Andy Kaufman

Andy Kaufman as Elvis

A loudmouth lounge singer, a foreigner, a professional wrestler, and Elvis; surprisingly these all have something in common. In fact they are all the same person. His name is Andy Kaufman. Andy Kaufman is a hero because of his courage (x) and creativity (y) reinvented Comedy in the 70’s and 80’s. Though his life was short, Andy Kaufman did so much. He was born January 17, 1949 in New York, and grew up in Great neck, New York. At an early age Kaufman loved performing. When he was eight he was performing at birthday parties. His vivid imagination did not change into adulthood; he invented characters for his acts. Tony Clifton is Andy Kaufman’s alter-ego who insulted people during the show, Foreign Man is a foreigner (obviously) who did awful impressions until the end of the show where he bursts into an amazing impression of Elvis (for which he became famous for), and he created an inter gender pro wrestler (left unnamed). On October 11, 1975 he appeared on the first broadcasting of SNL.

One of his most famous bits on the show was lip singing the theme song to “Mighty Mouse”. He was cast on the sitcom “Taxi” from 1978-1983 as the character Latka Gravas. After “Taxi” was canceled Kaufman went back to doing stand-up.

On May 16, 1984 he died of a rare lung disease when he was 34 years old. His spirit was revived however; in the late 1990’s Jim Carry took the role of Kaufman in the biopic “Man on the Moon”. Andy Kaufman is a hero because of his courage (x) and creativity (y). It is because of this, he reinvented comedy in the seventies and eighties.

Andy Kaufman's wrestling character in action

Andy Kaufman’s career was formed because of his courage to try out new material, even if it was not considered acceptable. Onstage he created characters to use in his acts. Some were liked but some were hated: he made an inter gender wrestler for an act where he wrestled women on stage. This character was part of one of Kaufman’s most important acts. He was a woman hating, idiotic, slob, but Kaufman kept him alive despite the fact that people hated him (Brownfield, Paul). This shows his courage because even though the audiences’ reaction was unsatisfactory, he still went on with it because he knew it was entertaining. His ability to go up onstage and do things that seem idiotic or foolish just to get a laugh shows his courage. Kaufman’s most well known character is Tony Clifton. A lounge singer he used to fool people on and off the stage, usually Tony was kicked out of many places for his behavior: however; Kaufman never backed down from an opportunity. Like when he became Tony on the “Dinah Shore Show” leading to him being forcibly removed from the set (biography.com). This shows his courage because he doesn’t look at or care about the consequences of his actions. Kaufman doesn’t seem to care what people think because they don’t even know that Kaufman and Tony are the same person, which is why he can go to those lengths. Andy Kaufman’s uncanny ability to do something foolish or embarrassing to get a laugh is why he is courageous.

Right: Tony Clifton Left: Andy Kaufman

Andy Kaufman is one of the most well known comedians of all time because of his amazing creativity for his acts. As he grew, so did his ideas. Characters were what made his career, but also did his alter ego named Tony Clifton. Tony was rude and offensive who mainly made fun of the audience. He was practically a separate person from Andy; in fact people thought they were until his death (Zehme Bill). This shows his creativity because he made Tony so convincing for so long that it had to take death before people found out it was an act. Even though his career didn’t start until adulthood, Andy was already performing before he could do anything else: “At the age of four, Andy started performing for his favorite audience, himself.

This is probably the most important trait of Andy’s creative development, the fact that his interest lied in entertaining himself before anyone else” (Brownfield, Paul). This shows his creativity because even at such a young age he was performing and inventing characters because he enjoyed it. His creativity never stopped growing from childhood to adulthood his mind was a never ending vault of creative potential.

Andy Kaufman

Andy Kaufman, Tony Clifton, Foreign Man or whatever he became onstage didn’t stop making people laugh throughout his career, and though it didn’t seem like it he actually knew what he was doing. His creative mind and courage to do what he did makes him one of the most memorable comics today. He is an inspiration because he teaches us to try to live our dreams and not to stop believing in ourselves. From birth to death Andy didn’t quite doing what he loved, performing, and that’s what he wants for everyone to do.

Andy Kaufman