Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (January 17, 1949 - May 16, 1984) is an American entertainer, actor, writer, performing artist and comedian. Although often called a comedian, Kaufman describes himself as a "dance dancer". He underestimated telling jokes and engaging in comedy as traditionally understood, once said in rare introspective interviews, "I'm not a comic, I never tell jokes.... The comedian's promise is that he'll go there and make you laugh with him... My only promise is that I will try to comfort you as best as I can. "
After working in a small comedy club in the early 1970s, Kaufman became the wider audience's attention in 1975, when he was invited to perform part of his action in the first season of Saturday Night Live. His Stranger character was the basis of his performance as Latka Gravas on the hit television show Taxi from 1978 to 1983. During this time, he continued to tour comedy clubs and theaters in a series of unique performing arts./comedy show, sometimes appearing as himself and sometimes as a very rude lounge singer Tony Clifton. He is also often a guest on comedy sketches and late night talk shows, especially Late Night with David Letterman. In 1982, Kaufman took his professional wrestling criminal action to Letterman's event through a meeting hosted by Jerry "King" Lawler of the Continental Wrestling Association (despite the fact that the premeditated rivalry had not been publicly expressed for more than a decade.).
Kaufman died of lung cancer in 1984, at the age of 35. Because of his elaborate cunning and trickery was a key element of his career, rumors continued to circulate that Kaufman faked his own death as a big hoax. He continues to be respected for his various characters, his unique approach contrary to intonation, and his willingness to provoke a negative and confusing reaction from the audience.
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Kaufman was born on January 17, 1949, in New York City, the oldest of three children. His mother is Janice (nÃÆ' Â © e Bernstein), a housewife and former fashion model, and her father is Stanley Kaufman, a jewelry seller. Andy, along with his younger brother Michael and his sister Carol, grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in Great Neck, Long Island. She began performing at children's birthday parties at the age of 9, playing footage and displaying cartoons. Kaufman spent most of his youth writing poems and stories, including an unpublished novel, The Hollering Mangoo, which he completed at the age of 16. After a visit to his school from Nigerian musician Babatunde Olatunji, Kaufman began playing congas. After graduating from Great Neck North High School in 1967, Kaufman took a year off before enrolling at the now defunct Grahm Junior College, in Boston, where he studied television production and starred in his own campus television show, Uncle Andy Fun House.
She started performing in coffee shops and developed her acting, and wrote one person drama, Gosh (later renamed God and published in 2000). After graduating in 1971, he began performing stand-up comedy at various small clubs on the East Coast.
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Careers
Foreign Man and Mighty Mouse
Kaufman first received major attention for his character, Foreign Man, who spoke in a weak, high-pitched voice, heavy voice and claimed to be from "Caspiar", a fictitious island in the Caspian Sea. Because of this character Kaufman convinced the owner of the famous New York City comedy club, The Improv, Budd Friedman, to allow him to perform on stage.
As a Stranger, Kaufman will appear on the comedy club stage, playing the theme recording of the Mighty Mouse Show while standing still, and just synchronizing the line "Here I come to save that day" with enthusiasm. He will continue to tell some jokes (deliberately poor) and summed up his actions with a series of celebrity imitations, with comedies emerging from his obvious character displeasure on imitation. For example, in his artificial accent Kaufman would say to the audience, "I want to emulate Meester Carter, de president of de United States" and then, in the exact same voice, say "Hello, I am Meester Carter, de president of de United States. 'ank you veddy a lot. "At some point in the show, usually when the audience is conditioned for the inability of the Stranger to make a convincing impression, the Foreigner will announce," And now I want to imitate Elvis Presley ", turn around, take off his jacket, , and launches in a stunning, hip-shaking, and excellent Presley song that sings one of his hit songs. Like Presley, he would take off his leather jacket during the song and throw it into the audience, but unlike Presley, the Stranger would immediately ask him to be returned. After the end of the song, he will take a simple bow and say in his Foreign voice, "T'ank you veddy a lot."
Part of the act of Kaufman Foreigners was broadcast in the first season of Saturday Night Live . The Mighty Mouse number was featured in the premiere of October 11, 1975, while joke and celebrity shows (including Elvis) were included on the November 8th broadcast of the same year.
