The Man on the Moon: Andy Kaufman
The Man on the Moon: Andy Kaufman
by Marcos Gonzalez
You sit down in Carnegie Hall. The theatre is packed, not a single seat is open. Your excitement begins to build as you reach the edge of your seat waiting for the performer to show his face. The curtains open and out comes a skinny, sweaty, hairy man in a brown suit and light-blue, collared shirt. He looks disheveled, pulls up a stool and begins to read The Great Gatsby. About an hour in, the crowd begins to filter out, but he continues reading with just a couple of people still left in the audience. He closes the book, smiles, and walks offstage. Surprising? Not for Andy Kaufman. This is just one of Kaufman's peculiar stunts. With an array of bizarre foreign accents, deadon impersonations of Elvis Presley, and strange antics redefined the art of performance comedy for a reaction rather than the laugh. Although labeled as such, Kaufman never considered himself a comedian, but rather a song-and-dance man. Bob Zmuda, Kaufman's long-time friend, believed he could only be described by his performance, “I was amazed. He comes on stage as this pathetic foreign man character trying to tell jokes. And he turns around and he does the most brilliant impression of Elvis, and people went crazy. Right away I knew. He was something special.” He mimicked Las Vegas performers, musicians, cartoons , and blurred the line between himself and his characters. It was no wonder he would leave a lasting impression on the comedy scene. Andy’s strange techniques landed him a role on the hit TV show, Taxi. On it he played Latka, a foreign mechanic who had a multiple personality disorder. During the show he received so During his opening monologue he pulled out a much attention that Lorne Michaels, the head of Saturday record player, and the theme to Mighty Mouse Night Live, had him guest star on the show. began to play. Kaufman began to lip sync the entire song. When he finished he smiled, bowed, and exited the stage without saying
by Marcos Gonzalez
You sit down in Carnegie Hall. The theatre is packed, not a single seat is open. Your excitement begins to build as you reach the edge of your seat waiting for the performer to show his face. The curtains open and out comes a skinny, sweaty, hairy man in a brown suit and light-blue, collared shirt. He looks disheveled, pulls up a stool and begins to read The Great Gatsby. About an hour in, the crowd begins to filter out, but he continues reading with just a couple of people still left in the audience. He closes the book, smiles, and walks offstage. Surprising? Not for Andy Kaufman. This is just one of Kaufman's peculiar stunts. With an array of bizarre foreign accents, deadon impersonations of Elvis Presley, and strange antics redefined the art of performance comedy for a reaction rather than the laugh. Although labeled as such, Kaufman never considered himself a comedian, but rather a song-and-dance man. Bob Zmuda, Kaufman's long-time friend, believed he could only be described by his performance, “I was amazed. He comes on stage as this pathetic foreign man character trying to tell jokes. And he turns around and he does the most brilliant impression of Elvis, and people went crazy. Right away I knew. He was something special.” He mimicked Las Vegas performers, musicians, cartoons , and blurred the line between himself and his characters. It was no wonder he would leave a lasting impression on the comedy scene. Andy’s strange techniques landed him a role on the hit TV show, Taxi. On it he played Latka, a foreign mechanic who had a multiple personality disorder. During the show he received so During his opening monologue he pulled out a much attention that Lorne Michaels, the head of Saturday record player, and the theme to Mighty Mouse Night Live, had him guest star on the show. began to play. Kaufman began to lip sync the entire song. When he finished he smiled, bowed, and exited the stage without saying