I remember, when he died (or rather, when his death was reported, of course), thinking that, just because of how he liked to pull off stunts, that it wouldn't be terribly unlikely that this was just another stunt. And I'd heard interviews with people at the time saying much the same thing... of course, it's easy to imagine, at least, given his penchant for such type of performance art. After that, though, I heard his name mentioned very little for several years. I was "thrilled" to see the Bloom County cartoon when it was published... I'm thinking probably about five years afterward... as it showed me that yes, someone, somewhere, still remembers him well enough to re-conjure that notion.

Still, after that, several more years went by and nothing much was said publicly... or at least notably... about him. I always wished someone would write a book about all that he did, because I felt it would be a fascinating story. I figured that if he really did die, though, then possibly most of the "inside story" died with him. I wasn't really well-versed on much about him behind-the-scenes; I wasn't even really aware, or much aware, of the existence of Bob Zmuda before I saw his book (which I read before I saw the movie). I do remember seeing the mentions about the psychic surgery and that his girlfriend went with him BEFORE his death was reported. But with only articles that were published long ago as references, before the movie and the books and without the prevalence of the internet, it really did seem he was mostly forgotten in the public eye, save for the REM song and then the Tribute to Andy Kaufman TV show (about 1995?).

Even the 1999 movie didn't really do so much for the idea of outright saying that he faked his death, except for the few "watch carefully or you'll miss it" moments of his character saying it once, and then later seeing Bob Zmuda's character sitting in the audience as Tony Clifton performs one year after Andy's death... as if to say that's Andy doing the Tony act.

Not until I found the article discussing the 20th anniversary show last year... and then finding the andykaufmanlives.com site the day after the show... had I seen anything seriously discussing the idea that he didn't really die. I think the articles that came out in connection with the film only made passing reference to the idea, if at all. Now, I do see references to the idea being discussed throughout the message boards going back to the time the film came out... but until AKLives, I don't think anyone had taken a really serious approach to the idea.

So, to what you're suggesting, possibly serious concerted discussion about this did start when the film came out, which made people start thinking about him again and start looking for information about him again. That's not to say it wasn't being discussed prior to that; that's to say that it didn't become more of a "widespread" interest until then, which mostly coincided with when people were discovering the idea of internet websites and discussion boards.

I don't think any old magazine articles have been faked to support the idea, and of course I remember the whole cancer reporting when it actually happened, since I was a big fan of his and paid attention to anything I saw about him... so I know that's not a collective false memory!

Couldn't the ending have been hinting that Tony Clifton was a real person? I think the DVD even credits Tony as being played by himself.

I think you're right.

Hey Raaawb, you’re on a roll today! But see, from my point of view it could be a collective false memory. I’m not saying it’s actually the case here, obviously since there are those of us who remember what happened. But I didn’t watch SNL, wasn’t into wrestling, and didn’t watch Taxi. I remember Latka because well you’d only have to watch one episode to remember Latka. Other than that nothing. Until 1999. As far as the article reprints go, I haven’t seen the actual articles, so how would I know? For me personally the collective false memory theory is feasible. And interesting. When I watched the movie I didn’t know who he was or even that he had died. I walked out thinking he had faked his death. I left the theatre and went right away to the bookstore next door and bought Funhouse, mostly out of curiosity. I actually thought the book would resolve everything, reveal he was still alive, and that would be that. I never expected to find my way here ruminating for this length of time. I am not that patient. And I rarely went on the internet. What is really strange is the time gap between when he died and when the first bio was written, given his contribution, impact, and how intensely people admire his work. Really makes you go hmmmm.

I could never watch SNL that show was so damn boring Andy doing mighty mouse was great but all that stuff with john belushi hitting counters with the swords, Steve Martin's wild and crazy guys.... Then there was Gilda, I have nothing against her as a person but damn she got on my nerves. Its even worse now. It was probaly at its best with Farley, Phil Heartman, and Dana.

It will never be as great at 75-80. Even if just because that group was the first one to throw out the rule book and set the standard for television anarchy.

So what happened?