LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Andy Kaufman: Tony Clifton
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Adamant that Kaufman was not Clifton, Kaufman hired Clifton impersonators to portray him so that he could be physically present in an audience while Clifton was onstage, confusing the press who tried to "bust" him for years. After Kaufman's death, Clifton impersonators played concerts, disrupted press conferences, giving credence to the rumor that Kaufman, like Elvis, was not really dead--but was just perpetrating the ultimate scam.
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During the 1990s, Tony Clifton has reportedly made several appearances at LA nightclubs since Kaufman's death, prompting speculation that perhaps Kaufman was still alive and working under the makeup. While many assume Zmuda portrayed the character, he has been evasive as to the truth, so the legend persists — fueled partially by an ad in Daily Variety [date not cited] promoting an appearance by Clifton at the Comedy Store in the late 1990s.
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Although many feared the Clifton character represented a darker side of Kaufman, it was perhaps his most brilliant concept. Tony Clifton was the absolute opposite of Andy's Foreign Man or Latka Gravas creations, and Andy didn't even have to be there to do him!
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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.
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While Hicks rode a chariot of cynicism, and Kaufman a wave of baby-faced innocence (besides occasional purgings/cleansings via boorish alter-ego Tony Clifton), the two shared much. Both came from utterly (comically?) generic upbringings (Kaufman from Jewish Long Island, Hicks from the sprawl of Houston). Both spoke of worlds far more trusting than the ones they existed in. Both shared a deep fondness for Elvis Presley. Both were, in a certain sense, rock and roll. And both men turned, clung, to alternative medicine and spiritual cleansing in the face of their ultimately unsuccessful battles with cancer.
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Clifton was, at Kaufman's insistence, hired for a guest role on Taxi, but after throwing a tantrum on stage, had to be escorted off of the ABC studio's lot by security guards. Much to Kaufman's delight, this incident was reported in the local newspapers.
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Tony Clifton