Andy Kaufman Returns After 20 Years (He's Alive!)

[a_random_joel]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040519/234/726q1.html

http://andykaufmanreturns.blogspot.com/

I am speechless. Yahoo IS credible, right?

Edited to include actual news title.

[Emboldened Chimp]

1. I don't think this is real

[NashVegas]

3. Nor I

"We're sorry. This release has been placed on 'Dispute Hold'."

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/5/emw127003.htm

[salin]

4. but one must admit... even if not real... it is rather Kaufman-esque

[a_random_joel]

7. That's what I'm screamin'!

[salin]

11. if a hoax... can't help but think he would have

approved. The master of "is he for real.. naw... maybe... naw... yes... naw... can't be... it is! No it isn't... what the heck... "

[belladonna]

12. I agree

I believe it's a hoax, but it DOES sound like something Kaufman might do. Maybe that's why Yahoo got sucked in so easily? :shrug:

[liberalhistorian]

49. Yes, it certainly is!

I don't believe a word of it either, as much as I wish it were true, but I'm sure Kaufman himself would have approved.

[Warpy]

54. Dunno, I remember at the time people thought his death

was faked, typical Kaufman style.

He's a real putz to do it to his MOTHER, though.

[Nlighten1]

Whoa.

[Alerter_]

2. I thought he was Ann Coulter?

No seriously, someone said the other day that Anne Coulter is really Andy Kaufman, and he's been doing that routine for the last few years? Total genius if it's true!

[rooboy]

32. I don't know if Coulter is Andy Kaufman...

but I've definitely concluded that she/he is engaged in a Kaufman-like comedy act.

[oldhat]

5. WTF?

What the fuck?

Hoax.

[Politicub]

6. It's a press release

You too can create and disseminate your own press release via PR newswire for about $700. I think this is a hoax.

[salin]

8. The guy so loved publicity

just think it would be hard for him to have stayed away from the publicity for all of this time.

[gristy]

9. Sorry, dude. Nobody's picking up the story.

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&edition=us&ie=UTF-8&q=%22andy+kaufman%22&scoring=d

[Speck Tater]

10. They'll have to re-shoot the ending of the movie

Man In the Moon.

[Squistion]

28. Not if they use the alternate ending

Supposedly there was an alternate ending to the movie shot, that had Andy coaching Jim Carey on how to play him, but was scrapped. Would have made a better movie if the producers would have had the guts to run with it.

[thebigidea]

13. what a stupid, cheap little scam.

What a terrible Tony Clifton, too. He's like a foot shorter than Kaufman.

And writes NOTHING like him - Kaufman would NEVER call himself a "performance artist."

Embarassing!

Having spoken with the Kaufman family, I'm sure they're not exactly amused by this.

Leave his family out of it, bloodsuckers!

[htuttle]

18. Found this on E! online just now

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,14108,00.html

May 14, 2004, 5:50 PM PT

t's only May, and it's already been a big year for resurrection in American pop culture: First Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ, and now Andy Kaufman…as himself? Having promised to return from the grave on the 20th anniversary of his death, Kaufman is due back on the mortal coil on Sunday--and at 7:30 that evening his friends are throwing him a welcome-back party in Hollywood.

Bob Zmuda, screenwriter, comedian and Friend of Andy tells the LA Weekly that Kaufman first broached the idea of faking his own death back in 1980. "Andy said, 'You know if some celebrity really did this, do you know big it would be? How legendary it would be?' "

Zmuda's charity organization Comic Relief rolls out the red carpet at the House of Blues for Andy Kaufman: Dead or Alive?, which can only be described as a happening--sort of an event, sort of an performance and almost certainly a conga-thumping hootenanny. But there's no help-the-homeless angle here--the $250 VIP tickets are strictly for those who simply must be there when Kaufman rolls back into town.

(snip)
Zmuda, Lynne Marguiles (Andy's girlfriend) and George Shapiro (Andy's manager) are taking Kaufman at his word and throwing him a homecoming party. Should Kaufman choose to once again grace the Sunset Strip with his presence he'll be greeted by his friends and compatriots, his old band--Tony Clifton and the Cliftones and His Steamy Cliftonettes--and famous funny people galore, including Rodney Dangerfield, Caroline Rhea, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick, Paul Rudd and wrestling mogul Jerry Lawler.
(snip)

This was from earlier in the week, before he was supposed to show up.

