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Andy Kaufman
Age: 35 (passed away May. 16th, 1984)
Height: 6' 0"
Birth Place: New York City, New York, USA
Born: Jan. 17th, 1949
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Andy Kaufman's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: Referred to by some as a dadaistic comedian, Andy Kaufman took comedy and performance art to the edges of irrationality and blurred the dividing line between reality and imagination. Born in New York City on January 17, 1949, the first son of Stanley and Janice Kaufman, Andy grew up on New York in the town of Great Neck. He began performing for family and friends at the age of 7, and by the time he was 9 was being hired to entertain at children's parties. After a year at a Boston junior college, Andy began performing his unique brand of stand-up comedy at coffee shops and nightclubs on the east coast. Discovered by Improvisation comedy club owner Bud Friedman, Andy quickly earned a reputation as a talented, yet eccentric performer. Impressed by his abilities, Lorne Michaels asked Kaufman to appear on the inaugural broadcast of Saturday Night Live (October 11, 1975). Best known for his work as Latka Gravas on the TV sitcom Taxi, Andy appeared in several TV shows and movies, on Broadway, did a one man show at Carnegie Hall, enjoyed a brief professional wrestling career and performed in concerts nation-wide.
TRIVIA:
- When trying to bring his wrestling women act into the world of mainstream pro wrestling, Kaufman wanted to wrestle at Madison Square Garden for the World Wrestling Federation, but his good friend 'Bill Apter' (qv), a head editor for several wrestling magazines, told him that 'Vincent McMahon' (qv) would never go for such a thing, so they tried to talk to Apter's friend 'Jerry Lawler' (qv), which led to Andy's infamous feud with Lawler from 1982-83.
- Interred at Beth David Cemetery, Elmont (Long Island), New York, USA.
- He once joked about faking his own death and returning 20 years later. In 2004 several of his friends threw a "Welcome back Andy" party. He didn't show up.
- Scored a zero on the psychological portion of his Army entrance test, thereby classifying him as ineligible for military service.
- His style of entertainment is now known as "performance art."
- 'R.E.M. (I)' (qv) wrote a song about him for their 1992 album "Automatic for the People" called "Man on the Moon".
- Diagnosed with a rare, large-cell, carcinoma lung cancer on December 11, 1983.
- Along with his writing partner 'Bob Zmuda' (qv), he wrote "The Tony Clifton Story", a full-length feature film about the adventures of his alter ego Tony Clifton. However after his movie _Heartbeeps (1981)_ (qv) tanked at the box office, it was scrapped by the studios.
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