ANDY KAUFMAN

'Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman' (January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer, actor, and performance artist. Though many refer to him as a comedian, Kaufman did not self-identify as one^[1]. He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood; instead, he saw himself as a practitioner of anti-humor or dada absurdist performance art, and referred to himself as a "song and dance man".

Biography

Kaufman was born in New York City on January 17, 1949 into a Jewish family, the first son of Stanley and Janice (Bernstein) Kaufman. He grew up in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, and began performing at the age of 7. He attended the now defunct two-year Grahm Junior College^[2] in Boston, graduating in 1971. After leaving college he began performing stand-up comedy at various small clubs along the East coast.

Career highlights

"Foreign man"

Andy Kaufman as Elvis, on a cover of a video tape

Kaufman first caught major attention with a character known as "Foreign Man". Foreign Man, who claimed to be from "Caspiar" (a fictional island in the Caspian Sea), would appear on the stage of comedy clubs and lip-synch one line — "Here I come to save the day" — from the theme from "Mighty Mouse", tell a few lame jokes, and perform a number of bad impersonations (Archie Bunker, Richard Nixon, etc).
He might say in a phony accent, "I would like to imitate Meester Carter, de President of de United States." He would then say in the same voice, "Hello, I am Meester Carter, de President of de United States. Thenk you veddy much." The audience would be torn between outrage at seeing such a bad act, and sympathy for the hapless entertainer, who would cry on stage once heckled enough.
At that point, Foreign Man would announce "And now I would like to imitate the Elvis Presley," turn around, take off his jacket, slick his hair back, and launch into an Elvis Presley impersonation so good that Elvis Presley himself described it as his favorite.^[3]
After the wild applause that almost always came after his Elvis impression, he would take a simple bow and say in his "Foreign Man" voice, "T'ank you veddy much!" The audience would realize they had been tricked, which became a trademark of Kaufman's comedy.

"Latka"

Main articles: Latka Gravas

Kaufman reprised a version of the Foreign Man character, now named Latka^[4]
Gravas, for ABC's ''Taxi'' sitcom, appearing in 114 episodes from 1978 to 1983.^[5] The producers of ''Taxi'' had seen Andy's Foreign Man act and, according to producer Ed Weinberger, "We weren't considering Andy for the show before we saw him. Then we wrote a part for him." Bob Zmuda confirms this: "They basically were buying Andy's Foreign Man character for the Taxi character Latka."^[6] Andy's long-time manager George Shapiro encouraged Andy to take the gig. "My feeling was that it would be a nice boost for his career... and he would be playing a character that he knew very well, the Foreign Man - this particular character speaks no English in ''Taxi'' and his name is Latka Gravas."^[7]
Kaufman hated sitcoms and was not thrilled with the idea of being on one. In order to allow Kaufman to demonstrate some comedic range, his character was given multiple personality disorder, which allowed Kaufman to randomly portray other characters. In one episode, Kaufman's character came down with a condition which made him act like Alex Reiger, the main character played by Judd Hirsch. Another such recurring character played by Kaufman was the womanizing "Vic Ferrari".
''Taxi'' was an award-winning show with a large audience and Kaufman was widely recognized as Latka. On some occasions, audiences would show up to one of Kaufman's stage performances expecting to see him perform as Latka, and heckling him with demands when he did not. Kaufman would punish these audiences with the announcement that he was going to read ''The Great Gatsby'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald to them. The audience would laugh at this, not realizing that he was serious and would proceed to read the book to them, continuing despite audience members' departure.
Latka's wife in the series was named Simka, who was portrayed by comic actress Carol Kane.