Latka
Kaufman first used his Alien character in a nightclub in the early 1970s, often to mislead jokes and do weak imitations of famous people before exploding into his Elvis Presley imitation. The character was later changed to Latka Gravas for the ABC Taxi sitcom , appearing in 79 of 114 episodes in 1978-83. Bob Zmuda confirms this: "They basically bought the character of Andy's Foreign Men for the Latvian Taxi characters." Kaufman's longtime manager, George Shapiro encouraged him to take a chance.
Kaufman does not like sitcoms and is unhappy with the idea of ​​being one, but Shapiro assures him that it will quickly lead to the star, which will give him the money he can later put into his own action. Kaufman agreed to appear in 14 episodes per season, and originally wanted four alter alter for Kaufman Tony Clifton. After Kaufman deliberately sabotaged Clifton's appearance on the show, however, part of his contract was dropped.
His character was given a multiple personality disorder, allowing Kaufman to randomly portray other characters. In one episode of the Taxi, Kaufman's character came with a condition that made him act like Alex Reiger, the main character played by Judd Hirsch. The other recurring character played by Kaufman is the feminine Ferrari Ferrari.
Sam Simon, who at the beginning of his career was a writer and later became an interviewer for the Taxi , stated in an 2013 interview on Marc Maron's podcast WTF that the Kaufman story has been generally annoying at the show was a "complete fiction" mostly made by Zmuda. Simon maintains that Zmuda has an interest in promoting the out-of-control image of Kaufman. In the interview, Simon states that Kaufman is "really professional" and that he "tells you Tony Clifton is him", but he also admits that Kaufman will "like" the Zmuda version show.
Kaufman was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in Serial, Limited Series, or Moving Images for Television for the Taxi in 1979 and 1981.
Tony Clifton
Another famous Kaufman character is Tony Clifton, the annoying lounge singer for the audiences who started opening for Kaufman at the comedy club and finally even performing his own concert across the country. Sometimes Kaufman appears as Clifton, sometimes it's his brother Michael or Zmuda. For a short time, it was not clear to some that Clifton was not a real person. News programs interview Clifton as the opening act of Kaufman, with a mood turning worse each time the name Kaufman appears. Kaufman, Clifton insisted, trying to ruin Clifton's "good name" for making money and becoming famous.
As a condition for Kaufman to accept an offer to star in the Taxi, he insisted that Clifton be employed for a guest role on the show as if he were a real person, not a character. After performing tantrums on set, Clifton was fired and escorted from the studio room by a security guard. Much to Kaufman's delight, the incident was reported in a local newspaper.
Carnegie Hall
At the beginning of April 1979's performance at New York's Carnegie Hall, Kaufman invited his "grandmother" to watch the show from the seat he placed on the side of the stage. At the end of the show, he stands up, takes off his mask and reveals to the audience that he's a really comedian Robin Williams in disguise.
Kaufman also has an elderly woman (Eleanor Cody Gould) pretending to have a heart attack and die on stage, at which point she reappears on stage wearing a native American headdress and performs a dance on her body, "reviving" herself.
The show is most famous for Kaufman who ended the show by actually bringing the whole audience, in 24 buses, out to milk and cake. He invited anyone interested to meet him on the Staten Island Ferry the next morning, where the show resumed.
TV specials
The Taxi is dealing with ABC including giving Kaufman a special television/pilot. She came with Andy's Funhouse, based on the old routine she developed in junior high. The special was recorded in 1977 but was not aired until August 1979. It featured most of Andy's famous jokes, including Man Man/Latka and Elvis Presley imitation, as well as a number of unique segments (including special appearances by children's television characters Howdy Doody and "Already -Corner"). There is also a segment that includes static false television screens as part of the joke, which the ABC executives are uncomfortable with, afraid that viewers will mistakenly think of static broadcast issues and will change channels - which is the comic element that Kaufman wants to present. Andy Funhouse written by Kaufman, Zmuda, and Mel Sherer, with music by Kaufman.
