| Subject: |
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Andy Kaufman Lives |
| Name: |
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J. |
| Date Posted: |
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Aug 14, 06 - 11:03 PM |
| IP Address: |
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4.240.165.5 |
| Message: |
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22 years ago, Andy Kaufman, costar of the hit ABC comedy series "Taxi" was
diagnosed with Large Cell Carcinoma - one of most deadliest forms of lung cancer
known to man. Kaufman, ever-optimistic, was determined to annihilate the
ungodly disease that was mercilessly attacking his lungs with the aide of
psychic surgeon, Jun Labo. Accordingly, Andy flew to the Phillippines accompanied
by girlfriend, Lynne Margulies, to vist "Dr." Labo.
Andy Kaufman, 35, underwent a grueling 6 weeks under the hands of
Jun Labo. He came home changed. He thought he was cured, friends
and family members recalled. Indeed. Kaufman thought the "operations"
were a success, and that he'd be back to work in no time. That was,
of course, before his body proceeded to function in excruciating pain;
Consequently, He had no other choice, but to go see a real doctor....
Unfortunately, all of Andy Kaufman's attempts to cheat death were in vain.
and he died on May 16, 1984, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles,
California.
Above is the standard conclusion regarding the death of Song-and-Dance-Man,
Andy Kaufman. The prospect of Andy being, in fact, alive has fascinated
me for quite some time now. That's why I have decided to do some make-shift
detective work. To delve a little deeper inside the ground, and see, with
the assitance of one of his friends, if he's truly gone.
The question most frequently asked by fans invariably is "If he faked his death, don't
you think he'd come back by now?" My assesment: No. His goal was never to entertain
anyone but himself. For instance: When the Andy hates [Jerry] Lawyer saga
was in its prime, Kaufman made Jerry Lawler and (best friend/writer) Bob Zmuda
swear on their lives that they'd never reveal the truth - that all the animosity
between Kaufman and Lawler was, in truth, bogus.
It's quite plausiblbe that all of these painful situations provoked Andy Kaufman
to start a new life. Far away from Hollywood. A place where he could eat choclate
ice cream and meditate consistently. A place like Aruba....
Before his death, Andy Kaufman felt angry and rejected: "Taxi" had been canned,
he was booted from his Transcendental meditation courses on account of his
wrestling act being too risky. And, most notably, being voted off "Saturday Night"
Live", (the same place he lip-synched the Mighty Mouse theme song years earlier,) by
the Iscariot-esque Dick Ebersol.
It's quite plausiblbe that all of these painful situations provoked Andy Kaufman
to start a new life. Far away from Hollywood. A place where he could eat choclate
ice cream and meditate consistently. A place like Aruba....
Not long ago, I had the privledge to interview one of Andy's old friends, Alan Abel,
via telephone. Here's the transcript:
JB: Hi, Alan.
AA: Hello, Jack.
JB: How are you?
AA: Very fine, yourself?
JB: Good. Ok. Let's start with the first question: Where, and when, did you
meet Andy Kaufman?
AA: I met Andy in the summer of 1980 when he was introduced to me in
NY by a mutual friend, Bob Pagini. Bob had interviewed Andy on a cable access
TV show where they became friends.... Andy and I hit it off immediately and I
hooked up with him in NY about a dozen times we walked on Broadway for several
hours....he stopped to talk to everybody....and had dinner, often at the Hilton
Hotel with room service so he wouldn't be interrupted by fans.
JB: [Coughs] excuse me. What was that story you told me a while back, about
that girl?
AA: He once told me about the time he received a call in LA from a high
school girl's mother who said her daughter was dying in a hospital in Mat-
oon, IL from leukemia and wanted to talk with Andy, her favorite TV person-
ality. He called her one Sunday afternoon, talked for several hours and she
asked him if he would visit her.... Andy hopped on a plane that night to ch-
ichago, rented a car and drove to Matoon in a raging snow storm. He stayed
with the girl for several days and nights until she died. Meantime, "Taxi"
was without him, had no idea where he was and had to write him out of that
week's script. When he returned to LA he explained everything to the producer
but he was still docked $10,000 for that week he was absent. I was rather mo-
ved by that episode that has never been revealed publicly, but I did confirm
it with one of the staff on his show.
JB: Awesome.... What did Andy think about your fake obituary?
AA: Andy was extremely fascinated by my obituary in January
1980 and insisted on knowing every single detail of my plan
that worked so well. I became a bit annoyed at his persistence
and teased him that he had probaly never done anything signifi-
cant except his role on "Taxi."
JB: What was your reaction to Andy's untimely death? Do you think he's
still alive?
AA: When Andy "died" I was indeed shocked. Then, in retrospect,
I remembered all the questions he had about my own departure.
