Taxi
1978
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Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( / ˈkaʊfmən / KOWF-mən; [1] January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984 [2]) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes been called an "anti-comedian". [3] .
Andy Kaufman. Actor: Taxi. Referred to by some as a dadaistic comedian, Andy Kaufman took comedy and performance art to the edges of irrationality and blurred the dividing line between reality and imagination. Born in New York City on January 17, 1949, the first son of Stanley and Janice Kaufman, Andy grew up on New York in the town of Great Neck.
- January 1, 1
- New York City, New York, USA
- January 1, 1
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Who Was Andy Kaufman?
- Early Comedy Career
- Rise to Fame: 'SNL' and Carnegie Hall
- Erratic Reputation and 'Taxi'
- Legacy and Death
Andy Kaufman began performing at age 8. His later stand-up routine was unorthodox, but it caught the attention of Hollywood, and he was soon appearing on TV, including on a new show called Saturday Night Live, Van Dyke and Company, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,The Mike Douglas Show,The Dating Game and the comedy show Fridays. In 1979, Ka...
Andy Kaufman was born in New York City January 17, 1949. Raised in the affluent suburb of Great Neck, Long Island, New York, Kaufman early on began practicing his unorthodox brand of comedy, staging a make-believe television show in his bedroom and performing at children's birthday parties from the age of 8. He graduated from high school in 1967 an...
Kaufman made his national TV debut in 1974 on The Dean Martin Comedy Hour. In 1975, the NBC executive Dick Ebersol saw Kaufman's stand-up routine and invited him to audition for a new comedy program called Saturday Night Live. Kaufman made his first of 14 appearances on the show during its first-ever broadcast on October 11, 1975, when he lip-synch...
Kaufman's reputation for being completely unpredictable had been well-established by the time he won the role for which he became most well-known: as Latka Gravas, an auto mechanic of indeterminate nationality, on the hit sitcom Taxi, which ran from 1978 to 1983. As a condition of his employment, Kaufman convinced the producers of the show to cast ...
In January 1984, Kaufman was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. He had never smoked, and some even accused the consummate performer of faking his illness, even in its most advanced stages. He died on May 16, 1984, in Los Angeles, at the age of 35. Though Kaufman never married, it was later revealed that he and his high school sweetheart had...
May 16, 2024 · Andy Kaufman, who passed away on May 16, 1984, became a prominent figure in comedy thanks to appearances on programs like Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, and Fridays. Often described as a performance artist, an anti-comic, and a prankster, Kaufman aimed not to make audiences laugh, but to make them question.
May 16, 1984 · Los Angeles, California, USA (lung cancer) Birth name. Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman. Height. 6′ (1.83 m) Mini Bio. Referred to by some as a dadaistic comedian, Andy Kaufman took comedy and performance art to the edges of irrationality and blurred the dividing line between reality and imagination.
- Actor, Writer, Composer
- May 16, 1984
- January 17, 1949
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Sep 17, 2021 · By Frank F. / Sept. 17, 2021 1:05 pm EST. If anyone was going to fool the masses into confusing a tragic death for an elaborate prank, it's Andy Kaufman. The comedian, who starred in "Taxi" and appeared on "Saturday Night Live," built his career on complex hoaxes and boggled minds.
May 17, 2024 · Andy Kaufman (born January 17, 1949, Queens, New York, U.S.—died May 16, 1984, Los Angeles, California) was an American comedian, actor, and performance artist. His groundbreaking and experimental comedic acts made him one of the most influential comics of all time.
