LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Andy Kaufman: Long Island
built 228 days ago
[A]fter a build-up of nearly six months, the long awaited Andy Kaufman vs. Jerry Lawler match took place before nearly 10,000 rabid Memphis fans as the Mid South Coliseum. The match itself, not surprisingly, could by no means be considered a wrestling classic, at least not in the traditional sense. However, in terns of pure emotion and crowd participation/reaction, it was undoubtedly a four-star event. Lasting just under seven minutes, the majority of the bout consisted of a nervous and gun-shy Kaufman enlisting the aid of virtually every cliched stalling tactic ever devised in the history of wrestling...testing the patience of not only his opponent but ... the thousands of Memphis fans who had come to see the condescending 'yankee' receive his just due against the hometown hero. Eventually, however, the pro-Lawler crowd got what they paid for...and then some.
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Referred to by many as a dadaistic comedian, Andrew Geoffrey 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 Long Island, New York, in the town of Great Neck. He began performing for family and friends at the age of 7, and by the time he was 8, was being hired to entertain at children's parties. While attending a Boston-area junior college, Andy began performing his unique brand of stand-up comedy at coffee shops and nightclubs on the east coast. Andy quickly earned a reputation as a talented, yet eccentric performer. Impressed by his abilities, Lorne Michaels asked Kaufman to appear on the inaugural broadcast of "Saturday Night Live" (October 11, 1975).
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After a long absence from performing as Andy, Wally dusted off his impersonation for a fundraiser for Pediatric AIDS in August of 1997. Many of Andy's former colleagues, who were ... performing, were taken aback when they glimpsed at Wally sitting there patiently waiting to go on in full make-up. Many seemed like they had seen a ghost. After composing themselves, they started to tell Wally their stories of working with and knowing Andy. Hearing the tales of their experiences was a dream come true for Wally.
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Kaufman was born on January 17, 1949 in New York City and grew up in the quiet Long Island suburb of Great Neck. Early on in life he became an avid, nearly fanatical wrestling fan. In 1963 he attended his first live event, which was the card headlined by the historic encounter between "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers (Kaufman's favorite wrestler during his youth) and Bruno Sammartino at Madison Square Garden in which the young Sammartino defeated Rogers to win his first World Wide Wrestling Federation championship. That night, as well as many others spent in The Garden, left an indelible oimpressionn the future comedic genius that, years later, would play a major part in his career as an entertainer.
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Kaufman was born in New York City on January 17, 1949 into a Jewish family, the first son of Janice (née Bernstein) and Stanley Kaufman. He grew up in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, and began performing at the age of 9.[3] He attended the now defunct two-year Grahm Junior College[4] in Boston, graduating in 1971. After leaving college he began performing stand-up comedy at various small clubs along the East coast.
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Andy was having a Thanksgiving holiday in 1983, with his family, back in Long Island. He had a persistent cough that annoyed everyone, or worried them. He had recently had a check-up, and everything was fine, then. A few weeks later, the cough still hadn’t gone away, and he went for another batch of tests. Surprise! They found that this non-smoker, non-drug user, non-serious drinker had lung cancer, and was given only 3 months to live.
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