The Great Ruse: The comedic genius who rocked wrestling

[NNN0LHI]

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/07/us/kaufman-lawler-wrestling-match/?hpt=hp_mid

The Great Ruse: The comedic genius who rocked wrestling By Wayne Drash, CNN

April 7, 2012 -- Updated 1454 GMT (2254 HKT)

Memphis, Tennessee (CNN) -- Andy Kaufman danced around the wrestling ring in a ridiculous outfit and jumped up and down like an ape. The star of the hit TV show "Taxi" pointed to his head and mocked the Memphis crowd. snip

On this April night 30 years ago, the New York native worked fans inside the Mid-South Coliseum into a chaotic frenzy. In a river town notorious for its rough-and-tumble roots, the coliseum was crammed with the rowdiest characters Memphis had to offer.

The place reeked of Jack Daniels, Marlboro and Skoal. So dangerous was the crowd that one wrestler carried a shank at all times after being stabbed by a fan.

Long before comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat hit the screen, there was Kaufman, the comedic genius with wiry hair and bulging eyes who pushed the envelope of performance art on a real-time stage. And the whole wrestling episode -- inside the ring and out -- was performance art at its peak. For Kaufman, the fact that so few people caught on made it all the better.

http://www.youtube.

&feature=player_detailpagecom/watch?v=sHKUcXNq_xk&feature=player_detailpage

[zappaman]

1. His bits where he challenged women to wrestle were very funny!

An amazing talent!

[LittleCharlie]

2. Sacha knows...

...that Andy opened the door.
My favorite thing Andy did was booking Tony Clifton and then appearing onstage with him. So well conceived was the gag that it took years to clear up the controversy.
Genius.

[Hugabear]

3. The bit he had with Jerry Lawler was pure genius

It's amazing how well they managed to pull off their "feud", especially considering the field of "wrestling", famous for its various feuds and story lines. The highlight had to be their appearance on Letterman.

[Ganja Ninja]

6. I used to love the way he baited the crowds in the south with ...

"I'm from Hollywood". He took all the preconceptions and regional prejudices and played them up. It was brilliant and was the original essence of what the soap opera/sport of American Professional Wrestling is all about. Quite frankly I miss the old characters and their non-PC stereotypes. They were what made the whole thing worth watching. Today's wrestling is boring by comparison.

[SidDithers]

4. My favourite Andy Kaufman bit: Mighty Mouse...

Sid

[lumberjack_jeff]

8. Michael Stipe described this bit as "the most fucked-up thing" he'd ever seen.

Inspiration for him to write "man on the moon".

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Per the Youtube insert:

Elvis allegedly thought Andy Kaufman's impersonation of him to be the best one.

[NNN0LHI]

7. Here is my favorite performance of Andy doing Elvis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=r59AWfhwpPg

[Tom Ripley]

9. An absolute genius who went away much too soon

RIP