This article is about the entertainer. For the former basketball player, see Andy Kaufmann.
Andy Kaufman
Kaufman in 1979, playing his "Foreign Man" character
Born
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman
(1949-01-17)January 17, 1949
New York City, U.S.
Died
May 16, 1984(1984-05-16) (aged 35)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place
Beth David Cemetery
Occupations
Actor
comedian
singer
dancer
performance artist
professional wrestler
Years active
1971–1984
Style
Alternative comedy
Anti-humor
cringe humor
character comedy
surreal comedy
improvisational comedy
Partner
Lynne Margulies (1982–1984)
Children
1
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (/ˈkaʊfmən/KOWF-mən;[1] January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984[2]) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes been called an "anti-comedian".[3] He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, once saying in an interview, "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."[4]
After working in small comedy clubs in the early 1970s, Kaufman came to the attention of a wider audience in 1975, when he was invited to perform portions of his act on the first season of Saturday Night Live. His Foreign Man character was the basis of his performance as Latka Gravas on the hit television show Taxi from 1978 until 1983.[5] During this time, he continued to tour comedy clubs and theaters in a series of unique performance art/comedy shows, sometimes appearing as himself and sometimes as obnoxiously rude lounge singer Tony Clifton. He was also a frequent guest on sketch comedy and late-night talk shows, particularly Late Night with David Letterman.[6] In 1982, Kaufman brought his professional wrestling villain act to Letterman's show by way of a staged encounter with Jerry "The King" Lawler of the Continental Wrestling Association. The fact that the altercation was planned was not publicly disclosed for over a decade.
Kaufman died of lung cancer on May 16, 1984, at the age of 35.[7] As pranks and elaborate ruses were major elements of his career, persistent rumors have circulated that Kaufman faked his own death as a grand hoax.[6][8] He continues to be respected for the variety of his characters, his uniquely counterintuitive approach to comedy, and his willingness to provoke negative and confused reactions from audiences.[6][9]
^"I-L". NLS.
^"Certificate of Death, State of California: Andrew G. Kaufman". Country of Los Angeles Resigtrar-Recorder/County Clerk via TheSmokingGun.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
^Givens, Ron (December 23, 1999). "Andy Kaufman recalled as bizarre, gifted". New York Daily News; Reading Eagle. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
^Brennan, Sandra (2008). "Full Biography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2012. 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. ... They say, 'Oh wow, Andy Kaufman, he's a really funny guy.'
^Prial, Frank J. (May 18, 1984). "Andy Kaufman, A Comedian Known For Unorthodox Skits". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
^ abcCite error: The named reference beloved was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference clifton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Tip-off". Lakeland Ledger. March 30, 1995. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
^Handler, David (June 9, 1984). "Kaufman Blazed New Trails". Ocala Star-Banner. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
buying Andy's Foreign Man character for the Taxi character Latka." Kaufman's longtime manager George Shapiro encouraged him to take the gig. Kaufman disliked...
director best known for his friendship with comedian AndyKaufman. Zmuda occasionally portrayed Kaufman's Tony Clifton character on stage and for television...
early 1980s, as Simka Gravas, the wife of Latka, the character played by AndyKaufman, winning two Emmy Awards for her work. She has played the character of...
men were also on and off again partners to Lawler. In the early 1980s, AndyKaufman routinely wrestled women during his shows, proclaiming himself the “Intergender...
States, best known for representing Jerry Seinfeld, Carl Reiner, and AndyKaufman and serving as a producer for the sitcom Seinfeld. Shapiro was born in...
Tony Clifton is a character created by comedian and performance artist AndyKaufman in the late 1970s. An absurdly foul-mouthed and domineering lounge singer...
The film was directed by Allan Arkush, written by John Hill, and stars AndyKaufman and Bernadette Peters as the robots alongside Randy Quaid, Kenneth McMillan...
Superstars & Superbouts. Apter was friends with actor and comedian AndyKaufman. Kaufman had been a fan of professional wrestling since childhood and visited...
famous instance where AndyKaufman refused to deliver his scripted lines, leading Richards to bring the cue cards on screen to Kaufman, causing him to throw...
critically-acclaimed performances include Truman Burbank in The Truman Show (1998) and AndyKaufman in Man on the Moon (1999), winning Golden Globe Awards for each film...
AndyKaufman. A sweet-natured and lovable-but-goofy mechanic, Latka is an immigrant from an unspecified nation. He was based on a character Kaufman created...
My Breakfast with Blassie is a 1983 film starring AndyKaufman and professional wrestler "Classy" Freddie Blassie. It is a mostly improvised parody of...
Murphy and David Ruprecht, and also appeared on The AndyKaufman Show, a talk show parody created by Kaufman that aired as an episode of the PBS series Soundstage...
variety show television series hosted by Dick Van Dyke on NBC in 1976. AndyKaufman made his prime time debut on the show and became a series regular. The...
theatre and dance. Solo performers include Rob Becker, Lily Tomlin, AndyKaufman, Rod Maxwell, Lord Buckley, Eric Bogosian, Whoopi Goldberg, Jade Esteban...
Alternative Comedian". She was also the winner of the second annual AndyKaufman Award (hosted by the New York Comedy Festival), Best Female Stand-up...
Andy Kaufmann (born c. 1967) is a former basketball 6'5 or 6'6 swingman/small forward who starred at the University of Illinois during the late 1980s and...
Introduce General Audiences to AndyKaufman". MeTV. August 19, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2020. Zmuda, Bob (2000). AndyKaufman Revealed!: Best Friend Tells...
Andy and His Grandmother is the posthumous debut album from American comedian AndyKaufman, released on Drag City on July 16, 2013. Composed of recordings...
known for his feud with comedian AndyKaufman, and for portraying himself in the 1999 Jim Carrey film about Kaufman, Man on the Moon. In 2007, Lawler...
managers in professional wrestling history, Hart has managed the likes of AndyKaufman, The Honky Tonk Man, Bret Hart (no relation) and Jim Neidhart (The Hart...
art-house film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michael Gondry. He received his fourth Golden Globe Award...