Happy Birthday, #AndyKaufman🎂!
In last week’s Elvis birthday tribute, I shared a clip of Andy Kaufman impersonating the King of Rock n Roll. Now, it’s Elvis’ turn to wish Andy happy birthday.
Thanks to my blog pal, Tom, I learned today is the 70th anniversary of Andy Kaufman’s birth and I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about the comedian.
Andy standup comedy is really weird but in a funny way. Not being a late night person, I never saw him on SNL or on stage but thanks to YT I found some of his skits. Some veered Kaufman as a genius in the comic world. I don’t know but I loved him on Taxi! I found the episode, Latka the Playboy on YT which really tickled my funny bone.
For years, I wondered about Kaufman’s Latakas Gravas’ high pitched heavily accented voice if it were the real McCoy but he was born in NYC on this day in 1949. This was all part of his Foreign Man persona.
Andy’s off-beat humor was fitting for days gone by and I think for those of us who remember appreciates it. Hopefully, today’s rising new comedians find inspiration in his delivery and perhaps will reboot this lost art. The entertainment industry really needs some genuinely funny people again.
May you have the angels rolling off the clouds laughing with your weirdness, Andy Kaufman and…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎉!!
I’m running a wee bit behind after yesterday’s appointment and instead of making this post too long I decided to do a separate post for Thankful Thursday & Mama Kat’s Writing Prompt which I hope to have up in short order. Thanks for visiting and have a good day!
X💋X💋, Cathy
7 Comments
csuhpat1
So very cool. I loved Andy, R.E.M.’s Man in the Moon is one of my favorite songs.
Cathy Kennedy
Patrick,
Andy was quite funny on Taxi and he died way too soon.
messymimi's meanderings
Really he was a philosopher, but since there’s no money in it, he did the right thing and became a comedian, which is just a philosopher who makes people laugh and therefore can earn a living at it.
Karla Radford
Hi….remember me? I am still around. I just haven’t commented in ages. I am still the same, just older and more tired. I love your site, especially the humor. Andy Kaufman was a kick! I always loved when he played Vic on Taxi. I see the movie “Man on the Moon” with Jim Carrey has been mentioned already. I just saw it again the other day. Interestingly, Danny DeVito is also in it. You are right when you say the entertainment industry really needs some genuinely funny people again! Do you know the comics Brian Regan or Jim Gaffigan? I enjoy both of them quite a bit. They are WAY different that Andy, but they both make me laugh. My dh and I have seen Brian Regan perform in person 3-4 times and always have a good time.
Cathy Kennedy
Karla,
Hmmm, I sorta think I remember ya but I confuse people a lot. Your email addy looks familiar though but it wouldn’t surprise me if I’m even remembering that all wrong. Yes, other than your mention of Carey’s role as Andy Kaufman two others have pointed it to me as well. I recall the film but haven’t watched it yet. Now, I’m very curious to check it out. Do you blog? Is that how we initially connected? Also, if you are blogging then let me bring it to your attention that you did not leave a breadcrumb back to your site for me or others to follow. I do not know Brian Regan or Jim Gaffigan by name but it doesn’t mean that I don’t know them. I’m horrible with names. I will look them up on Google. Comedy today is just silly embarrassing stuff. I’d love to see some of the good old stuff from the 80s re-emerge through new screenplay writers. The comedy movies from the 80s are lost treasures but so is anything predating that era. People just had a better sense of humor and were not so easily offended 30+ years ago. The new generation is setting us back in all aspects of our lives!
Thomas Anderson
Hi, Cathy!
I am very happy that you remembered my mentioning Andy Kaufman’s birthday and that you were inspired to create a post in his honor. Andy and I were born the same year and, like, him I was fascinated by the medium of television. Andy pretended there was a TV camera in the wall of his room and played to it. My parents had a “gutted” TV set in the basement and I used to get inside the frame and pretend I was “on TV,” reciting commercials and doing skits. Andy was a comic genius who constantly pushed the envelope. He created quirky characters and masterminded one outrageous hoax after another. Some believe he faked his own death and lives on as lounge singer Tony Clifton. I watched Andy on SNL and many other TV shows including Fridays, ABC’s version of NBC’s SNL. I was watching Fridays the night Andy scuffled on live TV with cast member Michael Richards (who later became famous as Kramer on Seinfeld). It was one of the wildest, most memorable and talked about moments in live TV history. Andy became a professional wrestler and challenged women to wrestle him. His performance art seemed to know no limits and I loved that about him. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend the Jim Carrey movie Man On The Moon (1999) – “The life and career of legendary comedian Andy Kaufman.”
Happy 70th birthday in heaven (or wherever he might be) to Andy Kaufman!
Cathy Kennedy
Tom,
The second I read your comment about Andy’s upcoming birthday that I wanted to do a special bday tribute and I wanted to make sure to give you credit. Kaufman was a bit of a strange fellow but perhaps that was theatrical side shining through. You and a few others have mentioned the movie, “The Man On the Moon” film based on Kaufman’s life. I really need to watch it. Unfortunately, it’s not on Netflix or AmazonPrime, so I’ll have to wait a little longer.
You have a big imagination. I can see you playing with your parents’ old gutted tv in the basement. lol That’s what kids need to do today – stretch their imaginations instead of burying their face in social media or a video game. Thanks for stopping by and hopping over to see you now. Have a good day, my friend!