Andy Kaufman: biography, personal life, success, date and cause of death

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Andy Kaufman is a popular American showman, stand-up comedian and actor. He became famous for the fact that he regularly arranged on stage an alternative to comedy in the usual sense of the term, skillfully mixing stand-up, pantomime and provocation. In doing so, he blurred the line between imagination and reality. For this, he was often called the "Dadaist comedian". He never turned into a variety artist telling the audience funny stories. Instead, he began to manipulate their reactions. Often people around him could not understand when he was acting and when he was real.

Childhood and youth

Andy Kaufman was born in 1949. He was born in New York. As a child, he enjoyed putting music on his gramophone, as well as playing by imagining that he was facing an audience for whom he was hosting a parody show. From the age of 8 he already arrangedperformances for your family.

At the same time, everyone noted that the boy had a strange sense of humor, which few people understood. The father considered such activities inappropriate for the child, because of this they regularly had disputes. At the age of 9, he was already entertaining other children at parties, playing cartoons and music records for them.

From the age of 14, he began to earn money by performing in bars. In clubs, Andy Kaufman always refused to perform the numbers that the public expected from him. He was an original comedian who represented a whole theater of diverse actors.

Education

In his youth, the hero of our article became interested in literature. He wrote stories and poems, and at the age of 16 he finished his first novel.

In 1967, he received his high school diploma, before entering college in Boston takes a break of one year. During this time, Andy Kaufman is launching a television show called Uncle Andy's Fun House.

In 1971 he leaves for Spain for a few months, where he practices meditation classes.

Comedian career

The biography of Andy Kaufman at first developed very successfully, his career quickly went uphill. He performed on Broadway. Participated in television programs, acted in films.

He made his big screen debut in God Asked Me as a police officer in 1976. Among the films of Andy Kaufman, it is also worth noting the paintings "Don't Quit", "In God We Trust", "Heart Signals","Miss Piggy's Fantastic Show". His most striking image is Latka Gravas in the comedy sitcom Taxi.

It is interesting that Kaufman was often called a comedian, although he himself did not consider himself one. He never participated in comedies or performed jokes, at least not in the traditional way. He stated that he was an artist of the theater of the absurd. In his performances, he managed to evoke a wide variety of feelings in the audience - from disgust and numbness to unbridled laughter.

For example, during one of his speeches, comedian Andy Kaufman began talking about fictional family difficulties and impending bankruptcy, and then began to beg from the audience.

Popular performances

Many remember his benefit performance at Carnegie Hall in New York. At the very beginning of the performance, he invited his grandmother to the stage, seated her so that it was convenient for her to watch the show. At the very end, it turned out that actor Robin Williams was hiding under the mask of an old woman.

In 1981, the hero of our article took part in the live show "Friday" on ABC three times. During his first speech, he talked about four people who met during lunch and then took turns going to the bathroom to smoke marijuana. Right during the sketch, he went out of character, refusing to say lines. Then his partner Michael Richards threw the script at him. In response, Kaufman doused him with water. An angry producer rushed to the set, the show quickly went into advertising.

In the second episode he sangtogether with Cathy Sullivan, and then said that he believed in Jesus, and with Katie they have long been secret lovers, they are going to get married soon. All this was not true. The third time he performed was a sketch about a drug addicted pharmacist, and then he had to announce a punk band that was behind the scenes. Instead, he began to talk about the dangers of drugs, talking for so long until the show had to go on another commercial.

Since 1983, his own show began to appear. Each time it started in the middle of the interview, during which Kaufman began to laugh hysterically.

One of his most famous characters is Tony Clifton. Kaufman himself claimed that he and Tony were completely different people, some even believed that they were not the same person.

Clifton was an arrogant, dumb and insensitive salon singer who performed with a big belly and oversized dark glasses. In the middle of his performances, he liked to start rhyming completely unrelated words and insult the audience. Often, the audience threw him everything that came to hand. To give more effect, he often wore a bulletproof vest or hid behind a nylon mesh for the performance.

The performance was aimed at provocation, Kaufman sought to be literally kicked off the stage. As soon as the audience guessed that Kaufman was Tony, he entered the hall and began to watch his own performance. As a rule, in such cases, one of his acquaintances dressed up as Tony.

End claimed to have met Tony in a nightclub in the early 70s, and in 1977asked to open his speech for the first time. A year later, he officially hired him for joint concerts.

It is noteworthy that when the comedian signed a contract to participate in the sitcom Taxi, he demanded that Clifton be guaranteed at least four episodes with his participation. As a result, he never appeared in the series, as he was fired for brawling with prostitutes in the company's office.

