Andy Kaufman performs "The Venus Flytrap" wrestling skit with pop singer Debbie Harry and Caitlin Clarke in 1983. Kaufman 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". 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. Photo by Bernard Gotfryd
Kaufman often spoke of faking his own death as a grand hoax, with rumors persisting, often fueled by sporadic appearances of Kaufman's character Tony Clifton at comedy clubs after his death.[84] Kaufman's official website describes the faked death story as an "urban legend" and includes a picture of his death certificate.[citation needed] "Clifton" performed a year after Kaufman's death at The Comedy Store benefit in Kaufman's honor, with members of his entourage in attendance, and during the 1990s made several appearances at Los Angeles nightclubs. Jim Carrey, who portrayed Kaufman in Man on the Moon, stated on the NBC special Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman that Bob Zmuda had been performing as the Clifton character. In 2013, responding to rumors that Kaufman was still alive and following the appearance of an actress who claimed to be Kaufman's daughter, the Los Angeles County coroner's office rereleased Kaufman's death certificate to confirm that he was indeed dead and had been interred at Beth David Cemetery.[2][84][85][86][87] In 2014, Zmuda and Margulies coauthored Andy Kaufman: The Truth, Finally, a book claiming that Kaufman's death was indeed a prank, and that he would soon reveal himself, as his upper limit on the "prank" was 30 years. Kaufman did not reappear.
Size: 8880px × 6070px
Location: New York City, New York
Photo credit: © American Photo Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1983, andy, anti, caitlin, character, clarke, clifton, comedian, comedy, cringe, dead, death, debbie, fake, faked, gravas, harry, humor, improv, improvisational, joke, kaufman, latka, music, pop, professional, ring, ropes, singer, sport, surreal, taxi, television, tony, tv, villain, wierd, wrestle, wrestler, wrestling