Hmm....

(on edit)

more links from May 14 on this:

Will Andy Kaufman return from dead?
http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=6f33bfc62f23bde7

A friend of Andy Kaufman is trying to find out if the late comic faked his death in 1984.

Kaufman, an eccentric comedian best known for his role on Taxi, died May 16, 1984 of lung cancer, but told friend and partner Bob Zmuda he planned to fake his death and return on the 20th anniversary of the date he supposedly died, Empire Magazine reported on its Web site Friday.

Andy Kaufman – Dead or Alive?
http://www.empireonline.co.uk/site/news/newsstory.asp?news_id=15845

[a_random_joel]

14. Apologies to all if this turns out to be a hoax, BUT...

Let's see if Yahoo pulls the story.

[thebigidea]

16. its not a story, its a PR release

[rawstory]

29. MODS please REMOVE

you're giving an AD free publicity...I cant believe the mods moved one of my legit news stories earlier today and haven't killed this...its frankly embarassing for DU.

[stickdog]

35. It's EMBARRASSING for DU?

How?

It's not like this would be true "BREAKING NEWS" either way.

[Just Me]

42. Actually, a more impactful LBN about "scrubbing" was removed. n/t

[rawstory]

51. Ok...

Maybe not embarrassing -- but just stupid...it's like we're all a bunch of gullible liberals! ;)

[Just Me]

56. I'm with you on this one, "rawstory". All we can do is,....ride. n/t

[Almost_there]

15. It would fit his profile...

This would be right up his alley, especially with the demands the public made on him and the lack of respect for his other talent. But, I really don't think Ernst & Young is into DNA testing, and 99% surity on the test? If his mom is still alive, they could guarantee much better than 99%. More like 99.9999999 (to the millionth)%.

It would be great though. I just don't see it as true.

[belladonna]

17. One other thing

Seems to me, given his love for publicity and making a big splash everywhere he went, he'd choose a more dramatic way to make his return than an internet press release.

[a_random_joel]

20. Good point.

Touche.

[salin]

23. cameo after doing the voice for the film release of... Mighty Mouse?

:shrug:

[Citizen Daryl]

19. Andy would be proud...

...of a hoax like this.

[graywarrior]

22. This is how the Jesus thing got started

[rooboy]

25. LOL... I had read there were scrolls where he wrestled women. n/t

[Speck Tater]

21. Most likely

This is a Kaufmanesque hoax cooked up in honor of his memory.
A fitting memorial if ever there was one.

[salin]

24. the blog is a riot

Ernst & Young Disclaimer
I don't know how the press release people got the name Ernst & Young, but that's not the auditor we used to do the DNA testing. They are much too reputable to get involved in this kind of sordid task, much akin to parenthood testing.

Also, it wasn't ABC News that interviewed me. It was some British entertainment mag -- apparently I'm huge over there.


posted by Andy Kaufman at 3:18 PM 5 comments

[sofa king]

26. I completely agree.

Zmuda seems to have been a good and loyal friend, and he shares his friend's preference for bizarre humor. Remember when Tony Clifton showed up after Kaufman's death?

Plus, Zmuda has a chance to cash in for his charity. Nice move, Bob.

[rooboy]

31. Tony Clifton didn't turn up after Kaufman's death...

that's an urban myth which stemmed from the movie. That scene at the end of "Man in the Moon" never happened.

[thebigidea]

33. sure did. Zmuda did a charity appearance.

[catzies]

45. And again onstage with R.E.M. Hollywood Bowl 9/10/2003. Was there.

Tussled with the bandmembers as they played "Man In The Moon," Thought it was Jim Carrey though.

[rooboy]

55. Not as was portrayed in the movie.

Bob Zmuda can do Tony Clifton any time he wants. In the movie Zmuda was in the audience.

[thebigidea]

61. sure, they added that. But "Tony Clifton" certainly turned up

You said he didn't, the Comedy Store shindig happened.

