daily Express |author=Sheridan, Peter}} After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors received $400,000 per episode.{{cite news |title=Simpsons cast sign new pay deal |work=BBC News |date=June 3, 2008 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7434296.stm |access-date=February 5, 2009 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620154525/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7434296.stm |url-status=live }} Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Shearer and the other cast members accepted a 30% pay cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode.{{cite news |last=Block |first=Alex Ben |title='The Simpsons' Renewed for Two More Seasons |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/simpsons-renewed-two-more-seasons-245748 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=October 15, 2011 |date=October 7, 2011 |archive-date=January 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125073424/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/simpsons-renewed-two-more-seasons-245748 |url-status=live }} On May 14, 2015, Shearer announced he was leaving the show. After the other voice actors signed a contract for the same pay, Shearer refused, stating it was not enough. Al Jean made a statement from the producers saying "the show must go on," but did not elaborate on what might happen to the characters Shearer voiced.{{cite web |last=Robertson |first=Adi |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/5/14/8604495/harry-shearer-leaves-the-simpsons-no-mr-burns-flanders |title=The Simpsons loses the voice of Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, and Principal Skinner as Harry Shearer quits |website=The Verge |date=May 14, 2015 |access-date=December 21, 2016 |archive-date=November 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130115053/http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/14/8604495/harry-shearer-leaves-the-simpsons-no-mr-burns-flanders |url-status=live }} On July 7, 2015, Shearer agreed to continue with the show, on the same terms as the other voice actors.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/15/harry-shearer-simpsons-returns?hootPostID=c9207bc716489e677082ac3971988718 |title=Harry Shearer returning to The Simpsons |access-date=July 7, 2015 |date=July 7, 2015 |author=Snierson, Dan |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-date=July 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710095305/http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/15/harry-shearer-simpsons-returns?hootPostID=c9207bc716489e677082ac3971988718 |url-status=live }}

{{quote box |width=30em |bgcolor=transparent |align=right |halign=left |quote=Because I don't do stand-up, radio has always been my equivalent, a place to stay in connection with the public and force myself to write every week and come up with new characters. Plus it's a medium that – having grown up with it and putting myself to sleep with a radio under my pillow [as a kid] – I love. No matter what picture you want to create in the listener's mind, a few minutes of work gets it done.

|salign=right |source=—Harry Shearer{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-morrisonshearer6-2009jun06,0,3949621.story |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090613020416/http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-morrisonshearer6-2009jun06%2C0%2C3949621.story |archive-date=June 13, 2009 |author=Morrison, Patt |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 6, 2009 |access-date=2009-06-07 |title=Harry Shearer |url-status=dead }}}}

Since 1983, Shearer has been the host of the public radio comedy/music program Le Show. The program is a sequence of themed satirical news commentary segments, interspersed with music and sketch comedy, that takes aim at the "mega morons of the mighty media".{{cite news |title=Harry Shearer – a radio rebel? |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/3763036.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=April 30, 2009 |date=November 10, 2004 |archive-date=December 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212105841/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/3763036.stm |url-status=live }} It is carried on many National Public Radio and other public radio stations throughout the United States.{{cite web|url=http://media.harryshearer.com/syndicates.html |title=Le Show Syndicate Stations |publisher=HarryShearer.com |access-date=March 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206232020/http://media.harryshearer.com/syndicates.html |archive-date=February 6, 2009 }} Since the merger of SIRIUS and XM satellite radio services the program is no longer available on either.{{cite web|url=http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=675 |last=Shearer |first=Harry |title=le Show |publisher=HarryShearer.com |date=January 18, 2009 |access-date=March 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428233508/http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=675 |archive-date=April 28, 2009 }} (Comment is at 57:06). The show has also been made available as a podcast on iTunes{{cite web

|url=https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=73331688 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110525141332/https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=73331688 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 25, 2011 |last=Shearer |first=Harry |title=KCRW's Le Show |publisher=iTunes Music Store |access-date=December 7, 2008 }} and by WWNO. On the weekly program Shearer alternates between DJing, reading and commenting on the news of the day after the manner of Mort Sahl, and performing original (mostly political) comedy sketches and songs. In 2008, Shearer released a music CD called Songs of the Bushmen, consisting of his satirical numbers about former President George W. Bush on Le Show. Shearer says he criticizes both Republicans and Democrats equally, and also says that "the iron law of doing comedy about politics is you make fun of whoever is running the place"{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/10/20/comedy_has_become_a_liberal_genre/?page=2 |title=Comedy has become a liberal genre |author=Wangsness, Lisa |work=Boston Globe |access-date=April 30, 2009 |date=October 20, 2008 |archive-date=October 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024211921/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/10/20/comedy_has_become_a_liberal_genre/?page=2 |url-status=live }} and that "everyone else is just running around talking. They are the ones who are actually doing something, changing people's lives for better or for worse. Other people the media calls 'satirists' don't work that way."{{cite web|url=http://www.lacitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/?IssueNum=32&id=568 |title=Harry Shearer |author=Kuipers, Dean |work=Los Angeles City Beat |date=January 15, 2004 |access-date=April 30, 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220192700/http://www.lacitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/?id=568&IssueNum=32 |archive-date=February 20, 2009 }}

