[AuPhalanx]

Hi, all!

Tony here--infrequent poster; chronic lurker. I found this news story and was surprised to not find a post about it here. Thus, here goes...

Andy Kaufman returns after twenty years.

Did Mr. Kaufman fake his death as the ultimate practical joke? Does anyone have any other information about this? I am of the mind that it could be true. I wouldn't put any money on it, but Andy Kaufman was a guy that could stay in character.

Have fun... Tony.

[starman]

WTF??????????????????????

Mike

[euchomai]

Wow, that is really shocking! I can't believe he pulled that off, that was really awful to do to his parents.

[SeSawaya]

very strange indeed.

what a waste if its true. Not sure I know what to think.

[Agasthya]

This is just outrageous.

I can't believe that Kaufman even had fans with the ridiculous stuff that he pulled and this just takes it way past the limit.

[starman]

Ok.

I grew up watching Andy on SNL back in the 70's. I loved this guy - he was so damn funny. The problem I have is that you look at Chevy, Steve, John, and all these other people that acutally have a lot under their belts and then you have Andy who did only a handful of things, and then comes back after TWENTY YEARS? Why not do a little MORE first, THEN do the phony death?

If it's real, it's not funny.

Mike

[MindFad]

This is seriously a huge joke, right? Late April Fools joke?

[gorickey]

[Lateralus]

...Holy ****.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

When is Elvis due back again?

[starman]

<HotShots>
The King is dead. Elvis has left the building.
</HotShots>

[G4ME]

i am laughing

[gorickey]

[dillerX]

nice.

[MindFad]

Someone's joke, I think. Since he always said he'd return twenty years to the day.

[vmpaul]

I don't believe it. That's just too wild.

If it's true it would be the greatest prank ever.

[Zimphire]

It could just be a hoax he planned 20 years ago.

[stevesnj]

If it's real it just proves what a genius he was....ummm is....ummm was.

[OH-N'omac]

The "official site" http://andykaufmanreturns.blogspot.com/ mentioned in the press release contradicts the source of the DNA audit and admits that there was no ABC news interview.

This smells like a hoax, but I hope that it's not. Either seems likely from Andy.

[dreilly1]

If it were true, don't you think Andy would have ponied up the dough for his own domain name, and not announce it to the world on a stupid blog on blogspot?

Methink this is all a joke, and Yahoo! got taken...

[xi_hyperon]

Woah.

This has to be a joke. Somebody's wishful thinking gone too far - that's my suspicion.

[AuPhalanx]

You know, it just doesn't matter if Andy Kaufman is alive or dead. Just the fact that people are befuddled as much as they are would make him proud. That's pretty much what his aim was: To keep people guessing. I must say, though, that if he is alive, then this would be one of the best practical jokes evar. Then again, if he is dead, the fact that people are still wondering would make it a pretty damn good joke, too.

Either way, we, the audience, is the punch line.

Have fun... Tony.

PS ... It's good to see that so many of y'all remember who Andy Kaufman is.

[-Q-]

Originally posted by AuPhalanx:
Either way, we, the audience, is the punch line.



PS ... It's good to see that so many of y'all remember who Andy Kaufman is.

Real or not, this is definitely worthy of Andy Kaufman.

[Eug Wanker]

Sounds bogus.

[DBursey]

Hey Andy, did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch? Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? Hey baby, are we losing touch?

[Turias]

While it would be pretty amazing, I don't think it's true.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/kaufman.asp

[I'm Matt]

[Xeo]

There's so much pointing to hoax that it's hard to believe. It's just an intarweb story. Nothing in real-life news. Yet enough of me wants to believe that I think this is a good joke, one way or the other.

It's time to exhume the body!

[mishap]

WASTE OF TIME. Andy would have done it in a way that would have shocked the world...not this

[osiris]

I'd like to believe this - and it would be in typical Kaufman style, but TWENTY years in hiding from family & friends? I don't know, that would be one heckuva prank to pull off.

(+ one that only Kaufman could get away with ! )

[cacarr1]

Originally posted by AuPhalanx:
You know, it just doesn't matter if Andy Kaufman is alive or dead. Just the fact that people are befuddled as much as they are would make him proud. That's pretty much what his aim was: To keep people guessing. I must say, though, that if he is alive, then this would be one of the best practical jokes evar. Then again, if he is dead, the fact that people are still wondering would make it a pretty damn good joke, too.

Either way, we, the audience, is the punch line.

Have fun... Tony.

PS ... It's good to see that so many of y'all remember who Andy Kaufman is.

I ask this respectfully and not as a troll...but why is it good we remember? If Andy never would've "died" would we still care who he is? I mean what was the allure with this guy? From what I've seen, he was a marginally funny precursor to Kramer. I know, I know, I probably just don't 'get it'. Still, wrestling with women is just that...wrestling with women. Not comedic genius. And why is being his puchline a good thing? Just curious.

P.S. I would be much happier if Bill Hicks rose from the dead. He was gifted...

[djohnson]

[DBursey]

Where's Paul Lynde when we need him?

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by DBursey:
Where's Paul Lynde when we need him?

Paul Lynde was great.

