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Andy Kaufman: Tony Clifton
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Eccentric comedian Andy Kaufman stunned the world when he announced he was following a lifelong dream to become a professional wrestler. These two features focus on Andy's obsessively strange and short career in the ring, as well as his yearlong vendetta against wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler. But what was he thinking? Friends Robin Williams, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza and Bob Zmuda are still trying to figure it out.
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[One] well-known Kaufman character is Tony Clifton, an abusive lounge singer who began opening for Kaufman at comedy clubs and eventually even performed concerts on his own around the country. Sometimes it was Kaufman performing as Clifton, sometimes it was his brother Michael or his friend Bob Zmuda. For a brief time, it was unclear to some that Clifton was not a real person. News programs interviewed Clifton as Kaufman's opening act, with the mood turning ugly whenever Kaufman's name came up. Kaufman, Clifton insisted, was attempting to ruin Clifton's "good name" in order to make money and get famous. As a requirement for Kaufman accepting the offer to star on Taxi, he insisted that "Clifton" be hired for a guest role on the show as if he were a real person, not a character.
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Kaufman's second most well known character would be "Tony Clifton", the abusive lounge singer. Clifton began opening for Kaufman at comedy clubs and eventually even performed concerts on his own around the country. Sometimes it was Kaufman performing as Clifton, sometimes it was his brother Michael or his friend Bob Zmuda. For a brief time, it was unclear to some that Clifton was not a real person. News programs actually interviewed Clifton as Kaufman's opening act. The interviews would usually turn ugly whenever Kaufman's name came up, because Clifton would claim that Kaufman was using him to get rich.
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Kaufman had an alter ego, a foul-mouthed, talentless lounge lizard named Tony Clifton, which he maintained as a completely separate persona. On "Taxi", his deal guaranteed that "Tony" got four guest appearances per year, and separate dressing room, publicist, and parking space. "Tony" was fired after his first appearance, and as "Tony", Kaufman raised such a scene that he actually came to blows on the set with Judd Hirsch. Kaufman's manager quoted him as saying immediately afterward, "George, this was one of the greatest days of my life! This was the theater of the street!"
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One of Kaufman's personae was Tony Clifton, an abrasive lounge singer, whom Kaufman used to "open" his acts and tried to present as a different person. He guest starred as Clifton on The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show, as a new talent discovered by Miss Piggy. Clifton performed a medley which included "Sing". Although openly derisive of Miss Piggy's show when she's offstage, he's flattering to her face, and ... takes the opportunity to light a cigarette. He duets with "the pig" on "That Old Black Magic" before making his exit.
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This bizarre video features late comedian Andy Kaufman in his heyday as a performer in big-time wrestling matches. Initially wrestling only women, Kaufman's behavior angers Southern Champion Jerry Lawler, who launches a feud with the overmatched comic. Includes comments from Andy's friends such as Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, and Robin Williams. As seen on Comedy Central.
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