In March 1980, Kaufman filmed a short segment for the ABC show called Buckshot. This segment is more than six minutes and is called Uncle Andy's Funhouse . It features Kaufman as the children's show host for adults, complete with peanut galleries and Tony Clifton dolls.
In 1983, a show very similar to Andy Funhouse and Uncle Andy Funhouse was filmed for the PBS SoundStage program, called The Andy Kaufman Show. It also featured a peanut gallery, and opened in the middle of an interview that Kaufman did where he laughed hysterically. He then began to thank the audience for watching and revolving credits. Incident
Friday
In 1981 Kaufman made three appearances on Friday , a variety show on ABC similar to Saturday Night Live . In his first appearance, during a sketch about four people out on a dinner date asking to go to the bathroom to smoke marijuana, Kaufman broke his character and refused to say his sentence.
In response, actor Michael Richards left the camera and returned with a set of guide cards and threw them on the table in front of Kaufman who responded by splashing Richards with water. Co-producer Jack Burns stormed onto the stage, which caused a fight in front of the camera before the show was cut into an advertisement.
Richards has claimed that this incident is a practical joke only known by him, the producers of the Burns association, and Kaufman, but Melanie Chartoff, who plays Kaufman's wife in a sketch, has stated that, just before broadcast, Burns, Maryedith Burrell, and Richards that Kaufman will break the fourth wall.
Kaufman appeared the following week in a video apology to a home viewer. Later that year, Kaufman again hosted the Friday . At one point in the show, he invited a standard Gospel writer and singer Lawrence Welk Show, Kathie Sullivan, on stage to sing some gospel songs with her and announced that the two were engaged to marry, then talked to the audience about her faith new found in Jesus (Kaufman is a Jew). That's also a hoax. Then, after a sketch of a drug-abusing pharmacist, Kaufman should introduce the band The Pretenders. Instead of introducing the band, he delivered a nervous speech about the dangers of drugs while the band stood behind him ready to play. After his speech, he told the audience that he had been talking too long and had to go to the ad.
Professional wrestling
Inspired by theatrical kayfabe , the character of the staged sport, and his own tendency to form elaborate tricks, Kaufman began to engage in women during his acting and proclaimed himself as the "World Gender Wrestling Champion", taking on an aggressive and silly based on the characters created by professional wrestlers. She offers a $ 1,000 reward for every woman who can pinch her. He employed performance artist Laurie Anderson, a friend, in this act for a while.
Kaufman initially approached the head of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon Sr., about taking his acting to the New York wrestling area. McMahon dismissed Kaufman's idea because the older McMahon would not bring "show business" into his Pro Wrestling society. Kaufman then developed a friendship with wrestler/photographer Bill Apter. After much discussion about Kaufman's desire to be in a pro wrestling business, Apter mentions Memphis wrestle with Jerry's iconic "The King" Lawler and introduce him to Kaufman by telephone.
Kaufman finally got into the ring (in Memphis wrestling base) with a man - Lawler himself. Kaufman taunted the residents of Memphis by playing a "video showing residents how to use soap" and proclaiming the city to be "the capital of a redneck country". The ongoing Lawler-Kaufman feud, which often features Jimmy Hart and other heels in the corner of Kaufman, includes a number of "works" staged, such as a broken throat for Kaufman as a result of Lawler's crackdown and the famous aerial battle of Episode 1982 > Late Night with David Letterman .
For some time after that first game, Kaufman appeared wearing a neck brace, insisting that the wound was much worse than it really was. Kaufman will continue to defend the Inter-Gender Championship in the Southern Mid-Coliseum and offer additional rewards, in addition to $ 1,000: that if he is pinned, the woman who pinches him will marry him and Kaufman will also shave his head.
It was finally revealed that the feud and wrestling matches were staged, and that Kaufman and Lawler were friends. It was not revealed until more than 10 years after Kaufman's death, when the nominated Emmy documentary A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman was aired on NBC in 1995. Jim Carrey, who revealed his secret, then proceeded to play Kaufman in the 1999 film Man on the Moon. In a 1997 interview with Memphis Flyer, Lawler said that he was improvising during their first match and the incident Letterman.
