ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Andy Kaufman died of lung cancer on May 16, 1984, but according to legend, the eccentric comedian said if he were faking, he'd resurface 20 years later to the day. So, just in case, a party is being planned by Bob Zmuda, Kaufman's best friend and partner, at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on May 16. "Over 100 personal ads will be taken out across the country and abroad, reminding him of his words. Will he show?" Zmuda asked on the Web site for Comic Relief, a series of shows that raise money for health care for the homeless. Zmuda founded Comic Relief after Kaufman's death. VIP tickets to the Andy Kaufman — Dead or Alive? tribute offer "select seating and celebrity reception (hopefully with Andy)." The tribute also promises a performance by Las Vegas lounge lizard Tony Clifton, one of Kaufman's characters. Kaufman was best known as the lovable foreign-car mechanic Latka Gravas on the '70s TV sitcom Taxi. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...371&call_pageid=968867495754&col=968705925735
No one has ever said that about Biggie. People used to say that about Tupac becuase he made references to faking his death, as did Andy Kaufman. This is a one time deal with Kaufman so people are just having a little fun.
Most people didn't get Kaufman's humor. But if you ask any comedian of his time, they all agree that Kaufman was doing some of the funniest cutting edge comedy ever. I thought he was great.
I was about 15 when I saw him on Letterman come out with those black guys as his new adopted children. Letterman was beside himself. Awesome stuff.
Actually Kaufman is the one who set this all up before he died. He always wanted people to wonder if he was really dead or just doing another one of his famous stunts. When he first announced that he was dying, he loved the fact that people didn't believe him. Personally, I love Kaufman's stuff. The guy was a mad genius. I have I'm From Hollywood on DVD and I watch it all the time. I loved when Lawler slapped the crap out of him on Letterman and he went into his cursing tirade on live national TV. Hilarious. He was ahead of his time and if he came out today, he would still be ahead of his time.
"Now, Andy did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch? Hey Andy are you goofing on Elvis? Hey, baby. Are we losing touch?"
How can one be "ahead of his time" in comedy? Are there all sorts of humor innovations being made? Are we progressing from a less funny to a more funny plateau of human development?
Somebody studied at the University of Chicago. I agree! What the heck are we always progressing to anyways?
I never thought he was that funny. I thought he was bizarre, but not really funny. Then again, I don't like Andy Dick or Adam Sandler at all either. Acting strange is not exactly funny. As far a ahead of his time, I just think you are either funny or you are not. I can go back and listen to Rodney Dangerfield or Red Foxx stand up and laugh my ass off now.
I love Andy. He was such a jerk and it was great. That'd be a hell of a publicity stunt if it happens.
I thought Andy Kaufman was funny when he did his bits on SNL. Otherwise, I found him alternately boring and annoying.
To me, being ahead of your time in comedy is doing things no one has done before. Instead of copying what others are doing just to get a laugh, some comedians will expiriment with new routines or actions that, at the time, seem unfunny to a lot of people. For a conventional example, check out Lenny Bruce. In his day, he was considered rude, foul mouthed, vulgar, even borderline criminal. Today, he would be considered tame. He was ahead of his time.
I thought Andy was a genius. The real bugger here is that ******* Zmuda. The man has done great work on behalf of the homeless, given up a lot in his career to give to the less fortunate. That said, this putz is even worse than Danny Sugarman, the man who has based the last 30 years of his life off of running a few errands for Jim Morrison. This concert is way down the list of Zmuda's tactless misdeeds, but it's pretty typical. The one good thing that will come out of this is that after the 20-year "big," Zmuda will have no excuse for continuing to pimp his role in Andy's work and legacy.
