The Book of Illusion: Andy Kaufman alive?

he's goofin on elvis

myspace.com...

and why is my captcha word irancontra?

Originally posted by fweshcawfee When I said I'm Kaufman ignorant, I meant it in the sense of not understanding why on Earth anyone ever found him to be funny, he wasn't. I actually think most people agree with that too, despite the comments in his favor here. The Paris Hilton comparison I made probably would hit home with a lot more people than you think.

I couldn't agree more with what you said in your post. The guy was only funny in that he figured out that if marketed right, the public would idolize any nut job... there are countless of weirdos that have made it big based on this same knowledge (Anna Nicole Smith ring any bells?).


I actually wouldn't be surprised if his insanity and thirst for fame enticed him to fake his death simply to lock in (as he most likely assumed would happen) the insane droolings of his fan base. He WAS definately insane enough to go through with such a plan.

Whether he actually did or didn't fake his death, I don't know...

I loved him, he was what we would call an alternative comic. In the intro to the man on the moon he eludes to both who would actually 'get' his comedy (his friends and those in the know, as he puts it "the rest would laugh in the wrong places",) and his death!!!

Standing in a nonexistent set is ANDY KAUFMAN, looking a bit
nervous. Wide-eyed, tentative, he stares at us with a
needy, unsettling cuteness. His hair is slicked-down, and
he wears the "FRIENDLY WORLD" costume from the Andy Kaufman
special.

Finally, Andy speaks -- in a peculiar FOREIGN ACCENT.

ANDY (AS FOREIGN MAN)
Hallo. I am Andy. Welcoom to my
movie.
(beat; he gets
upset)
I hoped the story of my life would
be nice...but it turned out
terrible! It is all LIES! Tings
are mixed up... real people I knew
play different people. WHAT A MESS!
So I broke into Universal and cut
out the junk. Now it's much
shorter. In fact, this is the end
of the movie. So tanks for comink!
Bye-bye!

Andy puts a needle on a phonograph, and swelling CLOSING
CREDITS MUSIC starts to play. FINAL CREDITS roll.

Andy stands frozen, awkwardly looking at the audience.
Every time the music ends he picks up the needle and
restarts the music. He does that as many times as the
credits require.

Finally, CREDITS END. And then--a sly smile. He leans in.
DROPS HIS ACCENT and WHISPERS.

ANDY (AS REGULAR VOICE)
Okay! Just my friends are left. I
wanted to get rid of those other
people... they would have laughed in
the wrong places.
(beat)
I was only kidding about the
movie... it's actually PRETTY GOOD!
It shows everything... from me as a
little boy until my death --
(his eyes pop; he
covers his mouth)
Oops!! I wasn't supposed to talk
about that! Oh. Eh, uh, we better
just begin. It starts back in Great
Neck, Long Island...