Sketch o’the Week: Andy Kaufman!

Back in the 1970-80s a lot of TV sitcoms revolved around a single set with a cast of quirky, interesting characters referred to as an “ensemble” cast. An ensemble cast meant there was no single main character the show concentrated on, but rather all the cast members had roughly equal importance and screen time. The sitcom “Taxi” was one of my favorites of those types of shows. It was full of talented actors that would go on to become big name entertainers like Danny DeVito, Judd Hirsch, Christopher Lloyd, Marilu Henner, Jeff Conaway, Tony Danza, etc. Among the characters was a quiet, wide-eyed immigrant mechanic named Latka Gravas, played by stand up comedian Andy Kaufman. The character was based on a character called “Foreign Man” that Kaufman played in his stand up routine.

Kaufman was a very unconventional comedian. In fact he is famously quoted as saying he hated telling jokes and never did in his act. In fact he did tell jokes as Foreign Man but the gag was he told them very badly in his thick, unidentifiable accent. He didn’t want to do “Taxi” as he disliked sitcoms, but his agent talked him into it promising it might lead to financial success allowing him to do the stand up he loved without worrying about paying the bills. After a number of seasons playing Latka, Kaufman felt confined by the role and bored with the singularity of the character’s humor. The writers gave Latka “multiple personality disorder” to allow Kaufman to play different characters within the show’s framework.

Kaufman has a reputation as being a weirdo, difficult to work with, and sometimes out of control. However I’ve read claims that say much of this was made up by his manager, wanting to add to Kaufman’s oddball mystique. Interviews with his fellow cast members from “Taxi” say he was very professional and easy to work with. His seemingly crazy appearance on “Late Night with David Letterman” engaging with wrestler Jerry “The King” Lawlerwas later revealed to be entirely planned, and not the unhinged performance it seemed to be.

Regardless, Andy Kaufman was truly a unique talent who refused to play by the usual rules.