Since encountering satellite news feeds when he worked on Saturday Night Live, Shearer has been fascinated with the contents of the video that does not air. Shearer refers to these clips as found objects. "I thought, wow, there is just an unending supply of this material, and it's wonderful and fascinating and funny and sometimes haunting – but it's always good," said Shearer. He collects this material and uses it on Le Show{{cite web|url=http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=568 |last=Shearer |first=Harry |title=le Show |publisher=HarryShearer.com |date=February 4, 2007 |access-date=January 7, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530063814/http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=568 |archive-date=May 30, 2008 }}{{cite web|url=http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=599 |last=Shearer |first=Harry |title=le Show |publisher=HarryShearer.com |date=August 5, 2007 |access-date=January 7, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530065155/http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=599 |archive-date=May 30, 2008 }} and on his website.{{cite web|url=http://harryshearer.com/news/found_objects/ |title=News : Found Objects |last=Shearer |first=Harry |publisher=HarryShearer.com |access-date=January 7, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129150129/http://harryshearer.com/news/found_objects/ |archive-date=January 29, 2009 }} In 2008, he assembled video clips of newsmakers from this collection into an art installation titled "The Silent Echo Chamber"{{cite web |author1=WGBH Forum Network |title=Harry Shearer's The Silent Echo Chamber |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_5zf0K4zk0 |website=youtube |access-date=18 April 2025 |date=17 April 2014}} which was exhibited at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The exhibit was also displayed in 2009 at Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) in Valencia, Spain{{cite web |url=http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_new=31093&int_sec=2 |title=IVAM Opens Confines/Valencia 09: Passages of Contemporary Arts |publisher=ArtDaily.org |date=May 28, 2009 |access-date=July 16, 2009 |archive-date=July 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718181535/http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_new=31093&int_sec=2 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=699 |last=Shearer |first=Harry |title=le Show |publisher=HarryShearer.com |date=July 5, 2009 |access-date=July 16, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831225150/http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=699 |archive-date=August 31, 2009 }} (Mentioned right at top of program). and in 2010 at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center.{{cite web|url=http://www.cacno.org/visualarts/exhibition/2010/01/shearer/ |title=Currently in Our Galleries: January 23 – June 6, 2010: HARRY SHEARER: The Silent Echo Chamber |publisher=Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans |date=January 23, 2010 |access-date=January 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116130757/http://www.cacno.org/visualarts/exhibition/2010/01/shearer/ |archive-date=January 16, 2010 }}

In 2006 Shearer appeared with Brian Hayes in four episodes of the BBC Radio 4 sitcom Not Today, Thank You, playing Nostrils, a man so ugly he cannot stand to be in his own presence.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5121840.stm |title=Simpsons star in BBC radio comedy |work=BBC News |access-date=April 30, 2009 |date=June 27, 2006 |archive-date=June 29, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060629025414/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5121840.stm |url-status=live }} He was originally scheduled to appear in all six episodes but had to withdraw from recording two due to a problem with his work permit.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5190376.stm |title=BBC comedy loses Simpsons actor |work=BBC News |access-date=May 1, 2009 |date=July 18, 2006 |archive-date=December 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211092655/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5190376.stm |url-status=live }} On June 19, 2008, it was announced that Shearer would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the radio category.{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/06/19/Shearer_to_get_star_on_Walk_of_Fame/UPI-26391213913223/ |title=Shearer to get star on Walk of Fame |access-date=June 19, 2008 |date=June 19, 2008 |publisher=United Press International |archive-date=October 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013122749/http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/06/19/Shearer_to_get_star_on_Walk_of_Fame/UPI-26391213913223/ |url-status=live }}

