Andy Kaufman is Alive!

[bvsdjumper 0]

Is this for real???

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040519/234/726q1.html

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Press Releases - featureXpress


Andy Kaufman Returns After 20 Years

Wed May 19, 9:00 AM ET


New York City, NY (PRWEB) May 19, 2004 -- Twenty years ago, on May 16, 1984, most of the world believed that we had lost a comedic legend forever. This has turned out to be what will inevitably be known as the greatest comic prank ever conceived. Andy Kaufman, by all accounts, is alive and well at age 55 and is now living in New York City on the upper west side. To his loyal supporters and fans, Andy says "sorry about faking my death," in a recent interview with ABC News at his apartment. In order to reach legendary comic status and seal his place in the history of performance art, he said it was "necessary to go away for twenty years."

Andy Kaufman's official site has been launched at:
http://andykaufmanreturns.blogspot.com/

Even though he has technically returned, Andy says that he plans to maintain his low key lifestyle that he has led for the past twenty years. He has resumed contact with friends and family. Fearing the possibility of this scenario and the potential for another hoax, Kaufman's family has contracted with independent auditors Ernst & Young to determine if this in fact the real Andy Kaufman. He has subjected himself to medical examination and submitted DNA, hair, blood and fingerprint samples to the auditors. Ernst & Young and the Kaufman family report that with a 99% probability, this is indeed the real Andy Kaufman. His mother says, "It's good to have Andy back."

In 1999, a new crop of Kaufman fans were born after Jim Carrey starred in the hit film Man on the Moon. "Andy's bizarre mix of comedy and performance art will inspire fans and comedians alike for generations, especially after this stunt," says Jim Carrey.

Andy says he will make only occasional public appearances, sometimes in disguise so that you won?t know if it?s really him or someone else. Kaufman was famous for pulling this stunt with the Tony Clifton character, sometimes played by good friend Bob Zmuda.

Andy says fans should tune into his website for ongoing updates to his adventures in life. As always, Andy's stage has been the world, testing the boundaries of our beliefs, our sources of information, and our perception of reality. "It's good to be back," Andy writes on his website.

# # #


Andy Kaufman
E-mail Information

This news release was issued on behalf of the above organization by the eMediawire Newswire, a service of PRWeb™. http://www.prweb.com

Sky-div'ing (ski'div'ing) n. A modern sport that involves parties, bragging, sexual excesses, the imbibing of large quantities of beer, and, on rare occasions, parachuting from aircraft.

[weegegirl 2]

this has got to be a joke, right???

[lawrocket 3]

All they have is a press release? Looks like a fraud. 20 years after Andy Kaufman's death?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Katzeye 0]

Someone remind me how he died again....

LA*

Is a chicken omelette redundant?

[DrunkMonkey 0]

Quote

Someone remind me how he died again....

LA*

IIRC, Cancer of some sort.

[turtlespeed 212]

Lung Cancer

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[weegegirl 2]

well, you know... if it is true... it would be kinda cool in a way. f*cked up... but cool.

[Adrock 0]

Ya know, back before he got sick, he had told all of his friends to look for him on the 20th anniversary of his death. I heard a neat NPR interview with one of his best friends, who as of last week was still thinking Andy might come back on said anniversary.
It would just line up with all of the other "performance art" stunts that he's done in the past.

[bvsdjumper 0]

Ok, sounds like a big joke now. I wouldn't have put it past him, though. He was pretty out there.

If Andy Kaufman's faking death, he should come to this party

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If Andy Kaufman's faking death, he should come to this party
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Andy Kaufman died of lung cancer on May 16, 1984, but according to legend, the eccentric comedian said if he were faking, he'd resurface 20 years later to the day.
Kaufman

So, just in case, a party is being planned by Bob Zmuda, Kaufman's best friend and partner, at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on May 16.

"Over 100 personal ads will be taken out across the country and abroad, reminding him of his words. Will he show?" Zmuda asked on the Web site for Comic Relief, a series of shows that raise money for health care for the homeless. Zmuda founded Comic Relief after Kaufman's death.

VIP tickets to the Andy Kaufman -- Dead or Alive? tribute offer "select seating and celebrity reception (hopefully with Andy)."

The tribute also promises a performance by Las Vegas lounge lizard Tony Clifton, one of Kaufman's characters.

Kaufman was best known as the lovable foreign-car mechanic Latka Gravas on the '70s TV sitcom Taxi.