"Tony Clifton"

Main articles: Tony Clifton

Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman as "Tony Clifton" in ''Man on the Moon''

Another well-known Kaufman character is Tony Clifton, an abusive lounge singer who began opening for Kaufman at comedy clubs and eventually even performed concerts on his own around the country. Sometimes it was Kaufman performing as Clifton, sometimes it was his brother Michael or his friend Bob Zmuda. For a brief time, it was unclear to some that Clifton was not a real person. News programs interviewed Clifton as Kaufman's opening act, with the mood turning ugly whenever Kaufman's name came up. Kaufman, Clifton insisted, was attempting to ruin Clifton's "good name" in order to make money and get famous.
As a requirement for Kaufman accepting the offer to star on ''Taxi'', he insisted that "Clifton" be hired for a guest role on the show as if he were a real person, not a character. After throwing a tantrum on the set, Clifton was fired and escorted off of the studio lot by security guards. Much to Kaufman's delight, this incident was reported in the local newspapers. Paramount TV and producers James L. Brooks and Stan Daniels later released a statement that said that although Clifton was "no longer welcome on the set," his friend Andy Kaufman would continue in his role as Latka, which he did until the show ended its run in 1983.

Carnegie Hall "milk and cookies" show

At the beginning of an April 1979 performance at New York's Carnegie Hall, Kaufman invited his "grandmother" to watch the show from a chair he had placed at the side of the stage. At the end of the show, she stood up, took her mask off and revealed to the audience that she was actually comedian Robin Williams in disguise. Kaufman also had an elderly woman (named Eleanor Cody Gould) appear to have a heart attack and die on stage, at which point he reappeared on stage wearing a Native American headdress and performed a dance over her body, seeming to revive her.
The performance is most famous for Kaufman ending the show by actually taking the entire audience, in 35 buses, out for milk and cookies. He invited anyone interested to meet him on the Staten Island Ferry the next morning, where the show continued.
This kind of performance art—not stand-up comedy—is a hallmark of Kaufman's career.

''Andy's Funhouse''

Also part of the ''Taxi'' deal with ABC was to give Kaufman a television "special". He came up with ''Andy's Funhouse'', based on an old routine he had developed while in college. The special was taped in 1977 but did not air until August 1979, on ABC.^[8] It featured most of Andy's famous gags, including Foreign Man/Latka and his Elvis Presley impersonation, as well as a host of unique segments (including a special appearance by children's television character Howdy Doody and the "Has-been Corner"). There also was a segment that included fake television screen static as part of the gag, which ABC executives were not comfortable with as they thought viewers would think that ABC was having broadcast trouble and would change the channel - which was the comic element Kaufman wanted to present.
''Andy's Funhouse'' was written by Kaufman, Zmuda, and Mel Sherer, with music by Kaufman. Andy considered this perhaps his greatest work.

The ''Fridays'' incident

In 1981, Kaufman made three appearances^[9] on ''Fridays'', a variety show on ABC that was similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Kaufman's first appearance on the show proved to be memorable. During a sketch about four people out on a dinner date who excuse themselves to the restroom to smoke marijuana, Kaufman broke character and refused to say his lines.
The other comedians were embarrassed by the position that Kaufman had put them in on a live television show. In response, cast member Michael Richards walked off camera and returned with a set of cue cards and dumped them on the table in front of Kaufman. Andy responded by splashing Richards with water. Co-producer Jack Burns stormed onto the stage, leading to a brawl on camera before the show abruptly cut away to commercial. It was later revealed that this incident was a practical joke, though most of the actors were kept unaware; only Kaufman, Richards, producer Burns, and the show's director, John Moffitt, were actually aware of Kaufman's stunt. Kaufman later added to the confusion by denying the entire thing.
Regardless, Kaufman appeared the following week in a videotaped apology to the home viewers. Later that year, Kaufman returned to host ''Fridays''. At one point in the show, he invited a Lawrence Welk Show gospel and standards singer, Kathie Sullivan, on stage to sing a few gospel songs with him and announced that the two were engaged to be married, then talked to the audience about his newfound faith in Jesus. It was also a hoax.

"Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion"

Kaufman grew up admiring professional wrestlers and the world in which they perform. For a brief time, Kaufman began wrestling women during his act and was the self-proclaimed "Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World". He offered $1,000 reward to any woman who could pin him.
Later, after a challenge from professional wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler, Kaufman would step into the ring (in the Memphis wrestling circuit) with a man - Lawler himself. Lawler's ongoing feud with Kaufman included an apparent broken neck for Kaufman as a result of a piledriver by Lawler, and a famous on-air fight on a 1982 episode of the ''Late Night with David Letterman'' television show. After that, for some time Kaufman appeared everywhere wearing a neck brace, insisting that his injuries were real. Kaufman would continue to defend the intergender championship in the Mid-South Coliseum, and offered an extra prize, other than the $1,000.00, that if he was pinned, the woman who pinned him would get to marry him and that he (Kaufman) would shave his head bald as well.
Kaufman and Lawler's famous feud and wrestling matches were later revealed to have been staged, or a "work", as the two were actually friends. The truth about it being a work was kept secret for more than 10 years after Kaufman's death, until the Emmy nominated documentary ''A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman'' aired on NBC in 1995. Coincidentally, Jim Carrey (who also shares Kaufman's birthday) is the one who reveals the secret, and would later go on to play Kaufman in the 1999 film ''Man on the Moon''. In a 1997 interview with the ''Memphis Flyer'', Lawler claimed he had improvised during their first match and the Letterman incident. Although officials at St. Francis Hospital stated that Kaufman's neck injuries were real, in his 2002 biography "It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes," Lawler detailed how they came up with the angle and kept it quiet. He also said that Kaufman's explosion on Letterman was the comedian's own idea.

Appearances

Kaufman made a name for himself as a guest on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'', starting with the inaugural 11 October 1975 show, and making 15 appearances in all.^[10] He would do routines from his comedy act, such as the ''Mighty Mouse'' Foreign Man character, the Elvis impersonation, etc. After he angered the audience with his female wrestling routine, the ''SNL'' audience voted to ban Kaufman from the show for good, though it was never made clear whether or not this was a gag. Kaufman did however make one last pre-taped appearance on the show in January 1983 to acknowledge the vote, during which he said that he would honor the audience's decision and stay off the show.
Kaufman made a number of appearances on the daytime ''The David Letterman Show'' in 1980, and eleven appearances on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' in 1982-1983^[11], including one where he claimed to be homeless and begged the audience for money and one where he talked about his adopted children, who turned out to be three fully grown African American men. In an interesting sidenote, two years after he portrayed Kaufman in ''Man on the Moon'', Jim Carrey starred in Me, Myself, and Irene, where his "children" were also three African American men. They were not his biological children, however; they were a result of his wife's infidelity.
He also appeared four times on the ''Tonight Show''^[12] from 1976-1978, twice on ''The Midnight Special'' (in 1972 and 1981)^[13], twice on ''The Merv Griffin Show'' (1979-1980)^[14], and once, in 1978 as a participant, on ''The Dating Game''^[15]. He also made numerous guest spots on other television programs hosted by or starring celebrities like Dick Van Dyke, Dinah Shore, Rodney Dangerfield, Cher, Dean Martin, Redd Foxx, Mike Douglas, Dick Clark, and Joe Franklin.^[16]
He appeared in his first theatrical film ''God Told Me To'' in 1976, where he portrayed a murderous policeman. He also appeared in several others, including as a televangelist in the 1980 film ''In God We Tru$t''.
Laurie Anderson worked alongside Andy Kaufman for a time in the 1970s, acting as a sort of straight woman in a number of his Manhattan and Coney Island performances. One of these performances included getting on a ride that people stand in and get spun around. After everyone was strapped in Kaufman would start saying how he did not want to be on the ride in a panicked tone and eventually cry. Anderson later described these performances in her 1995 album ''The Ugly One with the Jewels''.