File:HarryShearerApr09.jpg

Shearer's first feature film as director, Teddy Bears' Picnic, which he also wrote, was released in 2002. The plot is based on Bohemian Grove, which hosts a three-week encampment of some of the most powerful men in the world. The film was not well received by critics. It garnered a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with all 19 reviews being determined as negative{{cite web|url=http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/1113733-teddy_bears_picnic/ |title=Teddy Bears' Picnic (2002) |access-date=May 1, 2009 |work=Rotten Tomatoes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013235300/http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/1113733-teddy_bears_picnic/ |archive-date=October 13, 2008 }} and received a rating of 32 out of 100 (signifying "generally negative reviews") on Metacritic from 10 reviews.{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/teddybearspicnic?q=Teddy%20Bears%27%20Picnic |title=Teddy Bears' Picnic |access-date=May 1, 2009 |work=Metacritic }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In 2003, he co-wrote J. Edgar! The Musical with Tom Leopold, which spoofed J. Edgar Hoover's relationship with Clyde Tolson.{{Cite news |title=Jokers will be wild at Aspen Comedy Arts Festival |work=The Denver Post |author=Harden, Mark |date=February 23, 2003}} It premiered at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado and starred Kelsey Grammer and John Goodman.{{cite news |title=Prez hopeful Kerry making some waves |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/2003/03/02/2003-03-02_prez_hopeful_kerry_making_so.html |work=New York Daily News |access-date=May 1, 2009 |date=March 2, 2003 |author1=Rush, George |author2=Molloy, Joanna }} {{Dead link |date=April 2012 |bot=H3llBot}}

Shearer, Guest and McKean starred in the folk music mockumentary A Mighty Wind (2003), portraying a band called The Folksmen. The film was written by Guest and Eugene Levy, and directed by Guest. Shearer had a major role in the Guest-directed parody of Oscar politicking For Your Consideration released in 2006. He played Victor Allan Miller, a veteran actor who is convinced that he is going to be nominated for an Academy Award.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/feb/09/comedy |title=For Your Consideration |work=The Guardian |access-date=April 30, 2009 |author=Bradshaw, Peter |date=February 9, 2007 |location=London}} He also appeared as a news anchor in Godzilla (1998) with fellow The Simpsons cast members Hank Azaria and Nancy Cartwright.{{cite web |title=Interview with Harry Shearer (Conclusion) |url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/035/035863p1.html |author=Plume, Kenneth |website=IGN |date=February 10, 2000 |access-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522214419/http://movies.ign.com/articles/035/035863p1.html |archive-date=May 22, 2009 |url-status=dead }} His other film appearances include The Right Stuff (1983), The Fisher King (1991), The Truman Show (1998), Small Soldiers (also 1998), and EDtv (1999). He also directed and appeared in the television program Portrait of a White Marriage (1988), a sequel to The History of White People in America.

Shearer has also worked as a columnist for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, but decided that it "became such a waste of time to bother with it." His columns have also been published in Slate and Newsweek.{{cite web|url=http://www.foxflash.com/div.php/main/page?aID=1z2z2z175z13z4&bioid=1675 |title=Harry Shearer |publisher=FoxFlash |year=2008 |access-date=May 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429083513/http://www.foxflash.com/div.php/main/page?aID=1z2z2z175z13z4&bioid=1675 |archive-date=April 29, 2009 }} Since May 2005 he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/ |title=Harry Shearer |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-date=September 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902173544/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/ |url-status=live }} Shearer has written three books. Man Bites Town, published in 1993, is a collection of columns that he wrote for The Los Angeles Times between 1989 and 1992. Published in 1999, It's the Stupidity, Stupid analyzed the hatred some people had for then-President Bill Clinton.{{cite magazine |title=It's The Stupidity, Stupid By Harry Shearer |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,21791,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103050151/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,21791,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2012 |author=Corliss, Richard |magazine=Time |date=March 21, 1999 |access-date=May 1, 2009}} Shearer believes that Clinton became disliked because he had an affair with "the least powerful, least credentialed woman cleared into his official compound." His most recent book is Not Enough Indians, his first novel. Published in 2006, it is a comic novel about Native Americans and gambling. Without the "pleasures of collaboration" and "spontaneity and improvisation which characterize his other projects", Not Enough Indians was a "struggle" for Shearer to write. He said that "the only fun thing about it was having written it. It was lonely, I had no deal for it and it took six years to do. It was a profoundly disturbing act of self-discipline."

