Andy Kaufman Revealed!

August 30, 1999
The brilliantly subversive comedian Andy Kaufman is remembered today not only for his ability to make people laugh but also for his unnerving blend of shock humor and high-concept performance art. Fifteen years after Kaufman's death from lung cancer at the age of 35, his close friend and collaborator Zmuda unveils an intimate portrait of the enigmatic performer. In 1972, Zmuda, then a struggling writer/comedian, first saw Kaufman perform at New York's Improv as Foreign Man, a lovable dork, who, after bombing miserably on stage, would burst into a dead-on impersonation of Elvis Presley. Foreign Man would become Kaufman's signature act, leading to regular appearances on Saturday Night Live and a role as Latka on the TV sitcom Taxi. Yet Kaufman, according to Zmuda, often grew bored with celebrity and constantly pushed the comic envelope: inventing an alter ego, the swaggering, foul-mouthed lounge singer Tony Clifton; taking a Hollywood audience out for milk and cookies (a concept for which Zmuda claims credit); going on tour to wrestle college-age women, an idea apparently dreamed up by Kaufman in order to get women to sleep with him. Kaufman's unpredictability was such that audiences never knew whether or not they were in on the joke; when the comedian succumbed to cancer, many wondered whether he was faking it. Zmuda reveals some long-kept secrets--including the truth about the infamous feud with wrestler Jerry Lawler, which landed Kaufman in the hospital. Although Zmuda touches upon Kaufman's obsessive-compulsive behavior and the possibility that he might have exhibited a form of multiple personality disorder, this highly absorbing memoir will be read less for its insights into Kaufman's psyche than for the immediacy with which it recounts his brief but blazing career. (Sept.) FYI: The Andy Kaufman craze continues this fall as Universal Pictures releases the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon, directed by Milos Forman and starring Jim Carrey. In November, Delacorte will publish Lost in the Fun House: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman by Bill Zehme.

September 15, 1999
With a movie about Kaufman forthcoming, his manager and friend Zmuda's recollection of the late comedian is timely. Best remembered as English-challenged immigrant Latka Gravas on the '70s sitcom "Taxi," Kaufman also appeared regularly on "Saturday Night Live," did stand-up, and wrestled women. He baited pro wrestling in general and Jerry Lawler in particular, a gambit that, it seemed, eventuated in his own grievous physical harm. His comedy involved a high degree of audience manipulation, never better displayed than in his wrestling-related endeavors. Whether his injury at Lawler's hands was real or a hoax has long been debated. The movie spills the beans, and the book does, too. So Lawler's apparently brutal "pile driver," Kaufman's subsequent neck brace, and the final, violent confrontation on David Letterman's "Late Night" set--were they just hype? Finding out is just one reason to read this thoroughly entertaining, illuminating showbiz bio. Oh--Jim Carrey contributes a cutely cryptic secret message about understanding Kaufman's humor, but the book is still worthwhile. ((Reviewed September 15, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)