[AuPhalanx]

Originally posted by cacarr1:
I ask this respectfully and not as a troll...but why is it good we remember? If Andy never would've "died" would we still care who he is? I mean what was the allure with this guy? From what I've seen, he was a marginally funny precursor to Kramer. I know, I know, I probably just don't 'get it'. Still, wrestling with women is just that...wrestling with women. Not comedic genius. And why is being his puchline a good thing? Just curious.

P.S. I would be much happier if Bill Hicks rose from the dead. He was gifted...

Hi, cacarr1!

It's just good to see that the Forum's pop cultural knowledge is still aces. That's all I meant. Regarding him dying and if we would still remember him, the same can be stated about most talents that die young, from Hendrix to Joplin to Belushi. Would they be such legends if they had lived? Perhaps, but there is always that "what if..."

Mr. Kaufamn's allure to me was just the fact that his humour was predicated on messing with the audience. He's the ultimate practical jokester--and that was his entire life. When was the guy ever off? I mean, was there a "real" Andy Kaufman, as in a guy that comes home, kicks off his shoes, and bitches to his wife about his day at the office? Most people have that divide. They have a work life, family life, friend life, and more. I guess that is what was wild with Andy Kaufman: There was no dividing line like that. His life was one big joke. And perhaps so was his death!

I do not know if being his punchline is a good thing. It just is. And I think it's pretty funny if that is the case. I did not take your post as trolling; just good message forum conversation. Thanks!

Have fun... Tony.

[MacGorilla]

Ummmm....�

[Mithras]

Originally posted by Turias:
While it would be pretty amazing, I don't think it's true.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/kaufman.asp

Anyone who didn't read this link the first time, read it now. It's a thorough debunking.

That someone issued a press release proclaiming Andy Kaufman to be alive signifies nothing other than an attempt to capitalize on the confusion his bizarre performance style sowed during his lifetime. (Heck, if anybody was capable of faking his own death, it was that crazy old Andy Kaufman, right?) The releasing agency, PRWeb, is a free wire service that will distribute anyone's press release, about anything, free of charge. (Another recent PRWeb release � "Ambassador From Mars Receives 181,634 Spam Emails; Says 'Earthlings Are Not Ready' and Takes First Available Saucer Back Home" � demonstrates that nothing is considered too silly to be distributed on their wire service.)

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by AuPhalanx:
the same can be stated about most talents that die young, from Hendrix to Joplin to Belushi. Would they be such legends if they had lived? Perhaps, but there is always that "what if..."

I think there is a difference between how Andy died, and how these folks above died.

Esp since Andy was drug free.

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

The PRWEB origin is the dead giveaway.

ANYONE can file a PRWEB 'press release' and claim virtually anything and actually have media orginazations pick up the story, no matter how false the claims.

The blogspot plug early in the release leads me to speculate that the owner of that is probably the culprit. The guy should at the very least sell some 'Andy is Alive' T-shirts or something and capitalize on his plug.

[funkboy]

I highly doubt it.

If it is true, kudos to Andy for... well... the craziest thing ever.

But even his best friend says he's dead, so I don't believe this is Andy.

[KeyLimePi]

KeyLimePi's sig like two years ago: Maybe Andy Kaufman was just nuts.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

I haven't seen this story on any other site.

[quandarry]

no he's dead...dead...dead.

[Xeo]

Something I thought about today: do you think the real Andy Kaufman would post multiple times a day? That blog has new entries every few hours it seems. It points more to the hoax being that he's alive and the author of the hoax can't keep away from the blog to read the reactions. And since he's there all the time, he has the temptation to post another note.

Just an observation.

[ryju]

I'm still waiting for Tupac!!!

[ghost_flash]

Bas-tard.

I was hoping it was true.

[Thorin]

Originally posted by Zimphire:
I think there is a difference between how Andy died, and how these folks above died.

Esp since Andy was drug free.

What about Ayrton Senna, or James Dean. Their deaths were not drug related, and they've both been remembered in a special way after their deaths. When people who have extraordinary abilities die, it rocks people to the core. They don't seem mortal to their fans, and then suddenley they're gone. While their peers gradually loose their abilities and age, they are eternally at the top of their game, and young. It seems to be part of the human condition that we idolise and remember differently people who are brilliant and die before their time.

For what it's worth, I think it's a hoax, but I suspect it's a hoax that Andy would have appreciated

[AuPhalanx]

Originally posted by Thorin:
What about Ayrton Senna, or James Dean. Their deaths were not drug related, and they've both been remembered in a special way after their deaths. When people who have extraordinary abilities die, it rocks people to the core. They don't seem mortal to their fans, and then suddenley they're gone. While their peers gradually loose their abilities and age, they are eternally at the top of their game, and young. It seems to be part of the human condition that we idolise and remember differently people who are brilliant and die before their time.

For what it's worth, I think it's a hoax, but I suspect it's a hoax that Andy would have appreciated

Thorin!

Well said. I could not have stated it better myself. Thanks!

Have fun... Tony.

[Eriamjh]

I think Thorin has it right that having people THINK Andy wasn't dead was actually a better joke than him faking his death and appearing 20 years later.

Why? Because of those poor saps who actually thought he would appear.

He's dead and playing pinball with Elvis.

[Xeo]

http://andykaufmanreturns.blogspot.c....html#comments

At the end, Andy Kaufman (the username) says "You people take a joke way to seriously."

I take that to mean the jig is up officially.