Home   Actors   Actresses   Supermodels  Movies  Musicians Athletes

                                            ACTORS

                      A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Link To Us

Andy Kaufman

Biography  Filmography   Links   Contact  Galleries

Biography

Andy was born in New York City in 1949 . As a kid he performed comedy routines for his two youger siblings. Later on in his teens he performed at kid's birthday parties. While at Graham Junior College he developed an interest in transcendental meditation, which gave him the confidence to perform in small Manhattan clubs. The pinnacle of his standup career was a 1979 performance at Carnegie Hall, where he rented 20 school buses to take a crowd of 2,800 out for milk and cookies at a nearby school after the show. His career snowballed after he began appearing on Saturday Night Live, 1975, and then became a regular on the series "Taxi", in 1978. He was in the film "Heartbleeps" with co-star Bernadette Peters, in which he played a romantic robot.

He died of lung cancer 6/16/1984 at the age of 35. Fifteen years later he had a resurgence of interest with a memoir by his friend Bob Zmuda, "Andy Kaufman Revealed," (September 1999) and a biography by Bill Zehme, "Lost in the Funhouse," (December 1999). On 12/22/1999 a movie based on his life, opened, with Jim Carrey playing Kaufman.

Kaufman's started to become abusive towards his audiences. After a while his viewers became tired of his antics and they turned against him. In 1982, after his 14th appearance on SNL, viewers voted him off the show in a call-in poll and the following year, "Taxi" was canceled. Late in 1983, he was exiled from the TM movement..

At 20, Kaufman had a daughter with a girlfriend but for the rest of his life, played the field, even when dating film editor Lynne Margulies. Near the end of 1983, a persistent cough was diagnosed as lung cancer. Until the end, he believed he'd get better, trying every remedy including hypnotism and faith healing.

Filmography

Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show (1999) (TV)
Classic Stand-Up Comedy of Television (1996) (TV) .... Himself
R.E.M. Parallel (1995) (V)(archive footage) .... Himself
Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman, A (1995) (TV).... Himself
I'm From Hollywood (1992) .... Himself
Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents Lords of the Ring: Superstars & Superbouts (1985) (V)(archive footage) .... Himself
My Breakfast with Blassie (1983) .... Himself
Fantastic Miss Piggy Show, The (1982) (TV) .... Tony Clifton
Heartbeeps (1981) .... Val
In God We Tru$t (1980) .... Armageddon T. Thunderbird
Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall (1979) (V) .... Himself
Cher... and Other Fantasies (1979) (TV) .... Himself
"Taxi" (1978) TV Series .... Latka Gravas/Vic Ferrari
Andy's Funhouse (1977) (TV)(also as Tony Clifton) .... Himself
Stick Around (1977) (TV) .... Andy, the Robot
God Told Me To (1976) .... Police Officer
"Van Dyke and Company" (1976) TV Series .... Regular
Van Dyke and Company (1975) (TV)
"Midnight Special, The" (1973) TV Series .... Host

Links

Contact

Died May 16, 1984