Although officials at St. Hospital Francis claimed that Kaufman's neck injury was real, in his 2002 biography Good To Be King... Sometimes , Lawler details how they came up with a corner and kept silent.. Although Kaufman's injuries are legitimate, the couple exceeds him. He also said that the anger and appearance of Kaufman's anger at Letterman was Kaufman's own idea, including when Lawler slapped Kaufman out of his seat. Promoter Jerry Jarrett later recalled that for two years, he would send a Kaufman payment comparable to what the main event wrestler got at the time, but Kaufman never deposited the check.
Kaufman appeared in the 1983 film My Breakfast with Blassie with the professional, "Classy" wrestling personality Freddie Blassie. This film is a parody of the art film My Dinner with Andre. Lynne Margulies, brother of film director Johnny Legend, appears in it, and becomes romantically involved with Kaufman.
In 2002, Kaufman became a playable character in the Legends of Wrestling II video game and standard characters in 2004 Showdown: Legends of Wrestling . In 2008, Jakks Pacific produced for their WWE Classic Superstars toy as a two-pack Kaufman and Lawler action figure, as well as a separate release number for each.
Appearance
Although Kaufman made a name for himself as a guest on NBC's Saturday Night Live, his first premiere was a few guest venues as "Strangers" on the variety show Dick Van Dyke Van Dyke and Company > in 1976. He appeared four times on The Tonight Show in 1976-78, and three times on The Midnight Special in 1972, 1977, and 1981. Kaufman appeared in The Dating Game in 1978, in character as a Stranger, and cried when the bachelors voted Bachelor # 1, protesting that he had answered all the questions correctly.
His performance began with the first show, on October 11, 1975. He made 16 appearances in all, performing routines of comedy, such as Mighty Mouse Singalong, Stranger, and imitation Elvis. After he angered the crowd with his gulaman routine, Kaufman in January 1983 made a mock appearance (16th) asking the audience if he had to appear on the show again, saying he would respect their decision. SNL runs the phone sound, and 195,544 people opt for "Dump Andy" while 169,186 people choose "Keep Andy".
During the SNL episode with phone polls, many cast members expressed their admiration for Kaufman's work. After Eddie Murphy read the numbers, he said, "Now, Andy Kaufman is my friend, remember that when you called, I do not want to punch anyone in America", and Mary Gross reads Andy Dump's number so quickly that the audience does not can catch it. The final count was read by Gary Kroeger to the cheering crowd. As the credits rolled, the broadcaster Don Pardo said, "This is Don Pardo saying, 'I chose Andy Kaufman.'"
Kaufman made a number of appearances in the 1980's The David Letterman Show in 1980, and 11 appearances on Late Night with David Letterman in 1982-83. He made many guest venues on other television programs hosted by or starring celebrities like Johnny Cash (Christmas special 1979), Dick Van Dyke, Dinah Shore, Rodney Dangerfield, Cher, Dean Martin, Redd Foxx, Mike Douglas, Dick Clark and Joe Franklin.
He appeared in his first theatrical film, God Told Me To, in 1976, where he described a murderous policeman. He appeared in two other theatrical films, including the 1980 movie In God We Tru $ t , in which he played the televangelist, and the 1981 film Heartbeeps, where he played a robot.
Laurie Anderson worked with Kaufman for some time in the 1970s, acting as a kind of "straight man" at a number of Manhattan and Coney Island shows. One of these performances included a car ride so people stood and spun. After everyone is tied up, Kaufman will start telling how he does not want to be in a panic tone and ends up crying. Anderson then described the show on his 1995 album, The Ugly One with the Jewels .
In 1983, Kaufman appeared on Broadway with Deborah Harry in the drama Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus Flytrap . It was closed after just two shows.
Personal life
Kaufman never married. His daughter, Maria Bellu-Colonna (born 1969), was the son of an extramarital affair with a high school girlfriend and was placed for adoption. Bellu-Colonna studied in 1992 that she was Kaufman's daughter when she traced her biological roots by winning the New York State petition for the surname of her biological mother. He was soon reunited with his mother, grandfather, uncle, and aunt. Bellu-Colonna's daughter, Brittany, briefly appeared on Man on the Moon, playing the Kaufman sister, Carol, as a child.
