Andy Kaufman

At 35 years old, Andy Kaufman has this physical status:

Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer, writer, and showman.

Though Kaufman was often referred to as a comedian, he now describes himself as a "song and dance man."

In a rare introspective interview, he responsibly disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood. "I am not a comedian, I have never told a joke." The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh out loud with him... My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can. "In 1975, Kaufman came to the attention of a larger audience after appearing in small comedy clubs in the early 1970s."

His Foreign Man was the inspiration for his appearance on the hit television show Taxi from 1978 to 1983.

He continued to tour comedy clubs and theaters in a series of rare performance art/come shows, sometimes as himself and sometimes as obnoxious rude lounge singer Tony Clifton.

He was also a regular guest on sketch comedy and late-night talk shows, particularly Late Night with David Letterman.

Kaufman brought his professional wrestling villainy to Letterman's display by way of a staged confrontation with Jerry "The King" Lawler of the Continental Wrestling Association in 1982 (although the fact that the altercation was not announced for more than a decade was not revealed until later. Kaufman died of lung cancer in 1984 at the age of 35.

Since pranks and elaborate ruses were two main features of his career, persistent rumors have circulated that Kaufman faked his own death as a grand prank.

He continues to be praised for his variety of his characters, his uniquely counterintuitive approach to comedy, and his ability to elicit skepticism and confused reactions from audiences.

Early life

Kaufman was born in New York City on January 17, 1949, the oldest of three children. In a middle-class Jewish family in Great Neck, Long Island, he grew up with his younger brother Michael and sister Carol. Janice (née Bernstein), a homemaker and former fashion model, and his father Stanley Kaufman, a jewelry salesman, was his mother. At age 9, Kaufman began appearing at children's birthday parties, drawing cartoons and playing records. Kaufman spent the majority of his youth writing poetry and stories, as well as an unpublished book, The Hollering Mangoo, which he wrote at age 16. On a return to his academy from Nigerian musician Babatunde Olatunji, Kaufman started playing the congas.

After graduating from Great Neck North High School in 1967, Kaufman took a year off before enrolling in Boston's now defunct two-year Grahm Junior College, where he studied television production and appeared in his own campus television show, Uncle Andy's Fun House. He hopped on a plane to Las Vegas in August 1969 to see Elvis Presley, but he had to be unannounced at the International Hotel. He began performing at coffee houses and creating his act, as well as directing a one-man play, Gosh, which was later renamed God and published in 2000). He began performing stand-up comedy at various small clubs on the East Coast after graduating in 1971.

Personal life

Kaufman never married. Maria Bellu-Colonna (born 1969), the product of an out-of-wedlock relationship with a high-school girlfriend, was deemed for adoption. Bellu-Colonna learned that she was Kaufman's daughter after winning a lawsuit seeking a State of New York for her biological mother's surname in 1992. She was reunited with her mother, grandfather, uncle, and aunt soon. Brittany, Bellu-Colonna's daughter, appeared in Man on the Moon for a brief period of time as the late child of Kaufman's sister Carol.

Kaufman learned Transcendental Meditation at college in December 1969. He used the technique to "increase confidence and bring his act to comedy clubs," according to a BBC article. Kaufman meditated and practiced yoga three hours a day for the remainder of his life. He studied in Mallorca, Spain, from February to June 1971, and became a transcendental meditation guide.

Lynne Margulies, who met Kaufman at the filming of My Breakfast with Blassie, was in a contract with Kaufman from 1982 to 1984. Margulies co-directed the 1989 Kaufman wrestling collection I'm from Hollywood, as well as the 2009 book Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts!

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Career

Kaufman's first reputation, Foreign Man, appeared in a hushed, high-pitched, high-accented voice, and appeared to be from "Caspiar," a fictional island in the Caspian Sea, attracted significant attention. It was as this character that Kaufman convinced Budd Friedman, the owner of the famed New York City comedy club, to let him perform on stage.

While standing perfectly still, Kaufman, the International Man, will appear on the stage of comedy clubs, perform a recording of the Mighty Mouse cartoon show, and mouth only the words "Here I come to save the day." He proceeded to tell a few (intentionally poor) jokes and concluded his act with a sequence of celebrity impersonations, the comedic delight being born of his character's obviously hopeless impersonation. For example, Kaufman's fake accent stated to the audience, "I would like to imitate Meester Carter, de president of the United States," and then, in a similar manner, say, "I am Meester Carter, de president of the United States." "You veddy much," T'ank you. Foreign Man will say, "And now I would like to imitate the Elvis Presley," turn around, slick his hair back, and unleash a rousing, hip-shaking version of Presley's hit song at any point in the show, usually when the audience was conditioned to only one clear image. He took off his leather jacket during the performance and threw it into the audience, but unlike Presley, Foreign Man will immediately ask for it to be returned. "You veddy much" will be the song's final, after he's ended, he'll take a simple bow and say in his Foreign Man voice.

