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... Andy Kaufman believed that true entertainment stems from human reactions. Because of this belief, Andy worked hard to evoke different emotions from his audience. ... Andy often went out of his way to force feelings of sadness and anger from the audience. At times, it seemed like Andy was trying to entertain himself more than the crowd. Since he was not truly a comedian, Andy liked to refer to himself as a song and dance man. Andy once said, “I am not a comic. ... I have never done that in my life. ... Andy felt the title of comedian put pressure on the audience to laugh, and at times laughter was not the reaction Andy desired. ... Andy Kaufman was a fascinating man whose legacy should be remembered because of his ingenious ideas that redefined entertainment.
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman was born on January 17, 1949 in New York City. His father, Stanley, was a jewelry salesmen and his mother, Janice, was a stay at home mother who worked hard caring for Andy and his brother Michael and sister Carol. As a child growing up in Great Neck, New York, Andy showed an early interest in entertainment. As a baby, Andy’s favorite toy was the family phonograph. Andy constantly played with its controls and was content whenever it was on (Zehme 11). When he was five years old, Andy isolated himself from other children. Andy preferred to play with his imaginary twin brother Dhrupick rather than participate in games with neighborhood children. Andy would pretend that there was a television camera in the wall, and he and Dhrupick would put on pretend broadcasts from the imaginary “channel five” (Zehme 12). The guests on the shows ranged from Andy’s little sister to stuffed animals, and these pretend shows prove that Andy was destined to be an entertainer. During recess at elementary school, Andy would play by himself in the back of the playground. The only other child Andy associated with was Cathy Bernard, the Kaufman’s neighbor in Great Neck, Long Island (Zehme 22). The teachers became concerned, and they recommended to Andy’s parents that Andy see a psychologist. Andy attended several sessions with different child psychologists, all of whom found Andy to be a healthy, normal child who simply did not enjoy the company of the other children (Zehme 31). Andy’s father tried to force Andy to play with others, but Andy resisted. However, Andy eventually did grow tired of performing in front of the wall, and began to see the other children as an audience. At the age of six, Andy began to tell jokes and perform magic tricks in front of family and friends in the Kaufman family’s living room (Momchilov 2). Andy’s parents were happy to see Andy associating with other children, and the other children enjoyed Andy’s performances. By age eight, Andy was being asked by neighborhood parents to entertain at children’s birthday parties. It was around this time that Andy became influenced by several events that would later shape his career. ... Andy was fascinated by the conga player, and he would go on to learn to play the congas and feature conga playing in his act. Another influential event occurred in 1960 when Andy and his father attended a show put on by an Elvis impersonator. Although Andy did not realize at the time that who he had seen was not the real Elvis, from that day forward, Andy was obsessed with Elvis Presley.
Approximate Word count = 2782
Approximate Pages = 11.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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