In December 1969, Kaufman studied Transcendental Meditation on campus. According to a BBC article, he used the technique "to build confidence and take action to comedy clubs". For the rest of his life, Kaufman meditated and did yoga three hours a day. From February to June 1971 he was trained as a transcendental meditation teacher in Majorca, Spain.
Lynne Margulies, who met Kaufman during the filming of My Breakfast With Blassie, was in a relationship with Kaufman from 1982 until her death in 1984. Margulies later took the lead in 1989 Kaufman wrestling compilations < i> I'm From Hollywood , and publish 2009 book Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts!
Disease and death
At Thanksgiving dinner on Long Island in November 1983, several family members openly expressed concern about the persistent coughing of Kaufman. She claims that she has been coughing for nearly a month, visits her doctor, and is told there is nothing wrong. When he returned to Los Angeles, he consulted another doctor, then went to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for a series of medical tests. A few days later, he was diagnosed with a large cell carcinoma, a very rare type of lung cancer.
After the audience was shocked by his skinny appearance during the January 1984 show, Kaufman admitted that he had an unspecified illness that he hoped to heal with natural remedies, including diet of all fruits and vegetables, among other measures. Kaufman received palliative radiotherapy, but by that time the cancer had spread from his lungs to his brain. His last public appearance was at the premiere of My Breakfast With Blassie in March 1984, where he looked thin and had a partially shaved head. The next day, he and Lynne Margulies fly to Baguio, Philippines, where as a last resort, Kaufman receives a pseudoscientific treatment procedure called psychic surgery.
Kaufman died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 16, 1984, at the age of 35 years.
Rumor about death-hoax
Kaufman often talks about faking his own death as a big hoax, with rumors continuing, often spurred by Sporadic character Kaufman Tony Clifton's appearance in the comedy club after his death.
"Clifton" was done a year after Kaufman's death at The Comedy Store was fruitful in the honor of Kaufman, with members of his entourage present, and during the 1990s made several appearances at the Los Angeles nightclub. Jim Carrey, who portrays Kaufman in Man on the Moon, declared to NBC a special "Comedy Comedy" to Andy Kaufman that the person performing the character of Clifton is Bob Zmuda. Kaufman's official website states that his death is not a trick.
In 2013, responding to a rumor that follows the appearance of an actress claiming to be Kaufman's daughter and that he's still alive, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office re-releases Kaufman's death certificate to ensure that he has indeed died and was buried at Beth David Cemetery.
In 2014, Zmuda and Lynne Margulies, Kaufman's girlfriend at the time of his death, Andy Kaufman's co-author: The Truth, Finally, a book claiming that Kaufman's death was a joke, and that he would soon be revealed himself as the upper limit of his "prank" is 30 years.
Inheritance and tribute
Comedian Elayne Boosler, dating and living with Kaufman and complimenting him by encouraging him to do comedy, writing articles for Esquire in November 1984, in his memory. He also devoted a special time to his 1986 Party of One Party to Kaufman. Audio recording from Kaufman that offers a boost for Boosler is displayed in the intro.
In 1992, the band R.E.M. released the album Automatically for the People , featuring the Andy Kaufman themed song "Man on the Moon". The video also features footage from Kaufman. On March 29, 1995, NBC broadcasted Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman . It featured special clips from many Kaufman shows, as well as comments from friends, family, and colleagues.
Comedian Richard Lewis at the Comedy Cloth for Andy Kaufman says of him: "Nobody has ever done what Andy did, and did it too, and no one will ever do it because he did it first. Buster Keaton, and so did Andy. "Carl Reiner recalls the difference in comedy:
Does Andy affect comedy? No. Because no one does what he does. Jim Carrey is influenced - not doing what Andy does, but following his own drummer. I think Andy's doing that for a lot of people. Follow your own drumbeat. You do not have to go there and say, "take my wife." You can do anything you find entertaining. It gives people the freedom to be themselves.
Reiner also said about Kaufman: "Nobody can see past the edge, where the character begins and he ends."