Shearer has released five solo comedy albums: It Must Have Been Something I Said (1994), Dropping Anchors (2006), Songs Pointed and Pointless (2007), Songs of the Bushmen (2008) and Greed and Fear (2010).{{cite web |url={{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p143427 |pure_url=yes}} |title=Harry Shearer discography |access-date=March 11, 2010 |website=AllMusic}} His most recent CD, Greed and Fear is mainly about Wall Street economic issues, rather than politics like his previous albums. Shearer decided to make the album when he"started getting amused by the language of the economic meltdown – when 'toxic assets' suddenly became 'troubled assets,' going from something poisoning the system to just a bunch of delinquent youth with dirty faces that needed not removal from the system but just ... understanding."{{cite web |title=Harry Shearer on Why He's Taking on Wall Street |author=Perman, Cindy |date=March 4, 2010 |publisher=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2010/03/04/harry-shearer-on-why-hes-taking-on-wall-street.html |access-date=March 11, 2010 |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610220238/http://www.cnbc.com/id/35706343/ |url-status=live }} In May 2006, Shearer received an honorary doctorate from Goucher College.{{cite web |url=http://www.goucher.edu/x11938.xml |title=Simpsons star Harry Shearer at Commencement 2006 |year=2006 |publisher=Goucher College |access-date=March 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605215153/http://www.goucher.edu/x11938.xml |archive-date=June 5, 2011 }}

Shearer is the director of The Big Uneasy (2010), a documentary film about the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. Narrated by actor John Goodman, the film describes levee failures and catastrophic flooding in the New Orleans metropolitan area, and includes extended interviews with former LSU professor Ivor Van Heerden, Robert Bea, an engineering professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and Maria Garzino, an engineer and contract specialist for the Los Angeles district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The film is critical of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its management of flood protection projects in Southern Louisiana.{{cite web|url=http://www.thebiguneasy.com/THE%20BIG%20UNEASY%20-%20Production%20Notes%202011.pdf/ |title=The Big Uneasy; A Film by Harry Shearer |publisher=The Notions Dept Inc. |year=2010 |access-date=February 21, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511032953/http://www.thebiguneasy.com/THE%20BIG%20UNEASY%20-%20Production%20Notes%202011.pdf |archive-date=May 11, 2013 }}{{cite news |title=The Big Uneasy–In New Doc, Harry Shearer Makes the Case that Katrina Was an Unnatural Disaster |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/30/the_big_uneasy_in_new_doc |author=Kamat, Anjali |publisher=Democracy Now! |date=August 30, 2010 |access-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221180112/http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/30/the_big_uneasy_in_new_doc |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Harry Shearer's Amazing New Orleans Documentary |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/08/26/harry-shearers-new-orleans-documentary-the-big-uneasy.html |author=Grove, Lloyd |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=August 26, 2010 |access-date=February 21, 2014 |archive-date=February 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224001400/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/08/26/harry-shearers-new-orleans-documentary-the-big-uneasy.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Funnyman Harry Shearer gets serious with Katrina documentary 'The Big Uneasy' |last=Scott |first=Mike |work=The Times-Picayune |url=http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2010/08/funnyman_harry_shearer_gets_se.html |date=August 30, 2010 |access-date=June 29, 2015 |archive-date=October 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015234203/http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2010/08/funnyman_harry_shearer_gets_se.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_big_uneasy_2010/ |title=The Big Uneasy |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=June 29, 2015 |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201143948/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_big_uneasy_2010/ |url-status=live }} Shearer draws on numerous technical experts to maintain that Hurricane Katrina's "... tragic floods creating widespread damage were caused by manmade errors in engineering and judgment."{{cite web|url=http://www.thebiguneasy.com/about.html/ |title=About The Big Uneasy |year=2010 |publisher=The Notions Dept Inc. |access-date=June 29, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531005154/http://www.thebiguneasy.com/about.html |archive-date=May 31, 2015 }} On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 6.85/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Big Uneasy offers an admittedly uneven – yet still worthy and well-intentioned – look at a horrific disaster's aftermath."

