TONY CLIFTON AND ELVIS

"tony clifton comes back atcha this time...... as a puppet"

Andy Kaufman did Elvis impersonations while the KING was still alive. Apparently Elvis actually liked the way Andy impersonated him. Andy was THE ONLY one who did imitations of him while he was alive. This was before all the exploitation.

The 70's are long dead and gone, so enjoy this classic gem from the past why don'tcha.

Cantu posted this on July 22, 2007

ANDY KAUFMAN - THE MAN FROM HOLLYWOOD

ANDY KAUFMAN RASSLES A 327 POUND WOMAN AND WINS

"...She can't sue me, she doesn't have any money......"

Posted by Cantu on July 22, 2007 8:33 pm

BIRTH OF A NATION - BIRTH OF A HOAX

HERE IS THE BIRTH OF A NATION CLIP WHERE ANDY KAUFMAN CLAIMED WAS REAL FOOTAGE OF LINCOLNS ASSASINATION.....

Andy Kaufman said this clip showed Lincoln getting KILLED. This of course absurd because movie film and cameras were not available then. This didn't have any effect over the crowd because his audience burst into tears and hysterics. They thought this was an authentic clip. This is not the case. Notice the multiple camera angles.... Enjoy

Cantu 2007

ANDY KAUFMAN - HE TRUSTED YOU

".....Its Easy To See Why Some People Prefer - "Everyone Loves Raymond" to Andy Kaufman -- Some People Need Canned Laughter To Tell Them... When TO Laugh"
Anonymous

Watching Kaufman perform sometimes is like taking a ticket for a weird rocket ride to the dark side of the moon. His influences on what made him such a kook are in the millions. First of all when you dig deeper into him you will find a lot of really unique facts.

He used to skip school and hang out in Times Square when it was a war zone. There were hookers and killers and peep shows all over and there was even an underground freakshow. I had heard about this from many undesireable sources. You could pay a fee and go down in the dungeons of Times Square and see pickled fetuses and deformed monstrosities inside of giant pickle jars. Scary shit. I am talking about two headed babies etc.

Seriously.

Now days you will never hear about such things. Times Square has been revamped into Disney World.... which is a bit unfortunate in some aspects. The freakshows are all gone. And the particular one that Kaufman used to go to is gone too. It was responsible for being the place where weirdo singer Tiny Tim was discovered. He used to sing in a cellar.

These things fascinate me. Maybe they fascinate you too.

The one story I love the most involves the time that he claimed he found HIDDEN FOOTAGE of the assasination of Abraham Lincoln. Kaufman claimed that the government didn't want this footage to get into the hands of the public. He held the comedy club spellbound.

The footage was taken from D.W. Griffith's BIRTH OF A NATION. The footage shows Lincoln getting shot to peices and the audience started bawling and getting hysterical. Kaufman ended his show by getting into a cab and leaving. The only ones who thought this was funny was Kaufman and his agent Bob Zemuda. It truly is hillarious.

Movie film wasn't even invented when Lincoln was shot.

The slide guitar in this clip makes for one eerie peice. For a brief moment we are in Andy's world and it is a very unique and strange place.

I still find it interesting.

Cantu 2007

ANDY KAUFMAN - Comedic Vandalism

ANDY KAUFMAN - On Letterman

ANDY KAUFMAN - THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL - 1977

"I TRUSTED YOU....."

The Midnight Special featured rock acts from the 70's. It was on late at night. Most of the bands that they featured were already dinosaurs. I had a hard time caring about anything they featured.

Apparently Andy Kaufman did too. He hated a lot of what passed for entertainment during his time. He was largely influenced by the PUnk Rock movement. So when he came on NBC or ABC he did a form of comedic vandalism.

This got a lot of reaction. People either laughed along with him or people got out of their seats and yelled and cursed their television sets. My father fit that criteria as he hated Kaufman.

My father pulled me aside and said, "Son.. do you think he is funny?" and I replied that I did. He then confided, "I think he's queer !!... they shouldn't let those people on tv !!!"

The 70's were a very different time. One has to keep that in mind. But the best part about Kaufman is that you kept hoping that the joke would soon be over. He kept it going over the top for as long as possible. Sometimes people would yell and throw stuff. He liked all the reactions... either they love him or hate him its all great.....

And it is....

Cantu 2007

ANDY KAUFMAN - I TRUSTED YOU - LIVE

ANDY KAUFMAN - "I'M FROM HOLLYWOOD -- AND THIS IS SOAP !!"

Andy Kaufman - Beloved Star of "Taxi".... Spills His Guts

This is a clip from Kaufman's wrestling odyssey from the late 70's. Over the years it was lost and forgotten about. This was from the creative minds of Kaufman and his agent, Bob Zemuda.

According to which biography you read this was all staged. In the Milos Foreman film, "Man on the Moon" this whole wrestling thing was totally exposed as a hoax. Bad guy wrestler Jerry Lawler makes a cameo appearance - playing himself - acknowledging that this entire thing was a stunt.

It seemed pretty convincing at the time. This was long before the WWF and when wrestling was divided into different territories throughout the US. The broadcasts which made this whole thing seem real were very low budget. They had very low production values and the venues themselves were actualy very small.

What is interesting about this was that by this point of his life Kaufman didn't seem to care very much about money. He just wanted to cause some trouble and make a few more enemies while here on Earth, (he died of cancer shortly after). This was over the top entertainment. But what is really important here is that the butt of the joke was really the audience.

It was an elaborate put on.

This whole wrestling stunt with upsetting the deep south and wrestling women on the Merv Griffen Show gained him mountains of hate mail. This later led to Saturday Night Live producer Lorn Michaels to have a vote on live television whether to keep him on and send him packing -- never to return to the show again. The results were in favor of kicking Kaufman off the show for good. I think he only rated 23%.

From there his career spiraled downward -- permanently. He made the film, "Heart Beeps" and it was a commercial failure. He would appear on David Letterman a few more times before becoming bedridden.
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Cantu FASCUBE 2006

ANDY KAUFMAN - "IM FROM HOLLYWOOD!!!"

THE ANDY KAUFMAN SHOW