What happened at the party

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If You Believe

If Andy Kaufman decided to return from the dead, wouldn’t he do it somewhere better than House of Blues — like on national television? Even so, several “Andy Kaufman — Dead or Alive?” attendees put the odds of Andy’s second coming at around 50/50, while most Kaufman fanatics knew the likelihood was more like one-in-a-trillion, but came just in case. One man’s shirt read, “If Andy doesn’t show up, I’ll kill him.”

The event, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the comedian’s demise, was put together by Kaufman accomplice Bob Zmuda (and was featured two weeks ago as an L.A. Weekly cover story). After shelling out $50 for a cheap seat and standing in line for an hour — some paid up to $250 for VIP tickets — I was ushered into the club and stood around for a few more hours. Zmuda opened by introducing show-biz types who had Kaufman-related stories, including Andy Dick, who joked that his recent drug bust at Coachella may have been a Kaufmanesque hoax.

Finally, they showed the movie, which Zmuda had promoted as an “Andy Kaufman film that’s never been presented in public and will never be shown again.” That’s when things turned ugly. The film didn’t feature Andy Kaufman, but rather Jim Carrey insisting he was Andy Kaufman. A disgusted audience member yelled, “Bob Zmuda sucks! Jim Carrey sucks!” Others stormed out, muttering, “I want my money back.” When the movie ended, booing drowned out the applause. Security guards were discussing the possibility of a riot.

Tony Clifton temporarily redeemed the event. The obnoxious alter ego of Kaufman and Zmuda was in fine form and boasted an elaborate Vegas-style stage show. He even dumped water on an audience member who seemed genuinely pissed off. (Then again, in classic Kaufman/Clifton fashion, the man could’ve been a plant.)

After the show, Zmuda invited everyone across the street to the Comedy Store for milk and cookies. Following an impressive display of Mexican wrestling, Moonlite BunnyRanch owner Dennis Hof came onstage with a bunch of his breast-flashing prostitutes and announced that anyone who shows up the next night at his legal Nevada whorehouse with a ticket stub will be given a freebie. Everyone was then invited to walk a few blocks to Kaufman’s former apartment, where much Andy memorabilia was on display.

For all of the hype, though, the event lacked the mind-fuck for which Kaufman was famous. Couldn’t they have at least faked Kaufman’s resurrection? Then again, even from beyond the grave, the ultimate prankster did dupe hundreds of people into spending thousands of dollars on a mediocre-at-best event.

—Dan Kapelovitz

Sky-div'ing (ski'div'ing) n. A modern sport that involves parties, bragging, sexual excesses, the imbibing of large quantities of beer, and, on rare occasions, parachuting from aircraft.

[Cajundude 0]

If it were true wouldn't you thing it would be all over the news?

[Harksaw 0]

No.
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/kaufman.asp

__________________________________________________
I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.

[weegegirl 2]

not only that, but he'd look a bit older in his picture on his website.

[bvsdjumper 0]

Snopes is a party-pooper.

It's still a funny gag though.

--Art

Sky-div'ing (ski'div'ing) n. A modern sport that involves parties, bragging, sexual excesses, the imbibing of large quantities of beer, and, on rare occasions, parachuting from aircraft.

[weegegirl 2]

ok, so i'm extremely gullable... but it caught my attention for a few seconds.

[n2skdvn 0]

link to snopes

edit:dam beat to the punch

if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN
my site

[dbattman 0]

Only one person has ever been succesful at faking his death.


Elvis.

(Gold star to whomever names the character and show)

[tunaplanet 0]

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Lung Cancer

And the amazing thing is he never smoked.

Forty-two

[hooked 0]

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Only one person has ever been succesful at faking his death.


Elvis.

J

--------------------------------------
Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings.

[goose491 0]

If I'd beleive it about anyone, it'd be him. He sorta had a love/hate relationship with the public eye. He would constantly play twisted jokes on all around.

Upon his death, even the closest of his friends and family thought it could have been a hoax and that only time would tell... I'll give it a little time and wait until I see it on CNN personally.

If true, I say BRAVO andy! Bravo!

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[dbattman 0]

Nope- close though.

[Slappie 9]

I was watching David Lettermen the other night (can't remember the day) and I saw someone portaying Tony Clifton (looked just like the pics attached) could have been being played by Andy's good friend Bob Zmuda. He had the ladies and the lounge singer clothes on. Didn't really pay much attention to it except to check out the boobage. I thought it was just one of Letterman's nightly gags or something.

I caught something about this was Andy and he was on the Letterman show, to show the world he was alive. Letterman didn't seem to go along with what was being said.

I dunno could be true... would be one awesome gag if it was the real Andy Kaufman.

"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them."

[JAC 0]

Responses to Snopes He was a little bizarre... who knows????