Biography

Andy Kaufman

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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.
- IMDb mini biography by: B.K. Momchilov

Usually played an unnamed character called Foreign Man, who soon evolved into Latka Gravis, the guy from Taxi.
His character Tony Clifton
Didn't like to break character, even when he was not filming.
Liked to play with the audience's heads, like reading The Great Gatsby instead of performing.
His eccentric behavior

Scored a zero on the psychological portion of his Army entrance test, thereby classifying him as ineligible for military service.
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.
According to wrestler Jerry Lawler, when they cleaned out Andy's house after his death, many uncashed checks from Mid-South Wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett were found. These were given as payment for his stint as a wrestler, and made many conclude that he didn't wrestle for the money, but rather for the love of it.
He was the original creator of the television show format Andy's Funhouse (1979), which was later revamped by Paul Reubens (aka Pee-wee Herman) into Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986). Reubens got permission from Kaufman himself right before his death.
During the height of his Taxi (1978) fame, he worked part-time at "The world-famous Jerry's Deli" on Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles as a busboy just to stay grounded.

There's no way to describe what I do. It's just me.
There's no drama like wrestling.
Pure entertainment is not an egotistical lady singing boring songs onstage for two hours and people in tuxes clapping whether they like it or not. It's the real performers on the street who can hold people's attention and keep them from walking away.
Whenever I play a role, whether it's good or bad, an evil person or nice person, I believe in being a purist and going all the way with the role. If I'm going to be a villainous wrestler, I believe in going all the way with it and not breaking character and not giving away to the audience that I'm playing a role. I believe in playing it straight to the hilt.
They say, "Oh wow, Andy Kaufman, he's a really funny guy." But I'm not trying to be funny. I just want to play with their heads.

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