Andy Kaufman-ALIVE!!!

[Adrian Bamforth]

"can someone explain what he did that was so funny? I`m not being nasty here, I genuinely don`t know any of Kaufman`s stuff"

Watch the film Man On The Moon and you'll get a good impression of what he was about. Although he was hugely talented comic (Latka was ju7st about the funniest thing in Taxi) he chose instead to mess with people's heads which often meant "comedy" which wasn't that funny itself; messing up his own act, being obnoxious to members of the audience, fighting, wrestling women and playing his awful Toni Ferino character. He has to be admired in my book because he could easily have been another Steve Martin but chose to pursue his own obsession and making people question the world as they percive it. Faking his own death is therefore exactly the kind of thing he would do, though so is having someone pretend he's back.

The film played a lot on the irony that noone would believe that he really was dying - life finally played a trick on him.

ADE  

[Art]

Wasn't super impressed by his "Comedic genius" as portraid in Man In The Moon - It seemed to consist mainly of inventing Goon Show style humour twenty years too late.

[Adrian Bamforth]

Of course I meant "Tony Clifton" not Tony Ferino the Steve Coogan character.

ADE

[Mr D]

Put shortly, he wasn't a coedian, he was a reactionist. He didn't care if you laughed, cried or got angry - he wanted to provoke a reaction. He'd do things, and instead of laughing just *stare* at the audience... Watching their reactions. That's why a lot of people buy this as credible - it'd certainly get a reaction!!

[Tiplodocus]

It struck me as interesting and challenging stuff.

But not all that funny.

Which, I think, is kinda essential if you are going to use the word COMEDY anywhere near your job description.*


*Mister Tips is very old fashioned when he comes to his comedy - I like setups and punchlines (sure they can include pithy political and social comment) and I'm not a big fan of brilliantly observed character comedy which often is an excuse for stand-up comedians to get into acting...

[Wils]

Of course I meant "Tony Clifton"

Not to be confused with...http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/stage/2003/images/bernie_clifton_203.jpg">

[Mr D]

Aaaah, but he didn't. He never called himself a comedian...

[Tu-plang]

..he called himself a 'song-and-dance man'...

[jont]

"Sure, so long as that allows us to kill him again ... painfully ..."

Erm, why?

[Tiplodocus]

In which case, I stand corrected.

I mean, I was a comedian for several years and I thought nothing of dying on my arse only to return a week later...