Death

After several family members at a Thanksgiving dinner that year were growing concerned over his persistent coughing for the past month, Kaufman consulted a physician and was initially diagnosed with cancer in December 1983. Despite his doctor's diagnosis that there was no hope for recovery, he was committed to fighting the disease until his death. After audiences were shocked by his gaunt appearance during 1984 shows, Kaufman acknowledged having an unspecified illness, which he hoped to cure with "natural medicine" including an all-fruit & vegetables diet, among other measures. Kaufman received palliative radiotherapy, but the cancer had by then rapidly spread. His last stand for medical therapy was "psychic surgery", performed in Baguio, Philippines in March 1984. Kaufman died in Los Angeles on May 16, 1984^[17] of kidney failure, caused by metastasized large cell carcinoma, a rare kind of lung cancer, and was interred in the Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York (Long Island).
Because he kept the true nature of his health a secret—almost until the day he died—fans have, over the years, doubted Kaufman's death, thinking that he staged it as the ultimate Andy Kaufman stunt. Rumors that Kaufman was still alive go as far back as May 17, 1984 (the day after he died), when a caller phoned the Howard Stern radio show on WNBC in New York to announce that Kaufman's death was a hoax. Friends and family said that Andy almost never smoked, didn't drink regularly, and was also a vegetarian. At the time, lung cancer was considered very rare for non-smokers to contract, and it is also rare in people under the age of 50. Kaufman himself even said that if he were to fake his death, he would return 20 years later. On May 16, 2004, his surviving friends threw a 'Welcome Home Andy' party for him. He didn't show.
It was only after Kaufman's death that it was revealed he had a daughter, Maria, who was given up for adoption. She never knew her biological father.

Claims of resurfacing

Andy Kaufman allegedly told many people—including Bob Zmuda—that he wished to fake his own death prior to his actual death. This has caused some fans to believe Kaufman is still alive. A screenplay Kaufman was working on at the time of his death was about a character who claimed to have lung cancer and faked his death.
Andy lost his hair around the time of his death, and was also seen around Los Angeles in a wheelchair. Some claim his hair loss was due to cancer treatment; however, and according to the website AndykaufmanLives.com, Andy's girlfriend at the time later claimed to have shaved his head with a razor. Andy's sister also commented after his death that she found it odd that the doctor who diagnosed Andy with cancer had been wearing tennis shoes, sparking debate amongst fans as to whether Andy had paid off an actor friend to pose as a doctor.
There are many such rumors involving Andy's "hoax" death, and the 1999 Jim Carrey film ''Man on the Moon'' even references these rumors by including an open ending in which Andy may or may not still be alive. Bob Zmuda has acknowledged "death hoax" rumors over the years quite tongue-in-cheek, admitting that Andy and he had discussed faking his death at times and that Andy seemed "obsessed with the idea," but he maintains the opinion that Andy truly did die and his death was not faked. Zmuda claims he doesn't think Andy would be cruel enough to go this long without making contact with his family if he were still alive. But he also acknowledged the idea that Kaufman could have faked his death in 1984 and died later of some other cause.
During the 1990s, Tony Clifton has reportedly made several appearances at LA nightclubs since Kaufman's death, prompting speculation that perhaps Kaufman was still alive and working under the makeup. While many assume Zmuda portrayed the character, Zmuda has been evasive as to the truth, so the legend persists -- fueled partially by an ad in Daily Variety [date not cited] promoting an appearance by Clifton at the Comedy Store in the late 1990s.

Trivia

★ Andy Kaufman has posthumously appeared in Acclaim's "Legends of Wrestling II" (2002) and "" (2004) video games.

★ In the video game "", the yellow cabs called "Kaufman Cabs" were named after Andy.

★ Kaufman was a friend of Alan Spencer, best known as a creator of the cult hit TV series ''Sledge Hammer!'' Kaufman once invited Spencer over to his home and subjected him to a marathon of forty-eight hours of ''The People's Court'', a series that Kaufman religiously recorded.

★ Kaufman practiced transcendental meditation.

★ Rapper Sage Francis performs a song about staging his own death entitled "Andy Kaufman" on his album Still Sick... Urine Trouble.

★ The band R.E.M. referenced Andy Kaufman, his Elvis impersonation and other facets of his life in their song "Man on the Moon". ''Man on the Moon'' is also the title of the movie about Andy Kaufman, directed by Miloš Forman in 1999. A second song about Andy Kaufman by R.E.M., "The Great Beyond", appeared both in this movie and on the soundtrack.

★ In a poll on IMDb, Kaufman was named the celebrity who most likely faked his own death, beating out Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, James Dean, Bruce Lee, and Jimi Hendrix.^[18]

★ Kaufman was also a composer.

★ WWE and Jakks toy makers are in talks about making an Andy Kaufman action figure for their WWE Legends line.