Jim Carrey describes Kaufman in the 1999 biopic of Man on the Moon, directed by Milo? For men; the film takes the title of the band R.E.M. with the same name. BRAKE. also did a score for the film and recorded another Kaufman tribute song, "The Great Beyond". Carrey's portrayal was met with critical acclaim, earning him a Golden Globe Award for his performance. Forman named his twin sons, born in 1998, Andrew and James, after Kaufman and Carrey. In July 2012, the Kaufman drama Bohemia West was staged in Providence, Rhode Island. Comedian Vernon Chatman collected and produced Kaufman's first album, Andy and His Grandmother - via Drag City in 2013.
Andy Kaufman is one of the main celebrities in the 2005 children's book Different Like Me: My Book of Autism Heroes . Actress Cindy Williams, who is good friends with Kaufman, devotes her entire autobiography chapter, Shirley, I Jest!: A Storied Life, to her. The Chris Gethard Show paid homage to the Kaufman incident Friday in an error on an episode with comedian Brett Davis throwing water onto someone's face.
At The Comedy Store comedy club in Los Angeles there is a neon similarity from Kaufman on display. The club also has a feature on their menu, "Andy Kaufman Special", which consists of "two cakes and a glass of ice cold milk". The Vic Ferrari Band takes its name from the Kaufman Taxi character. According to executive producer Bill Oakley, Bart the Fink 1996 "The Simpsons" episode, where Krusty the Clown faked his death, partly inspired by Kaufman's false death rumor.
Al Jean, co-creator of the animated series The Critic , has stated that the depiction of Jon Lovitz's first season, Jay Sherman, is loosely based on Kaufman.
For the 2015 Andy Kaufman Awards, Two Boots Pizza makes a special Andy Kaufman pie. In 2018, they still feature Tony Clifton's pie on their menu. By 2015, the scent of a bottle called "Andy Kaufman Milk & Cookies" has been made.
German filmmaker Maren Ade stated that his film in 2016 Toni Erdmann , nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, was partly inspired by Kaufman and Tony Clifton.
Since 2004, The Andy Kaufman Award competition has been held annually as "a showcase for promising, up-to-date artists with fresh and unconventional ingredients, for those willing to take risks with spectators, and for those who do not define themselves with the typical comedy conventions ".
Movieography
Television
Movies
Bibliography
Three books of Kaufman's writings were published posthumously:
- Kaufman, Andy (1999). The Huey Williams Story . Zilch Publishing. ISBN: 9781930410008. Ã, , a novel
- Kaufman, Andy (2000). God... and Other Performances . Zilch Publishing. ISBN: 1930410018. , a script for one-man Kaufman drama in college
- Kaufman, Andy (2000). Poetry and Stories . Zilch Publishing. ISBN: 1930410034. Ã, , her teenage collection
References
Further reading
- Zehme, Bill (1999), Lost in the Funhouse: Life and Thoughts of Andy Kaufman , Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0-385-33371-9
- Zmuda, Bob; Hansen, Matthew Scott (1999), Andy Kaufman Revealed: Best Friend Tells All , Back Bay Books. ISBNÃ, 0-316-61098-4
- Hecht, Julie (2001), Is This Person a Genius? Speaking with Andy Kaufman , Vintage Books. ISBNÃ, 0-375-50457-5
- Keller, Florian (2005), Andy Kaufman: Grappling with American Dreams , University Of Minnesota Press. ISBN: 0816646031
- Zoglin, Richard (2008), Comedy on the Edge: How to Stand-up in the 1970s Changing America , Bloomsbury USA. ISBN: 1582346240
- Margulies, Lynne; Zmuda, Bob (2009), Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts! , Process. ISBN: 1934170089
- Knoedelseder, William (2009), I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times at Stand-Up Comedy's Golden Era , PublicAffairs. ISBN: 158648317X
- Margulies, Lynne; Zmuda, Bob (2014), Andy Kaufman, Truth Finally , BenBella Books. ISBN: 9781940363059
External links
- Andy Kaufman on Curlie (based on DMOZ)
- Andy Kaufman on IMDb
- Andy Kaufman in the Search of the Mausoleum
- Andy Kaufman Death
- Andy Kaufman Home Page
- Andy Kaufman Award
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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