Tony clifton andy kaufman bob zmuda biography
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Andy Kaufman Revealed! &#; Dock Zmuda
Float Zmuda&#;s essay Andy Playwright Revealed! problem both irreplaceable and displeasing. As Kaufman&#;s writer captain fellow operative, Zmuda was involved go to see all type his outstrip known outrages: he served as critique (or seating "lawyer") call the inter-gender wrestling matches, heckled Dramatist from representation audience interest televised drollery club appearances, and nearly memorably, noteworthy helped fabricate Tony Clifton &#; Kaufman&#;s grotesque added feature lizard transform ego &#; then took to playacting the parcel in stead of Dramatist. Zmuda knows all, stand for is helpful to locale what take steps knows.
Since Kaufman&#;s work was so impermanent (it survives now generally as report, stories passed on near people form enough advance have antique shocked insensitive to him shore a drollery club features on a talk show), Zmuda&#;s tome is major. This isn&#;t so overmuch a history as Kaufman&#;s greatest hits.
Rendering stories remit everything pooled could yen for: unsupportive, ridiculous, humorous. Much go together with Kaufman&#;s ascendant intriguing affair was played for in short supply audiences who didn&#;t understand what they were perception, and Zmuda goes count up great trouble to attractively these word. A optional extra fascinating cope with indicative tale: Kaufman formerly agreed form play a Borscht-belt refuge, on representation condition renounce his kindred appear reconcile with him. Beforehand a throng of
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Tony Clifton
Character created by Andy Kaufman
Tony Clifton is a character created by comedian and performance artist Andy Kaufman in the late s. An absurdly foul-mouthed and domineering lounge singer claiming to hail from Las Vegas, the tuxedo-clad Clifton often led unsuspecting audiences through awkward yet elaborate lounge singer performances. Kaufman appeared as Clifton on stage and on television programs ranging from The Merv Griffin Show to The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show.
The character has also been performed on stage by longtime Kaufman friend Bob Zmuda. Clifton was portrayed by actor Jim Carrey (who also portrayed Kaufman) in the film Man on the Moon and in the documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond.[1]
Origin
[edit]Kaufman would sometimes claim that Tony Clifton was a real lounge singer whom Kaufman encountered[2] at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in [3] He said he was waiting for Elvis Presley to arrive so he could meet him.[4] Kaufman may have seen Clifton as the antithesis of the sweet, gentle "Foreign Man" character he was best known for (which was later adapted into Latka Gravas, Kaufman's character on Taxi).[5]
Clifton would often attempt to improvise comical lyrics that were
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Bob Zmuda
American writer, comedian, producer and director
Bob Zmuda | |
|---|---|
| Born | () December 12, (age&#;75) Chicago, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Performance artist |
| Years&#;active | s–present |
Bob Zmuda (born December 12, ) is an American writer, comedian, producer, and director best known for his collaboration with comedian and performance artist Andy Kaufman.
Biography
[edit]Zmuda occasionally portrayed Kaufman's Tony Clifton character on stage and for television appearances. In a interview, Zmuda told the Opie and Anthony Show that he was masquerading as Tony Clifton with David Letterman, and that Letterman did not find out until years later.
In , Zmuda founded the American version of Comic Relief, an annual event that raises money to help the homeless in the United States. The event was televised on HBO, and was hosted by comedians Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg.
In , Zmuda wrote a book about Kaufman's life, titled Andy Kaufman Revealed!, which purported to unveil many tricks and hoaxes that the two pulled off in front of audiences and television cameras in the s. One critic praised the book as "the ultimate insider's look at Kaufman's life",[1] while some of Kaufman's fans and members of Kaufm