Filmography

Acting

★ ''The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show'' (1982) (TV) .... Tony Clifton

★ ''Heartbeeps'' (1981) .... Val

★ ''In God We Tru$t'' (1980) .... Armageddon T. Thunderbird

★ ''Taxi'' (1978) TV Series .... Latka Gravas/Vic Ferrari

★ ''Stick Around'' (1977) (TV) .... Andy, the Robot

★ ''God Told Me To'' (1976) .... Police Officer

Writing

★ ''I'm From Hollywood'' (1989) (uncredited)

★ ''Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall'' (1980) (V)

★ ''Andy's Funhouse'' (1979) (TV)

Composing

★ ''Man on the Moon'' (1999) (song "Oh, The Cow Goes Moo")

Producing

★ ''Andy's Funhouse'' (1979) (TV) (producer)

Playing himself

★ ''I'm From Hollywood'' (1989) .... Himself

★ '' (1985) (TV) (voice) .... Himself

★ ''My Breakfast with Blassie'' (1983) .... Himself

★ ''Catch a Rising Star's 10th Anniversary'' (1982) (TV) .... Himself/Comedian

★ ''Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall'' (1980) (V) .... Himself/Tony Clifton

★ ''Andy's Funhouse'' (1979) (TV) (also as Tony Clifton) .... Himself/Latka Gravas/Tony Clifton

★ ''Cher... and Other Fantasies'' (1979) (TV) .... Himself

★ ''Van Dyke and Company'' (1976) TV Series .... Regular

★ ''Van Dyke and Company'' (1975) (TV)

★ ''The Midnight Special'' (1972) TV Series .... Himself - Host

Notable TV guest appearances

Notes and references

1. He is quoted in ''The New York Times'' as saying:

"I am not a comic, I have never told a joke....The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him....My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can. I can manipulate people's reactions. There are different kinds of laughter. Gut laughter is where you don't have a choice, you've got to laugh. Gut laughter doesn't come from the intellect. And it's much harder for me to evoke now, because I'm known. They say, 'Oh wow, Andy Kaufman, he's a really funny guy.' But I'm not trying to be funny. I just want to play with their heads."

2. See their web page.
3. Elvis bio on IMDB
4. The name "Latka" derives from "latkas" which are fried potato pancakes, commonly eaten in celebration of the Jewish holiday Chanukah.
5. ''Taxi''
6. "Andy Kaufman Oral History", interviews with Don Steinberg, originally published in short form in ''GQ Magazine'', December 1999.
7. Quoted in ''Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman'' by Bill Zehme (2001), p. 6.
8. ''Andy's Funhouse''
9. Kaufman on ''Fridays''.
10. Kaufman on SNL
11. ''Late Night with David Letterman''
12. ''Tonight Show''
13. ''Midnight Special''
14. ''Merv Griffin Show''
15. ''The Dating Game''
16. guest appearances.
17. California Death Index
18. IMDB poll on celebrities faking their own deaths

External links

★ The Tony Clifton Story the "lost" Kaufman screenplay

★ Fridays the infamous "Marijuana" sketch uncut

★ Lincoln Assassination one of Andy's early stage gags, using "Birth of a Nation" footage

★ Baji Kimran's Date Andy on the Dating Game

★ Goofing On Elvis: The Short and Extraordinary Life of Andy Kaufman

★ Andy Kaufman's death certificate "carcinoma, renal failure"

★ Andy Kaufman Lives!

★ Snopes' report on his 'return'

★ Transcript: Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler on Letterman, 1982

★

★ The Kaufman Chronicles

★ Andy Kaufman's Last Performance by Michael Dare

★ Andy Lives

★ Kathie loves Andy (fictional account inspired by the Andy Kaufman-Kathie Sullivan romance hoax)

★ Andy Kaufman at the Other Arena

★ ''The Memphis Flyer'': "We were Friends" by Jackson Baker, 1999

★ Why Andy Kaufman is really dead

★ Kaufman may be gone, but Clifton lives on...

★ A Straight Dope column on Kaufman and the Tony Clifton character: [1]

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