In the first season of Saturday Night Live, snapshots of Kaufman's Foreign Man act were shown. In the inaugural year of the Mighty Mouse, the joke-telling and celebrity impressions (including Elvis) were included in the November 8 broadcast the same year.

In the early 1970s, Kaufman first used his Foreign Man name in nightclubs, often to joke inaccurately and do poor imitations of famous celebrities before bursting into his Elvis Presley impersonation. The character was then turned into Latka Gravas for ABC's sitcom Taxi, appearing in 79 of 114 episodes between 1978 and 1983. "They basically were purchasing Andy's Foreign Man character for the Taxi character Latka," Bob Zmuda says. George Shapiro, the long-serving manager of Kaufman, urged him to work.

Kaufman loathed sitcoms and was dissatisfied with the prospect of being in one, but Shapiro convinced him that it would lead to fame, which would be a lot of money to put into his own act. Kaufman agreed to appear in 14 episodes per season, but he wanted four for Kaufman's alter ego Tony Clifton. However, after Kaufman intentionally sabotaged Clifton's appearance on the program, that portion of his deal was terminated.

Kaufman was born with multiple personality disorders, which allowed him to freely portray other characters. Kaufman's character came down with a disorder that made him act like Alex Rieger, the main character played by Judd Hirsch, in one episode of Taxi. Vic Ferrari, Latka's female alter ego, was another such recurring character played by Kaufman.

In a 2013 interview with Marc Maron, a writer and later showrunner for Taxi, Sam Simon said that the tale about Kaufman being largely unpopular on the show was "a complete myth" that was largely created by Zmuda. Zmuda has a keen interest in promoting an out-of-control image of Kaufman, according to Simon. In the interview, Simon said that Kaufman was "completely professional" and that he "told you Tony Clifton was him," but that Kaufman might have "loved" Zmuda's interpretation of events.

In 1979 and 1981, Kaufman was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for Taxi.

Tony Clifton, an eccentric, audience-abusing lounge singer who opened for Kaufman at comedy clubs and then performed live around the country, is another well-known Kaufman character. It was usually Kaufman as Clifton, but other times it was his brother Michael or Zmuda. For a brief time, it was unclear that Clifton was not a real person. Clifton's first appearance on news shows was interviewed by News organizations, with the atmosphere turning hostile as Kaufman's name came up. Clifton's chief, Clifton, insisted, was attempting to ruin Clifton's "good name" in order to make money and become popular.

As a condition for Kaufman's acceptance of Taxi, he insisted that Clifton be recruited for a guest appearance on the show as if he were a real person, not a fictional character. Clifton was shot and led from the studio lot by security guards after throwing a tantrum on the set. This incident was recounted in the local newspapers, much to Kaufman's delight.

While impersonating Elvis Presley in a skit, Kaufman broke character by removing his wig and apologizing to the audience on January 30, 1982.

Kaufman related to this occurrence on Late Night with David Letterman's February 17, 1982 episode. He apologised for the way Presley was depicted in the skit, in which Presley commands two young women from his audience to come backstage, then strip down until they are topless and wrestle each other in mud, and then scream each other in mud.

Albert Goldman's skit was a retort to an incident that occurred during his 1981 biography of Presley. The biography's commentators argued that the tone was particularly offensive or scornful towards Presley, and that the book seemed to be intended as an expose.

Kaufman began to decline to perform the sketch but was coerced to do it. He also claims that SNL workers may have harmed his reputation in the industry if they did not do it.

After recounting this tale, Kaufman said that Goldman threatened to sue Kaufman after the episode aired. Presley's reputation was questioned by Kaufman during a public debate on the character of the former president.

Kaufman invited his "grandmother" to watch the performance from a chair he had arranged at the end of the stage in April 1979. She stood up, took her mask off, and announced to the audience that she was really comedian Robin Williams at the end of the show.

While an elderly woman (Eleanor Cody Gould) appeared to have a heart attack and die on stage, Kaufman revived her on stage wearing a Native American headdress and staged a dance over her body, "reviving" her.

The performance is the most well-known for Kaufman's ending the show by taking the entire audience, in 24 buses, out for milk and cookies. He invited anyone interested to visit him on the Staten Island Ferry the next morning, where the show continued.

The Taxi contract with ABC included a television special/pilot for Kaufman. He joined Andy's Funhouse, which was based on an old habit he had developed while in junior college. The special was taped in 1977, but it didn't air until August 1979. It included the majority of Andy's classic gags, including Foreign Man/Latka and his Elvis Presley impersonation, as well as a slew of interesting segments (including a special appearance by children's television character Howdy Doody and the "Has-Been Corner"). As part of the gag, ABC executives were also concerned that viewers would mistake the static for broadcast issues and change the channel, which was the comedic element Kaufman wanted to convey. Kaufman, Zmuda, and Mel Sherer wrote Andy's Funhouse, with Kaufman's music.

