Another Fan Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Bill Zehme wrote a bio on him which I read when I was younger and bought and started to re read recently. Despite him being before my time, I loved the guy. Latka, Elvis impersonations before they became more famous, the wrestling, and his performances were all a hoot imo. Was inspiring to me as well transcendental meditation brought him out of shyness and anxiety. Anyone else like? Or he just wasn’t your cup of tea at all 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Who Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 He was a very strange fella, but also quite talented. Taxi is one of the great sitcoms of all time, btw. Just an incredible combination of cast and writing along with one of the best theme songs of all time. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg S Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) Loved the show Taxi. Both he as Latka and Christopher Lloyd as Jim Ignatowski were hysterical. Two of the most iconic characters on TV. The whole cast was great. Edited January 5, 2023 by Greg S 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 I saw him live at Purdue doing stand-up, pretty good show, crowd went wild. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnyguy Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 One thing for sure, when he got into character he was all into character. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Loved Andy Kaufman. I’ll never forget the first time I ever saw him which was on Johnny Carson. This was before Taxi and nobody knew who he was. He comes out in his Latka persona, says he will do some impressions, and immediately butchers them all; I mean they were the worst impressions every done by anyone ever. It was painful to watch and when he said he would now like to do Elvis Presley there was an audible groan from the audience. He then tore off his over clothes to reveal his Elvis attire and proceeded with perhaps the best Elvis impression in history. Nobody was better at manipulating an audience than Kaufman. A comic genius who really pushed the envelope. Especially in those times. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayg Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) 24 minutes ago, K-9 said: Loved Andy Kaufman. I’ll never forget the first time I ever saw him which was on Johnny Carson. This was before Taxi and nobody knew who he was. He comes out in his Latka persona, says he will do some impressions, and immediately butchers them all; I mean they were the worst impressions every done by anyone ever. It was painful to watch and when he said he would now like to do Elvis Presley there was an audible groan from the audience. He then tore off his over clothes to reveal his Elvis attire and proceeded with perhaps the best Elvis impression in history. Nobody was better at manipulating an audience than Kaufman. A comic genius who really pushed the envelope. Especially in those times. Edited January 5, 2023 by jayg 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Remember watching that night. Reaction at first was WTF??? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 I have always thought he was brilliant. We lost a good one when he passed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 My earliest memory of Kaufman was on SNL. I'm not sure why it was so funny, but it was: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsPride12 Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 I liked watching Taxi when I was younger. Latka and Reverend Jim were great. That's mostly what I knew about Andy Kaufman but Man on the Moon was a great movie and there is also a Documentary out there somewhere(I believe Netflix but could be wrong?) on the making of that movie and behind the scenes stuff that was really good too. The Tony Clifton bit he had going on was pretty funny. Andy Kaufman is probably underrated at this point but I think he was considered a pretty funny comic in his heyday? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gomper Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 His work with Jerry Lawler in Memphis wrestling was a masterclass in manipulate psychology o 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Fan Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 14 hours ago, BillsPride12 said: I liked watching Taxi when I was younger. Latka and Reverend Jim were great. That's mostly what I knew about Andy Kaufman but Man on the Moon was a great movie and there is also a Documentary out there somewhere(I believe Netflix but could be wrong?) on the making of that movie and behind the scenes stuff that was really good too. The Tony Clifton bit he had going on was pretty funny. Andy Kaufman is probably underrated at this point but I think he was considered a pretty funny comic in his heyday? I’m not sure He seemed to get more popular after he died. One of the big things Man On The Moon got wrong was the timing of the Carnegie Hall Concert where he took the crowd out for milk and cookies. At that stage in his career he couldn’t have booked Carnegie Hall. Taxi was cancelled, a movie Heartbeeps he made bombed, he was voted off SNL, and a broadway play about wrestling he was involved with closed after only a few showings. So yeah at that point people were just tired of him. Nonetheless he is an inspiration to me to keep pushing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Fan Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 (edited) 12 hours ago, gomper said: His work with Jerry Lawler in Memphis wrestling was a masterclass in manipulate psychology o Even me a big fan didn’t realize that “rivalry” went on for years. I thought when he came out of the mummy’s uniform was absolutely hilarious. Actually this whole clip/documentary is gold Edited January 6, 2023 by Another Fan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralonzo Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 (edited) 9 hours ago, Another Fan said: Even me a big fan didn’t realize that “rivalry” went on for years. I thought when he came out of the mummy’s uniform was absolutely hilarious. Actually this whole clip/documentary is gold Yes children. There was a time when the World Intergender Wrestling Champion was a comedy skit. In 2023? Who the hell knows. Edited January 7, 2023 by Ralonzo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Fan Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 11 hours ago, Ralonzo said: Yes children. There was a time when the World Intergender Wrestling Champion was a comedy skit. In 2023? Who the hell knows. Guy really knew how to draw genuine heat from people as well. I loved as well he worked as a busboy when he was still famous and lived rather modestly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.