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No, you read that headline correctly.
Michael Kaufman, the brother of entertainer and wrestler Andy Kaufman, is claiming that his brother is still alive.
Andy Kaufman was well known for his stunts, which was intended to make people wonder if they were real or not. Prior to his actual death, Andy became obsessed with faking his own death. He had planned to "die", and then return 20 years later. However, Andy was forced to surrender his plans when his cancer diagnosis became critical. Andy died for real in 1984. He was not married, and had no children.
At the Andy Kaufman Awards, an award ceremony designed to celebrate young comedy talent, Michael Kaufman claimed that Kaufman was alive. He claimed to have received a letter from in in 1999, asking to meet him. Andy failed to show up, but Michael insists he got a letter stating that he wanted to be a stay-at-home father. He then introduced an actress to the audience, pretending that she was Andy's 24-year-old daughter. However, the announcement involved re-enacting multiple stunts performed by Andy when he was alive. In fact, Andy introduced his "wife" in an identical manner almost 40 years before this "revelation".
Andy's condition was made worse by attending a string of spiritual healers. Kaufman genuinely believed that they were helping him, until he unwittingly spotted how one of the cons were performed. Andy then came clean about his plans to fake his death, and explained in intricate detail how it would work. However, many of his fans believed that this was a part of the act. Andy's family and closest friends continued the myths that Andy was still alive. It is no surprise that Michael made this claim so close to the 30th anniversary of Andy's death.
Andy had a very brief wrestling career in which he feuded with Jerry 'The King' Lawler. Andy, who was already a Hollywood celebrity at the time, annoyed fans in the Memphis district by playing a pompous Hollywood heel. He referred to himself as the 'Intergender Champion of the World', but refused to defend his title against men. When he faced Lawler in the ring, Lawler accidentally broke Andy's neck with the piledriver. Even though Andy and Lawler admitted the feud was a work, skeptics still insist that Andy's injury was also faked. Lawler would reenact the feud with Jim Carrey for the movie 'Man on the Moon', a biopic of Kaufman's life.
Among Andy's other stunts was convincing television producers that he and Tony Clifton (a character played by Andy) were too different people. A close friend continued to play Clifton after Andy's death, and fans still believed him to be Andy. It should be noted that Michael has been involved with some of Andy's stunts too. In one of them, Micheal pretended to be a doctor who pronounced an elderly woman who had fainted on stage as dead. Andy would "resurrect" her on stage. Micheal also held a "Welcome Home Andy" street party on the 20th anniversary of Andy's death, knowing that Andy could not possibly show up.
Lawler has already been approached about the Andy rumours. He admits that he isn't sure if it is true or not, but correctly assumed that it was a stunt.
Some people have pulled off Andy's fake death stunt in order to escape the public eye. However, the exact number of people who have done this may never be known. Singer Elvis Presley was linked to these rumours, simply because Presley was a fan of Andy's impersonations of him.
Andy was also tributed in the video games 'Legends Of Wrestling 2' and 'Showdown: Legends of Wrestling'. In LoW 2, players can uncover a unique storyline based on Andy if they play through Career mode as Lawler. Andy was also tributed in the REM song, 'Man On The Moon', which inspired the title of the film.
Michael Kaufman, the brother of entertainer and wrestler Andy Kaufman, is claiming that his brother is still alive.
Andy Kaufman was well known for his stunts, which was intended to make people wonder if they were real or not. Prior to his actual death, Andy became obsessed with faking his own death. He had planned to "die", and then return 20 years later. However, Andy was forced to surrender his plans when his cancer diagnosis became critical. Andy died for real in 1984. He was not married, and had no children.
At the Andy Kaufman Awards, an award ceremony designed to celebrate young comedy talent, Michael Kaufman claimed that Kaufman was alive. He claimed to have received a letter from in in 1999, asking to meet him. Andy failed to show up, but Michael insists he got a letter stating that he wanted to be a stay-at-home father. He then introduced an actress to the audience, pretending that she was Andy's 24-year-old daughter. However, the announcement involved re-enacting multiple stunts performed by Andy when he was alive. In fact, Andy introduced his "wife" in an identical manner almost 40 years before this "revelation".
Andy's condition was made worse by attending a string of spiritual healers. Kaufman genuinely believed that they were helping him, until he unwittingly spotted how one of the cons were performed. Andy then came clean about his plans to fake his death, and explained in intricate detail how it would work. However, many of his fans believed that this was a part of the act. Andy's family and closest friends continued the myths that Andy was still alive. It is no surprise that Michael made this claim so close to the 30th anniversary of Andy's death.
Andy had a very brief wrestling career in which he feuded with Jerry 'The King' Lawler. Andy, who was already a Hollywood celebrity at the time, annoyed fans in the Memphis district by playing a pompous Hollywood heel. He referred to himself as the 'Intergender Champion of the World', but refused to defend his title against men. When he faced Lawler in the ring, Lawler accidentally broke Andy's neck with the piledriver. Even though Andy and Lawler admitted the feud was a work, skeptics still insist that Andy's injury was also faked. Lawler would reenact the feud with Jim Carrey for the movie 'Man on the Moon', a biopic of Kaufman's life.
Among Andy's other stunts was convincing television producers that he and Tony Clifton (a character played by Andy) were too different people. A close friend continued to play Clifton after Andy's death, and fans still believed him to be Andy. It should be noted that Michael has been involved with some of Andy's stunts too. In one of them, Micheal pretended to be a doctor who pronounced an elderly woman who had fainted on stage as dead. Andy would "resurrect" her on stage. Micheal also held a "Welcome Home Andy" street party on the 20th anniversary of Andy's death, knowing that Andy could not possibly show up.
Lawler has already been approached about the Andy rumours. He admits that he isn't sure if it is true or not, but correctly assumed that it was a stunt.
Some people have pulled off Andy's fake death stunt in order to escape the public eye. However, the exact number of people who have done this may never be known. Singer Elvis Presley was linked to these rumours, simply because Presley was a fan of Andy's impersonations of him.
Andy was also tributed in the video games 'Legends Of Wrestling 2' and 'Showdown: Legends of Wrestling'. In LoW 2, players can uncover a unique storyline based on Andy if they play through Career mode as Lawler. Andy was also tributed in the REM song, 'Man On The Moon', which inspired the title of the film.