Kaufman produced a short segment for an ABC show called Buckshot in March 1980. Uncle Andy's Funhouse was just over six minutes long, and it was dubbed Uncle Andy's Funhouse. It featured Kaufman as the host of a children's show for adults, complete with a peanut gallery and Tony Clifton puppet.

For PBS' SoundStage's SoundStage 1981, a performance very similar to Andy's Funhouse and Uncle Andy's Funhouse was shot. A peanut gallery was also on display, and it opened in the middle of an interview in which Kaufman is joking hysterically. He then thanks the viewers for watching and the credits roll.

Kaufman appeared on three different ABC shows on Fridays, a copy of Saturday Night Live. In the last sketch on his first appearance, a decision was taken to deliberately break the scene and improvise an anxious reaction to see what happened. The actors were briefed before the live scene began.

Kaufman began breaking character first, announcing that he "felt stupid" and refusing to reveal his lines. Michael Richards, a cast member, hopped off camera and returned with a set of cue cards and sluggishly placed them on the table in front of Kaufman, who retaliated by splashing water on Richards. Jack Burns, a co-producer, stormed onto the stage, resulting in a fake brawl on camera before the show was cut to a commercial.

Richards has claimed that what was going to happen was only known to him, Burns, and Kaufman, but Melanie Chartoff, who portrayed Kaufman and Richards, has said that Kaufman was going to break the fourth wall right before airtime.

In a videotaped "apologie" to the home viewers, Kaufman appeared next week. Kaufman returned to host Fridays later this year. Kathie Sullivan, a Lawrence Welk Show gospel and standards musician, was invited to perform a few gospel songs with him and announced that the two were engaged to be married at one point in the performance. (Kaufman was Jewish). It was also a hoax. Following a preview of a drug-abusing pharmacist, Kaufman was supposed to introduce the Pretenders later. Rather than introducing the band, he gave a tense talk about the dangers of opioid use, while the band stood behind him. He told the audience that he had talked for too long and had to go to a commercial after his address.

Although Kaufman made a name for himself on NBC's Saturday Night Live, his first prime-time appearances on the Dick Van Dyke variety show "Foreign Man" were in 1976. He appeared on The Tonight Show in 1976, 1977, and 1981. Kaufman appeared on The Dating Game in 1978, portraying himself as Foreign Man, and cries when the bachelorette selected Bachelor #1, insisting that he had answered all the questions correctly.

On October 11, 1975, his SNL appearances got off, with the first show on October 11, 1975. In all, he made 16 appearances on SNL, including the Mighty Mouse singalong, Foreign Man, and Elvis impersonation. Kaufman appeared on stage in January 1983 and asked the audience if he should return to the show again, saying he would respect their decision. "Dump Andy" was voted by 195,544 people, but 169,186 people voted to "Keep Andy," according to SNL's.

Several of the cast members expressed their admiration for Kaufman's work during the SNL episode with the phone poll. "Now, Andy Kaufman is a friend of mine," Eddie Murphy wrote as he read both numbers. When you call, keep that in mind. I don't want to have to punch anyone in America in the face," and Mary Gross read the Dump Andy phone number at a rate that audiences were unable to comprehend it. Gary Kroeger read the final count to a raucous audience. "I voted for Andy Kaufman, not Don Pardo," the announcer began as the credits roll.

Kaufman appeared on several occasions on the daytime version of The David Letterman Show in 1980, as well as 11 appearances on Late Night with David Letterman in 1982-83. He appeared on several television shows hosted by or starring celebrities like Johnny Cash (1979 Christmas special), Dick Van Dyke, Dinah Shore, Rodney Dangerfield, Cher, Dean Martin, Redd Foxx, Dick Clark, and Joe Franklin.

In 1976, he appeared in his first theatrical film, God Told Me To, in which he played a murderous policeman. He appeared in two other theatrical films, including the 1980 film In God We Remember, in which he played a televangelist, and the 1981 film Heartbeeps, in which he played a robot.

Laurie Anderson appeared as a "straight man" in a number of his Manhattan and Coney Island appearances for a while. One of these performances involved getting on a ride where people stand around and get spun around. After everyone was strapped in, Kaufman would start describing how he did not want to be on the ride in a tumultuous tone and eventually weeping. Anderson later referred to these performances in her 1995 album, The Ugly One with the Jewels.

In 1983, Kaufman appeared on Broadway with Deborah Harry in the play Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus Flytrap. After just two performances, it came to a close.

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