Reading the account of Bryce's meeting, or near meeting, or fictive meeting with Andy Kaufman in Weird NJ (the story's not online, unfortunately, you have to buy the hard copy) just reminded me of the genius of Kaufman's hoaxes. Most people who read the story of the press conference Bryce was invited to in a New Jersey hotel room were probably left thinking Kaufman wasn't really there - and most people do seem to think he's dead. But even if it wasn't a hoax of Kaufmanesque proportions, it was a good one.
Or not. Whatever. The point is just that it got me thinking about Kaufman's genius. What was so great about him, throughout his career, was that he was a comedian who didn't make jokes. He pulled stunts, he talked in funny voices, but he pretty much never made a joke. His career wrestling women was without doubt his greatest non-gag.
So I was all the more happy then when I found out that My Breakfast With Blassie was coming out on DVD. Spinning off My Dinner With Andre, Andy's 70-minute breakfast encounter with wrestling champion Fred Blassie is hilariously mundane. The pair meet at a Sambo's in LA, Kaufman in a neck brace after his recent run-in with Randy Savage. The younger fighter shows nothing but respect for the "champeen." He stops to say grace before touching his pancakes. They discuss hand-shaking and hand-washing at length. When there aren't any jokes, everything becomes funny.
Which is what's so brilliant, and eventually I need to say spoiler alert here I guess, but this is why Andy Kaufman was, is, the best comedian. There's no way to read him. There's no way to tell if Blassie, or the women at the table next to them who Kaufman alternately insults and tries to pick up, are in on the joke. And that's the joke. The funny, funny joke.
The DVD includes a lengthy unedited reel from the shoot which reveals that, of course, but not, but you can't tell, but you don't know what to believe, that this breakfast wasn't shot in real time, that it wasn't unscripted. It was a hoax. Of course it was, because the world couldn't really accommodate Andy Kaufman. He had to make room for himself for the short time he was here. Unless he still is. I'm not sure. Ask Bryce.
This is brilliant! Like something Larry David might do now.
I'm still not sure what to make of Kaufman, I'm undecided about these meteors. This is great, but maybe I need more convincing!
Thanks for posting it.
Posted by: Tardy | July 07, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Bah! My VHS copy is going down in value by the second.
Yes, he was pretty unique and hilarious. But he didn't work alone. He had cohorts and associated with like-minded pranksters in his early days in Chicago (like when they all ran screaming out of Lincoln Park Zoo saying a lion had escaped!).
He certainly stands out, though and was(is?) a great breath of fresh air to people in all facets of life.
Now we need a DVD reissue of In God We Tru$t!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080917/
Posted by: nixon | July 07, 2009 at 03:02 PM
First of all Kurt, you pencil neck geek you, Andy Kaufman was in a neck brace because of his run-in with Jerry "The King" Lawler at the Mid-South Coliseum! "Randy Savage", my Aunt Hildegarde! What the hell ever happened to the human race? I saw Andy Kaufman perform in Syracuse back in 1979, and it remains one of the greatest things I ever saw. I also saw Tony Clifton for the first time just last year. He's worth going out of your way to see, which I did.
Posted by: mr. shambolic | July 07, 2009 at 07:02 PM
Oh, man. Right. Jerry Lawler. I should know better than to trust my memory on anything other than two or three '70s punk bands from Britain. Thanks. And awesome that you got to see him. I wish I would have. (But then, maybe I did and I just don't remember.)
Posted by: Kurt Gottschalk | July 07, 2009 at 07:07 PM
I suspect Kaufman gravitated towards pro wrestling because he saw an entire business of kindred spirits. Say what you will about the art form or it's fans, wrestling is still capable of putting one over on the general public. Witness the "sale" of the WWE's cable program Monday Night Raw to Donald Trump a few weeks ago. Anyone who followed wrestling knew it was part of a corporate soap-opera storyline pitting Vince McMahon against Donald Trump and yet many mainstream news outlets reported the sale as a fact.
Posted by: Lizardner Dave | July 08, 2009 at 02:17 PM
There's a good reason why Andy referred to himself as a song-and-dance man, not a comedian. For a guy who thought jokes were the most boring thing in the world, he was funny as hell. I still miss him.
Posted by: Larry Howard | July 08, 2009 at 04:51 PM