andy kaufman faked his death, returns after 20 years........

[SolidAir]

Andy Kaufman Returns After 20 Years

Wed May 19, 9:00 AM ET

New York City, NY (PRWEB) May 19, 2004 -- Twenty years ago, on May 16, 1984, most of the world believed that we had lost a comedic legend forever. This has turned out to be what will inevitably be known as the greatest comic prank ever conceived. Andy Kaufman, by all accounts, is alive and well at age 55 and is now living in New York City on the upper west side. To his loyal supporters and fans, Andy says "sorry about faking my death," in a recent interview with ABC News at his apartment. In order to reach legendary comic status and seal his place in the history of performance art, he said it was "necessary to go away for twenty years."

Andy Kaufman's official site has been launched at:
andykaufmanreturns.blogspot.com/

Even though he has technically returned, Andy says that he plans to maintain his low key lifestyle that he has led for the past twenty years. He has resumed contact with friends and family. Fearing the possibility of this scenario and the potential for another hoax, Kaufman's family has contracted with independent auditors Ernst & Young to determine if this in fact the real Andy Kaufman. He has subjected himself to medical examination and submitted DNA, hair, blood and fingerprint samples to the auditors. Ernst & Young and the Kaufman family report that with a 99% probability, this is indeed the real Andy Kaufman. His mother says, "It's good to have Andy back."

In 1999, a new crop of Kaufman fans were born after Jim Carrey starred in the hit film Man on the Moon. "Andy's bizarre mix of comedy and performance art will inspire fans and comedians alike for generations, especially after this stunt," says Jim Carrey.

Andy says he will make only occasional public appearances, sometimes in disguise so that you won?t know if it?s really him or someone else. Kaufman was famous for pulling this stunt with the Tony Clifton character, sometimes played by good friend Bob Zmuda.

Andy says fans should tune into his website for ongoing updates to his adventures in life. As always, Andy's stage has been the world, testing the boundaries of our beliefs, our sources of information, and our perception of reality. "It's good to be back," Andy writes on his website.


true? false?

yahoo news link here

[fliptw]

*blinks*

[bash]

Hehe. Definitely a great joke.

[Dedman]

And we care because...

I always thought he was overrated as a comic.

[Tyranny]

The Tony Clifton gag ran its course 20 years ago too. You would have heard it all over the news had he returned. This wasn't the case.

That, and you'd be able to find tons of headlines on respectable news outlets online. Zip there as well...

[kurupt]

I always thought Andy Kauffman was a douchebag. If he's alive, I hope he dies. Dissapearing from his family and friends for 20 years as a "joke" is not funny at all.

I know the whole wrestling and Jerry the King Lawler thing was staged, but I think I'm gonna dig up some clips and laugh as Lawler beats his ass.

[Avder]

Dissapearing from his family and friends for 20 years as a "joke" is not funny at all.

That jerk stole my idea. I was gonna fake my death and ditch my family for 20 years.

[Kyouryuu]

Y'know, my weird theory not only supposed that Kaufman didn't die, but was in fact Jim Carrey (that this would be the whole schtick behind "Man in the Moon").

Having a difficult time verifying this news, however. This is the only sight that I can see has any news about it, and it's merely a press release. And ABCNews has nothing on the story.

If he were alive, though, this is definitely something Kaufman would have done. He was completely eccentric. His role on Taxi as Latka / Vic Ferrari is just classic.

[CDN_Merlin]

I never found him that funny so I don't understand what's the big deal. If he's alive, who cares, obviously he did it for a reason. This goes in the same area as Elvis still being alive.

Just let it be.

[SolidAir]

It's false.

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

[Nexus_One]

i never really liked him that much after the whole wrestling thing anyways

[Tyranny]

It's false.

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

*gasp* really?!?!

If the real Andy Kaufman were back, his story would be picked up by every major news service in the U.S. and a good many abroad, not merely a single "anybody can submit a story" free publicity service. And if the real Andy Kaufman genuinely wanted to demonstrate he was still alive, just one public appearance would serve that purpose far more convincingly than an unverifiable DNA test. Most important, if the Andy Kaufman I remember â?? the brilliant, unpredictable, erratic, and unique comic genius â?? had finally emerged from hiding twenty years after faking his own death, I have no doubts that he'd find a much more imaginative way of revealing his return than a free press release and a rather ordinary blog.

Hrm...is there an echo in here, or did I just say that last night? See, sometimes it pays to be cynical. Atleast that way you're right until proven wrong Looks like a lot of us were right

[bash]

It's still a great joke, even though it's fake. It's tough trying to read the linked blog but it appears the hoaxer comes clean somewhere in there. But it's a mess to try to understand and looks like someone either hacked it or the owner ran out of his meds.

[Canuck]

Overated as a comedian as many have said on this board.

Cruel/weird

And probably running from supporting his spawn, child molestation charges or the mob/gambling debts, was his motivation for "dying".

I wont pay to see him.

[[]V[]essenjah]

I thought he was cool but I don't buy into this story. Sounds like something he would be capable of doing but not possible. Especially considering everything his family and his body would have to go through legally after his death.