So I retain a bit of doubt; but not enough to lose any sleep
over it. I would certainly be ecstatic if he turned up on some
island or on "American Idol" as a contestant.
JB: Hey, thanks a lot for taking my call and providing me with
the new information!
AA: I hope this information helps your article.
JB: It does, take care.
AA: Bye.
On May 16th, 2004, Bob Zmuda [Kaufman's best friend and writer]
funded a welcome back home party for the Man on The Moon at
The House of Blues, in Los Angeles, California. Andy wanted
to do something big. Something gigantic, according to Bob
Zmuda and Lynne Margulies - Kaufman's last girlfriend.
Andy was so obsessed with the concept of his "death," that
he couldn't contain himself. He disclosed his sinister plan
to at least five people: Bob Zmuda, Lynne Margulies, brother
Michael Kaufman, Alan Abel, and finally, John Moffit - producer
of "Fridays." (Fridays, despite some of its young talents,
was a miserable show, and apparently, Andy, sensed this and
decided to perk it up by breaking character and wreaking
havoc onstage. America went wild. Once again, you couldn't
tell what was real....
May 16th, 2004, marked the 20th aniversary of Andy Kaufman's
demise. The day was significant for Kaufman-freaks world
wide because this was the day he told friends and acquaintances
he would "reappear." Precisely 20 years later Bob Zmuda summoned
comedian Andy Dick, Jerry Lawler, Lynne Margulies, Tony Clifton,
and others, to The House of Blues on Sunset Strip, in Los Angeles
CA, to tell some jokes, recite some amusing stories, and
hopefully, greet the entertainer back from the dead.
I first heard about the event about a month before it happned.
My friend, Joe, called me. "Hey!" he said frantically. "There's
going to be an Andy Kaufman tribute at the House of Blues in
LA." "Excellent," I said, "who'll be there?" "Jerry Lawler,
Bob Zmuda, Rodney Dangerfield, and maybe Andy Kaufman."
"You're busting my balls, aren't you Joe?"
"No. I'm not."
"Where did you hear this from?"
"The Internet."
"The Internet?" I laughed. "Don't believe everything you
read on the net, Joseph. That's your problem--you're
too **** gullible. How many--"
"Would you shut up for one minute? I'm not an idiot, Jack!
This is 100 percent authentic. You can even preorder tickets
on Ticket Master.
Sure enough, he was telling the truth. Tony Clifton was even
sheduled to play last, accompanied by his dancers, the Cliftones.
As a long time Kaufman-Freak I felt I was destined to see
the show. Besides, I thought, even if Andy doesn't show I'll
still have a good time. But, of course, there was a huge obstacle
in the road: I was completely broke. Had no money whatsoever....
I wanted to go so bad I even tried selling my Harley FXRT, but
unfortunately, no bites.
At least four days before Dead or Alive, I received an email
from my friend Stephen Maddox - mastermind behind one of the
most famous Andy Kaufman sites on the net: www.AndyKaufmanLives.org.
He told me that he had two spare tickets, and, if I wanted
them (which of course I did), they were up for grabs. He sent them
promptly (and expensively). I received them within a day.
The exterior of The House of Blues was swarming with Kaufman-fanatics
world wide. One guy was even flashing around in a shirt that read: "
If Andy doesn't return, I'll kill him."
I arrived a little late on account of the long line outside.
Bob Zmuda was on stage wistfully recollecting amusing
never-before-heard anecdotes about Andy. He then brought out
Jerry Lawler, who reflected about Andy and their wrestling
days together in Memphis. Jerry looked about the same as
in the early 80s - with the exception of a few wrinkles.
He emerged on stage with a Superman t-shirt tight on his
back.
After Jerry, the always-outrageous Andy Dick zipped onstage. Andy [Dick]
was profoundly hooked on Andy after seeing him pour water water over the
head of a young Micheal Richards on "Fridays."
Needless to say, the other Andy didn't show. The show
was fun and moving and a tribute to a comedic genius the
world had never seen. Andy Dick didn't play his portion of
the show sober, but what the hell? After his epitaph I was
quite moved and the sight of him moving back and forth to
the restoom didn't bother me at all.... Was he consuming
crank? LSD? Or merely suffering from a bad bout of the flu?
We shall never know.
One thing I know is, once entering Kaufman's old apartment - accompanied
by Tony Clifton - who was no doubt Bob Zmuda that night - I noticed two
Ventura beach postcards. One that read:Keep up the work. It is not over.
And another one with a link to www.andykaufmanlives.com.
This is not all. There have been many other experiences that night - and around it- that truly
shocked the hell out of me. Not to make me go out of my mind - but to make me think. And that it
did. |
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