Andy Kaufman

Living… in a crappy New York apartment that looks like a dorm room: cheap furniture, stained carpet, and a framed photo of the Maharishi. Andy never cared much for his living situation because he by and large lives in his head. He believes the inner life takes precedence over the outer.

Profession… a song and dance man. Ever since Andy was a kid, he knew he wanted to be the biggest star in the world. As big as, if not bigger than, Elvis. He does not consider himself a comedian. He claims no stake to any particular “talent.” He’s on a sitcom, Taxi, which is exactly the kind of comedy he’s spent his entire life trying to transcend. He feels sitcoms are the lowest form of entertainment: stupid jokes and canned laughter. What Andy wants is pure and visceral spectacle.

Interests… wrestling women. As he crudely puts it, “I'm doing this because I feel that a woman cannot beat a man in wrestling. Even if they train with weights…it requires a certain mental ability - and I just don't feel they have that. I'm not a sexist. I believe women are superior in many ways.  When it comes to cooking and cleaning, washing the potatoes, scrubbing the carrots, raising the babies, mopping the floors, they have it all over men.”

Relationship Status… engaged. Lynne and Andy want to get married in Memphis because Memphis is the wrestling capital of the world! “I'll go in the ring, and I'll announce that I shave my head and marry any woman who beats me!  Then you'll come up, we'll wrestle and I'll let you win! Then you'll scalp me, and we'll get married on Letterman, like Tiny Tim did on Carson... right there on the show!”

Challenge… not having his audience turn on him. He’s at a stage where the audience expects him to constantly shock them.  But short of faking his death, or setting the theater on fire, Andy doesn’t know what else to do. 'Cause he’s always got to be one step ahead of them.  But he feels he’s also extending this philosophy into his real life.  It's obsessive.  Nothing's ever down to earth anymore.

Personality… eccentric. As he describes his life, “I hoped the story of my life would be nice...but it turned out terrible!  It is all LIES!  WHAT A MESS! I've always had a good heart.  But I'm proud of the progress I've made in my transcendental meditation. TM got me focused.  In fact, my manager got me a TV gig!  It's just some new show with no budget, but I'm still excited.”