[librechik]

27. Hmm--so he appears in his "new" PR shots as Tony Clifton...

nice try, Zmuda. Great way to celebrate a great man's anniversary, though.

:party:

[Lou_C]

30. I remember when he "died"

They said that he had stomach cancer and he went real fast.

[stickdog]

34. If Kaufman really came back, this is EXACTLY what I'd expect him to do.

An amateur, low key stunt that few bought into.

Few ever understood and/or appreciated the man's work, and, aside from the hilarious 'Foreign Man', his "talent" was basically as a bizarre meta-prankster playing against his rapidly waning celebrity status.

[thebigidea]

36. you'd expect him to start a freakin' BLOG instead of going on Letterman?

The man who engineered the finale of a show involving Santa Claus, the "Rockettes," and the "Mormon Tabernacle Choir" would return via a BLOG?

Hardly Andy Kaufman... this tacky little affair has none of the style Kaufman exhibited.

Funny that time makes your fingers fatter & shorter and makes hair grow on the back of your hands, huh?

[progressivebydesign]

37. Well. yah.. the hair thing..

Lots of time hair DOES grow like that when you get older. have you ever seen those old guys with hair out of their ears? have you considered that a hirsute actor might not be considered viable, and had the hair waxed?

The guy kinda looks like him.. I think this is just really bizzarre, and totally what I'd expect from Andy Kaufman... it's just wierd and tacky. The guy was eccentric, and he was hardly Sean Conery when it came to being above something like this.

And when people retain water or get fatter, their fingers get fatter and they appear to look shorter.

What the hell? I think it would be really cool if the death was a hoax. I need a diversion from the daily carnage in Iraq.

[thebigidea]

38. He looks nothing like him. Kaufman was quite tall.

Either those hookers are Amazons, or its Bob Zmuda having some fun. Come to think of it, Zmuda has a bit more style than this too.

You think Andy Kaufman would wait 20 years to make blog posts referencing Ann Coulter & The Matrix?

[progressivebydesign]

39. Ah.. but it's damn funny. N/T

[stickdog]

40. Yeah, why do I get the feeling that you also believe

they put a man on the moon?

[thebigidea]

41. If he was in hiding for 20 years, he would've planned something better...

... than a few Ann Coulter jokes.

Honestly, can you imagine Andy Kaufman even being AWARE of the existence of Ann Coulter? Or using the word "Lewinskygate"?

[stickdog]

43. Um, Andy was never funny that way.

He was an amateur performance artist and his entire public persona was his canvas.

Is that him dressed as Clifton in the pictures? No way.

Does that mean that he didn't fake his death and isn't getting a kick out of watching this pathetic "controversy" play out? Only if you think nothing is cool.

[thebigidea]

44. He would never call himself a performance artist.

He was a "song and dance man."

And yes, thank you - I'm aware of Andy Kaufman and have been since I saw his Mighty Mouse bit on SNL. I'm met his sister & father, interviewed Zmuda, wrote a bit about him, have read tons of unpublished stuff. He was a huge inspiration to me in my own goofy film/video work, and he had STYLE.

And this ain't Andy Kaufman.

"Only if you think nothing is cool."

A stupid blog is supposed to be cool?

I can imagine Stanley Kaufman's pained expression here. You go tell him this is cool.

[stickdog]

47. So you realize that Zmuda is in the pictures, right?

And, yes, Andy loved giving us all the "song and dance."

[thebigidea]

48. My post up there says "Either those hookers are Amazons, or its Bob Zmuda"

So, yes - I'd say that I realize that its Bob Zmuda.

That dumb blog, though - that's another story. Its not even in Bob's style - maybe he got some kid to do it for him.

[stickdog]

50. No, Zmuda is in a picture WITH Clifton and out of costume.

Of course, you immediately realized the ramifications of this, having met Bob and all.

Right?

:eyes:

[thebigidea]

52. BZZZT. Two different pics, two different Cliftons. Different face, body

C'mon, you think I'm not familiar with the switcheroo ala Andy and Michael Kaufman/Bob Zmuda side by side? They've pulled that since the late 70s.