Wrestling fights

At that time wrestling became popular in America. Kaufman was encouraged by its theatricality, as well as his own penchant for hoaxes. He became the first in the world to fight against women. As a result, he was even proclaimed the world champion in intergender wrestling.

He first appeared in the ring in 1977, announcing that he was ready to pay a thousand dollars to any woman who could overcome him.

Many considered these speeches offensive to the fairer sex. In the end, he even had to admit that he was not a real wrestler, but only wanted to resurrect carnivals, when wrestlers went around the cities offering money to anyone who could beat them.

In total, he spent about 400 fights, leaving the ring undefeated. America was shocked by such sexism and rudeness. Feminists sent angry letters to him daily.

Private life

Kaufman never married in his life. At the same time, he had an illegitimate daughter, the existence of which he did not know until his death.

I think her name is Maria Colonna.

Death

The comedian's condition worsened in the early 80s. At first there was a terrible cough, which quickly progressed. As a result of the examination, the doctors found nothing, and the symptom soon disappeared on its own.

A month later, the cough returned, only then it was possible to make a diagnosis - lung cancer. In addition, the disease was in an advanced stage, the operation was impossible. Doctors gave him three months, he lived for almost five. Andy Kaufman died on May 16, 1984.

Fight for life

Many until the very end did not believe that the popular artist was terminally ill. He fought the best he could. He visited doctors, went to procedures, continuing to perform. He even went to the Philippines to see a well-known healer who claimed to perform operations without instruments, only with the help of his hands. But nothing helped.

A few days before his death, he fulfilled his childhood dream by performing at Carnegie Hall. He staged a large-scale performance with the participation of Santa Claus, the dead were resurrected on stage, and the audience was treated to milk and cookies. But no treats were handed out in the hall, Kaufman persuaded everyone to take the buses he rented in advance to his favorite bakery.

It was there that they announced his death. Many, upon learning of the death of a comedian, sincerely believed that this was a joke, since Andy actually often claimed that he would like to fake his death.

Fuel was added to the fire by the constant appearances of his most famous character Tony Clifton in nightclubs alreadyyears after the funeral of the hero of our article.

Resurrection

29 years after the comedian's death, his brother Michael announced at the Kaufman Awards that his brother was, in fact, alive and well. This was allegedly confirmed by a note found in the things of the deceased in 1984.

According to Andy's instructions, Michael was to meet his brother at a restaurant in New York on Christmas Eve. Kaufman did not come to the meeting, but he was handed a letter stating that he had fallen in love and became the father of a girl. At the same time, the author of the letter asked to keep this information secret until their father dies. It happened in 2013.

Soon a 24-year-old girl appeared who claimed to be Kaufman's daughter. She claimed that her father was alive, closely following the award ceremonies in his name. The girl turned out to be Lynn Margulis, who released a book a year later, admitting that the death of the comedian was a hoax, he himself will soon have to explain everything, since the duration of the joke was limited to 30 years.

At the moment, Kaufman has not appeared in public.

Man on the Moon

In 1999, Milos Forman filmed the biographical drama "The Man in the Moon", dedicated to the biography of Andy Kaufman. Jim Carrey played the role of a popular comedian in the film.

The picture is based on the real life story of a comedian. It also stars Courtney Love and Danny DeVito.

The film tells about the life of Kaufman, starting from childhood, when he performed in front oftoy animals, ending with his death from lung cancer.

In 2017, the documentary "Jim and Andy" appeared, which told about the filming of this film. The audience is told in detail about how Carrey reincarnated in the popular images of his predecessor, as a result, the filming process became true madness for many, many no longer distinguish Carrey from Kaufman.

Mentioned in songs

At once in several song texts Andy Kaufman is mentioned, and they are performed by foreign and domestic performers. The song Man on the moon, dedicated to the actor, was written by R. E. M.

In 2010, on the album "Theater of the Demon", the composition of the group "King and the Jester" "Andy Kaufman" was released. The text of the work immediately became popular among fans. It details one of the most famous hoaxers in the world.

This guy is a reflection

Those stupid things that we have accumulated in ourselves for years.

The viewer asks for more.

Recently it has been discussed everywhere:

Like, Andy Kaufman can split in two, The start of the show will put its -

Put on everyone!

Give me some heat!

Chorus:

Hey, believe that your success is not a dream.

The audience laughs in unison with you.

In what you are for many - a man from the moon, Only part of your game.

And again in his own way

He, breaking stereotypes, shocks the audience.

Yes! He's the best in the business!

Created a very unusual stage image;

After all, Andy Kaufman is a notable provocateur.

The jester laughs and the conservative gets angry.

The song "Andy Kaufman" immediately became popular among fans of this group.