Though he was tied down to "Taxi", Kaufman still found the time for his unorthodox pursuits. Aren't you Andy Kaufman? I get that all the time.
In addition, his "Taxi" co-stars weren't happy with him either, as they grew tired of Kaufman's antics and often-arrogant behavior- this animosity came to a full boil when "Taxi" cast member Jeff Conaway punched Kaufman during the 1979 Golden Globes awards ceremony. Though he stayed with the show for six years (until its cancellation), Kaufman was generally unhappy being on a sitcom, since he felt that he would forever be typecast as his Foreign Man character. Kaufman's career continued to move skyward in 1978 when he was signed on to the cast of "Taxi", where he played foreign auto mechanic Latka Gravas. Is it an act? Or are you addicted to causing trouble?
In addition to several return performances onto "Saturday Night Live" (until the audience voted him off the show in 1982), Kaufman kept himself busy on the talk show circuit (including " The Tonight Show"), an appearance as the Foreign Man on "Hollywood Squares", a couple of movie roles and guest spots on television specials, and his infamous appearance on "The Dating Game" as contestant 'Baji Kimran'. Then in October of 1975, Kaufman got his big break, performing his now famous "Mighty Mouse" lip-sync on the inaugural broadcast of " Saturday Night Live". It was also at the Improv that Kaufman met his long-time collaborator and friend, Bob Zmuda, one of the few people who spoke on Kaufman's wavelength and encouraged him on.
Audiences, accustomed to the usual stand-up routine paradigm, were unsure how to react- some were confused and some stormed out in disgust, but there were those who understood what Kaufman's brand of humor was about, and couldn't wait to see what he would do next. These included the Foreign Man doing an Elvis impersonation, having the audience join him for the entire rendition of "One Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall", his impersonation of boorish Las Vegas lounge singer Tony Clifton, reading "The Great Gatsby" from cover-to-cover, sleeping, and playing the conga drums. It was at the Improv that Kaufman's eclectic mix of performance art and comedy was unleashed onto unsuspecting audiences, including some of his more famous bits.
However, Kaufman's professional career as an entertainer officially began in 1971, when he was discovered by Improv Comedy Club owner Budd Friedman, who signed him on for several gigs at his clubs in New York and Los Angeles. Who was Andy Kaufman, and why should we care?īorn to an affluent family in the Long Island suburb of Great Neck, Andy Kaufman displayed his love for show business at an early age, conducting pretend television broadcasts from his bedroom at the age of four, which gradually evolved into being a paid entertainer for children's parties. Man on the Moon Movie Review Movie Review by Anthony Leong © Copyright 1999Īndy made himself the premise and the rest of the world was the punch-line. Man on the Moon Movie Review by Anthony Leong