Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Andy Kaufman
Sign in to saveAlso known as Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman, Andrew G. Kaufman
American entertainer (1949–1984)
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1949
- Died
- 1984
- Works
- 5
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · New York City, New York, USA
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman (January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself to be one. He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, referring to himself instead as a "song-and-dance man." Elaborate hoaxes and pranks were major elements of…
Known for
- Thank You Very Much — Self (archive footage)2025
- Andy Kaufman Is Me — Self (archive footage)2025
- Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music — Self (archive footage)2025
- WWE Hall of Fame 2023 — Andy Kaufman (archive footage)2023
- Jerry Before Seinfeld — Self (archive footage)2017
- O.J.: Made in America — Self (archive footage)2016
- It's Good To Be The King: The Jerry Lawler Story — Himself2015
- The Demon: A Film About Andy Kaufman2013
- Andy Kaufman World Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion: His Greatest Matches — Self2010
- The Death Of Andy Kaufman — Self (archive footage)2008
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1949
- Active to
- 1984
Discography
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 6,742
- Total plays
- 40,123
Tags
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. Though many refer to him as a comedian, Kaufman did not self-identify as one. He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood; instead, he was a practitioner of anti-humor or dada absurdist performance art. Kaufman died in Los Angeles on May 16, 1984 of renal failure, caused by metastasized large cell carcinoma <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Andy
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- A global reference for human genetic variation
· 2015 · cited 17,413x
- Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas
· 2005 · cited 16,549x
- Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis
· 2022 · cited 13,153x
- Astropy: A community Python package for astronomy
· 2013 · cited 13,135x
- Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL): Initial Reliability and Validity Data
· 1997 · cited 8,063x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “I am not a comic, I have never told a joke...The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him...My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can....They say, 'Oh wow, Andy Kaufman, he's a really funny guy.' But I'm not trying to be funny. I just want to play with their heads."”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Born
- Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman , ( 1949-01-17 ) January 17, 1949, New York City, US
- Died
- May 16, 1984 (1984-05-16) (aged 35), Los Angeles, California, US
- Resting place
- Beth David Cemetery
- Occupations
- Actor comedian singer dancer performance artist professional wrestler prankster
- Years active
- 1971–1984
- Style
- Alternative comedy Anti-humor cringe humor character comedy surreal comedy improvisational comedy
- Partner
- Lynne Margulies (1982–1984)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Andy Kaufman 1979.jpg
- Number of children
- 1
Show 6 more facts
- date of birth
- 1949-01-17
- date of death
- 1984-05-16
- Commons category
- Andy Kaufman
- name in native language
- Andy Kaufman
- start of work period
- 1971-00-00
- birth name
- Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman
via Wikidata · CC0
~35 min read
Article
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (/ˈkaʊfmən/ KOWF-mən; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. He has sometimes been called an "anti-comedian". He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, once saying in an interview, "I am not a comic, I have never told a joke. The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him. My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can."
After working in small comedy clubs in the early 1970s, Kaufman came to the attention of a wider audience in 1975, when he was invited to perform portions of his act on the first season of Saturday Night Live. His Foreign Man character was the basis of his performance as Latka Gravas on the television show Taxi from 1978 until 1983.