Any Andy Kaufman fans?

[Another Fan]

Bill Zehme wrote a bio on him which I read when I was younger and bought and started to re read recently.

 

 

Despite him being before my time, I loved the guy.  Latka, Elvis impersonations before they became more famous, the wrestling, and his performances were all a hoot imo.  Was inspiring to me as well transcendental meditation brought him out of shyness and anxiety.

 

 

Anyone else like?  Or he just wasn’t your cup of tea at all 

[Dr. Who]

He was a very strange fella, but also quite talented. Taxi is one of the great sitcoms of all time, btw. Just an incredible combination of cast and writing along with one of the best theme songs of all time.

[Greg S]

Loved the show Taxi. Both he as Latka and Christopher Lloyd as Jim Ignatowski were hysterical. Two of the most iconic characters on TV. The whole cast was great.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Greg S

[Rico]

I saw him live at Purdue doing stand-up, pretty good show, crowd went wild.

[wnyguy]

One thing for sure, when he got into character he was all into character.

[K-9]

Loved Andy Kaufman. I’ll never forget the first time I ever saw him which was on Johnny Carson. This was before Taxi and nobody knew who he was. He comes out in his Latka persona, says he will do some impressions, and immediately butchers them all; I mean they were the worst impressions every done by anyone ever. It was painful to watch and when he said he would now like to do Elvis Presley there was an audible groan from the audience. He then tore off his over clothes to reveal his Elvis attire and proceeded with perhaps the best Elvis impression in history. Nobody was better at manipulating an audience than Kaufman. A comic genius who really pushed the envelope. Especially in those times.

[jayg]

24 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Loved Andy Kaufman. I’ll never forget the first time I ever saw him which was on Johnny Carson. This was before Taxi and nobody knew who he was. He comes out in his Latka persona, says he will do some impressions, and immediately butchers them all; I mean they were the worst impressions every done by anyone ever. It was painful to watch and when he said he would now like to do Elvis Presley there was an audible groan from the audience. He then tore off his over clothes to reveal his Elvis attire and proceeded with perhaps the best Elvis impression in history. Nobody was better at manipulating an audience than Kaufman. A comic genius who really pushed the envelope. Especially in those times.

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by jayg

[Wacka]

Remember watching that night. Reaction at first was WTF???

[Gugny]

I have always thought he was brilliant.  We lost a good one when he passed.

[SinceThe70s]

 

My earliest memory of Kaufman was on SNL. I'm not sure why it was so funny, but it was:

 

 

[BillsPride12]

I liked watching Taxi when I was younger.  Latka and Reverend Jim were great.  That's mostly what I knew about Andy Kaufman but Man on the Moon was a great movie and there is also a Documentary out there somewhere(I believe Netflix but could be wrong?) on the making of that movie and behind the scenes stuff that was really good too.  The Tony Clifton bit he had going on was pretty funny.  Andy Kaufman is probably underrated at this point but I think he was considered a pretty funny comic in his heyday? 

[gomper]

His work with Jerry Lawler in Memphis wrestling was a masterclass in manipulate psychology o

[Another Fan]

14 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

I liked watching Taxi when I was younger.  Latka and Reverend Jim were great.  That's mostly what I knew about Andy Kaufman but Man on the Moon was a great movie and there is also a Documentary out there somewhere(I believe Netflix but could be wrong?) on the making of that movie and behind the scenes stuff that was really good too.  The Tony Clifton bit he had going on was pretty funny.  Andy Kaufman is probably underrated at this point but I think he was considered a pretty funny comic in his heyday? 

I’m not sure

 

 

He seemed to get more popular after he died.  One of the big things Man On The Moon got wrong was the timing of the Carnegie Hall Concert where he took the crowd out for milk and cookies.  At that stage in his career he couldn’t have booked Carnegie Hall.  Taxi was cancelled, a movie Heartbeeps he made bombed, he was voted off SNL, and a broadway play about wrestling he was involved with closed after only a few showings.  So yeah at that point people were just tired of him.

 

Nonetheless he is an inspiration to me to keep pushing 

[Another Fan]

12 hours ago, gomper said:

His work with Jerry Lawler in Memphis wrestling was a masterclass in manipulate psychology o

Even me a big fan didn’t realize that “rivalry” went on for years.

 

I thought when he came out of the mummy’s uniform was absolutely hilarious.  Actually this whole clip/documentary is gold

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by Another Fan

[Ralonzo]

9 hours ago, Another Fan said:

Even me a big fan didn’t realize that “rivalry” went on for years.

 

I thought when he came out of the mummy’s uniform was absolutely hilarious.  Actually this whole clip/documentary is gold

 

 

 

 

 

Yes children. There was a time when the World Intergender Wrestling Champion was a comedy skit. In 2023? Who the hell knows.

 

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by Ralonzo

[Another Fan]

11 hours ago, Ralonzo said:

 

Yes children. There was a time when the World Intergender Wrestling Champion was a comedy skit. In 2023? Who the hell knows.

 

 

 

Guy really knew how to draw genuine heat from people as well.  

 

I loved as well he worked as a busboy when he was still famous and lived rather modestly