The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman.
In the 1970s a handful of comedians revolutionised American comedy: Steve Martin, John Belushi, Bill Murray. Foremost - and strangest - amongst them was Andy Kaufman. Part performance artist and part prankster, Andy Kaufman's comedy ranged from the inane to the bizarrely avant-garde. He played the bumbling Latka Gravas on 'Taxi'; he reigned undefeated as World Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion, a title he invented; he was Elvis Presley's favourite Elvis impersonator. The only constant in Kaufman's work was his total commitment to the role.
But as his star rose, the boundary between Andy the performer and Andy the person became increasingly blurred. Based on six years of research, Andy's own unpublished writings and hundreds of interviews, Bill Zehme brilliantly illuminates the comedian's dark and troubled progress. When, tragically, Kaufman was diagnosed with cancer, fans continues to believe that he was enacting an elaborate gag. Many still believe he did not die, but - like the Elvis he impersonated so uncannily - is just biding his time, waiting for the right moment to make his comeback.
Now the subject of a major movie directed by Milos Forman, 'Man On The Moon' starring Jim Carrey as Andy, with Courtney Love and Danny DeVito.