Shearer married folk singer Penelope Nichols in 1974. They divorced in 1977.{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=R. J.|title=The Harry Shearer Show|magazine=Los Angeles|year=2002|volume=47|issue=12|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7V0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA174|access-date=February 18, 2011|issn=1522-9149}} He has been married to Welsh singer-songwriter Judith Owen since 1993. In 2005, the couple launched their own record label called Courgette Records.{{cite web |url=http://courgetterecords.com/ |title=Courgette Records |access-date=May 1, 2009 |archive-date=April 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423074806/http://www.courgetterecords.com/ |url-status=live }} Shearer primarily resides in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, but has homes in Santa Monica, California and Notting Hill, London. He first went to New Orleans in 1988 and has attended every New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival since.{{cite web|url=http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=673 |last=Shearer |first=Harry |title=le Show |publisher=HarryShearer.com |date=January 4, 2009 |access-date=January 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428231859/http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=673 |archive-date=April 28, 2009 }}

Shearer often speaks and writes about the failure of the Federal levee system which flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, blasting the coverage of it in the mainstream media{{cite news |title=New Orleans Faces "The Nation" |date=December 23, 2008 |work=The Huffington Post |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/new-orleans-faces-the-nat_b_153163.html |access-date=February 1, 2009 |first=Harry |last=Shearer |archive-date=February 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203165046/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/new-orleans-faces-the-nat_b_153163.html |url-status=live }} and criticizing the role of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.{{cite web|url=http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=534 |last=Shearer |first=Harry |title=le Show |publisher=HarryShearer.com |date=June 25, 2006 |access-date=January 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530063516/http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=534 |archive-date=May 30, 2008 }}{{cite web|url=http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=649 |last=Shearer |first=Harry |title=le Show |publisher=HarryShearer.com |date=July 20, 2008 |access-date=January 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006150912/http://media.harryshearer.com/?ProgramID=649 |archive-date=October 6, 2008 }} Prior to the DVD release of his film, The Big Uneasy, Shearer would hold screenings of the film at different venues and take questions from audience members.

{{See also|The Simpsons discography|Spinal Tap (band)#Discography|The Credibility Gap#discography |l2=Spinal Tap discography |l3=The Credibility Gap discography}}

• {{cite book

|first=Harry

|last=Shearer

|year=1993

|title=Man Bites Town

|publisher=St Martins Press

|isbn=0-312-08842-6

|url=https://archive.org/details/manbitestown00shea

}}

• {{cite book|first=Harry|last=Shearer|year=1999|title=It's the Stupidity, Stupid: Why (Some) People Hate Clinton and Why the Rest of Us Have to Watch|publisher=Ballantine Books/Library of Contemporary Thought|isbn=0-345-43401-3}}
• {{cite book

|first=Harry

|last=Shearer

|year=2006

|title=Not Enough Indians

|publisher=Justin, Charles and Company

|isbn=1-932112-46-4

|url=https://archive.org/details/notenoughindians00shea

}}

Shearer was the last of the six regular voice actors from The Simpsons to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.{{cite news |url=http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2006/07/shearer_snubbed.html |title=Shearer snubbed again! Blame that Mr. Burns? |access-date=August 10, 2007 |date=July 20, 2006 |author=O'Niel, Tom |work=The Envelope |archive-date=December 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222051429/http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2006/07/shearer_snubbed.html |url-status=dead }} His win came for the season 25 episode "Four Regrettings and a Funeral".

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Groening |editor1-first=Ray |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-link=Ray Richmond |editor2-first=Antonia |editor2-last=Coffman |title=The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family |edition=1st |year=1997 |location=New York |publisher=HarperPerennial |lccn=98141857 |ol=433519M |oclc=37796735 |isbn=978-0-06-095252-5 |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}}}}.
• {{Cite book |last1=Shales |first1=Tom |author-link=Tom Shales |last2=Miller |first2=James Andrew |year=2002 |title=Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live |edition=1st |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |isbn=0-316-78146-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/livefromnewyorku00shal }}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.harryshearer.com/ Harry Shearer's official site]
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061217025414/http://www.harryshearer.com/ |date=December 17, 2006 |title=Harry Shearer site }}
• {{IMDb name}}
• {{Tcmdb name}}
• {{Charlie Rose view|3502}}
• {{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p143427}}
• [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/ Harry Shearer's blog] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902173544/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/ |date=September 2, 2012 }} at the Huffington Post
• [http://voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=1207 Harry Shearer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060505053023/http://www.voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=1207 |date=May 5, 2006 }} at [http://www.voicechasers.com Voice Chasers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008083545/https://voicechasers.com/ |date=October 8, 2020 }}
• [http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/30/the_big_uneasy_in_new_doc New Documentary, Shearer on Hurricane Katrina] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100916222702/http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/30/the_big_uneasy_in_new_doc |date=September 16, 2010 }} – video interview by Democracy Now!
• [http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/harry-shearer Harry Shearer Interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908065737/https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/harry-shearer |date=September 8, 2017 }} NAMM Oral History Library (2017)

{{EmmyAward Character Voice-Over Performance}}

{{Spinal Tap}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shearer, Harry}}

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