The other one is probably that Wally guy that impersonates Andy/Tony, who just so happens to live in Vegas.


Fig a. Wally Clifton.


Fig b. Bobby Clifton, Last Sunday


Fig c. Wally w/ Bobby Clifton - note Original Tony mannequin, approx same size as Wally.

[stickdog]

57. Wally Wingert is as tall as Andy.

http://www.wallyontheweb.com/latestnews.html

In any case, Zmuda was involved, Andy loved publicity and much of Andy's act made the WWF look stylish.

[thebigidea]

59. they fired missiles into the Pentagon!

[stickdog]

62. Now you're getting it!

Bush's whole Presidency has been a Kaufman prank.

:-)

[thebigidea]

67. Now that I've read a bit about it, I'm not nearly as pissed

that stupid blog site was what got me hoppin' mad, it was soooo non-Kaufman and utterly crappy.

But here's a review of the night:

http://www.andylives.org/deadalive.html

"Many have expressed feelings of being scammed or of Zmuda's exploitation of Andy Kaufman's life. Even before buying a ticket one could see that this was classic hokum. Bob Zmuda is a modern day carnie of the ten-in-one sideshow strip. But that rather hollow feeling of being had was hard to shake, and even writing this review took a good deal of gumption to get it up. Discussing the lack of a true Kaufmanesque put-on, my friend put it this way, "Bob is more of a con artist than a performance artist." But that's also what I like about ol' Bob. And I'm sure that's what Andy liked about him too. Like a true old road show exploiteer, Bob, er, Tony Clifton will apparently list tour dates to bring his unique show to a theater near you. Let the tub thumping begin. "

So its all just a 20th anniversery Zmuda tribute - would've been a fun night, and the "free sex at the Bunny Ranch to everyone with a ticket" is fucking hilarious and spot-on Kaufman, one-upping Cookies n' milk quite nicely.

Lynne Marguiles: "I get soooo angry whenever I read anyone saying that he's "profiting off of Andy" or that he's "revealing Andy's secrets" or is in any way being disrespectful to Andy's memory. ANDY ADORED BOB. And Bob adored Andy. Still does, as do I. Bob is still my dearest friend, and that would not be if he were not the wonderful, generous guy he is. Now, he will get mad at me for saying this, but I'm going to: he paid for the House of Blues show on May 16th out of his own pocket, and I'm talking multi-thousands of dollars. He did not even come close to making his money back, but he didn't do it to make money. He did it to honor Andy, Tony, and, as I said in the L.A. Weekly article, to have fun. Which we did, and I hope all who were there did too."

[parasim]

53. Exactly.

Or, maybe he faked himself faking his own death. In other words, maybe he wrote this bit 20 years ago (putting out a press release announcing that he faked his own death) and conspired with Zmuda to pull it off on the 20th anniversary of his death? who knows?

the great thing about Andy was his unpredictablility.

[TrogL]

63. Please tell me you're kidding

they put a man on the moon

Of course on this thread, anything goes.

*groans*

[stickdog]

66. Tenk you very much. (nt)

[Melinda]

46. FWIW, Tony Clifton did Jimmy Kimmel last Friday night

Did a song, interview, and publicized his upcoming club appearance. Dunno, but it *is* interesting. ;)

[latebloomer]

58. if only!

[jeff30997]

65. It's a hoax!

I sure would like that it was true but i don't buy it.
Hey! Anybody seen Elvis lately ?:crazy:

[Kadie]

60. Whether he is dead or alive

Andy Kaufman is loving this. Always keep them wondering. LOL! Love it...

[Earth_First]

64. I'm speechless as to wonder whether or not this is real...

and you know what, regardless, Kaufman is having the laughs on us.

[Nlighten1]

68. Why couldn't Jim Morrison come back?

I never really cared for Kaufman.

[mouse7]

69. Kaufman says "Thenk You Vely Much"

Hoax or no hoax, Andy Kaufman approves.

[Moderator]

70. Locking

If this gets reported by a credible source (not a press release from a blog site), feel free to repost. As it stands, Yahoo is just parroting someone's (unverifiable) blog.