Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Andy Kaufman Performs on the Johnny Carson Show in 1977

In August 1977 comedian and performance artist Andy Kaufman made an appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  

After doing impressions in his Foreign Man accent, a masterful Elvis Presley impersonation, and playing a wild song from the Islands of the Caspian Sea on the bongo drums, Kaufman sat for an interview with Carson. 

In the interview, he explains the origin of his Elvis character and tells a story of how his Foreign Man character got an autograph from a woman in a massage parlor on 42nd Street in New York.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

  

#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Andy Kaufman Sings "Pop Goes the Weasel" on VanDyke and Company

When it came to off-beat bizarre comedy, Andy Kaufman was king. His comedy was always an enigma from the time that he first appeared on the stage.

He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, calling himself a performance artist. 

In a rare introspective interview, he said "I am not a comic, I have never told a joke. ... The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him... My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can."

And entertain he did. We remember him most for his debut performance on Saturday Night Live with the Mighty Mouse song (Here I come to save the day...), his Elvis Presley impersonations, and his role as Latka, the unspecified European man on the Taxi sitcom.

On this Wacky Wednesday we're going back 45 years to 1976, when Andy sauntered onto  the stage on Van Dyke and Company with a portable record player and launched into a wacky rendition of Pop Goes the Weasel.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

 

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Andy Kaufman as Elvis Presley

As a comedian, Andy Kaufman was truly one of a kind. After making a name for himself on Saturday Night Live with his Elvis Presley imitation, he took it to The Johnny Carson Show and other variety shows and perfected it to such an extent that audiences believed it was Elvis himself singing.

Starting with his awkward Foreign Man voice and awkward bearing, Kaufman started out doing really bad imitations and when he announced that he would be doing "The Elvis Presley," you didn't expect much. But wow, what a performance he turned in.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Andy Kaufman on the Tonight Show

Back in 1977 Comedian Andy Kaufman paid a visit to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and had the audience laughing all the way through his performance as Elvis Presley and Foreign Man.

In a serious interview he revealed the origins of his act and followed with a wild drumming/singing/dancing routine "from the islands of the Caspian Sea."

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday   #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Andy Kaufman and his 1976 "Old Macdonald" Shtick

When it came to off-beat bizarre comedy, Andy Kaufman was king. His comedy was always an enigma from the time that he first appeared on the stage.

He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, calling himself a performance artist. 

In a rare introspective interview, he said "I am not a comic, I have never told a joke. ... The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him... My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can."

And entertain he did. We remember him most for his debut performance on Saturday Night Live with the Mighty Mouse song (Here I come to save the day...), his Elvis Presley impersonations, and his role as Latka, the unspecified European man on the Taxi sitcom.

On this Throwback Thursday we're going back 42 years to 1986, when Andy sauntered onto  the stage on Van Dyke and Company sporting a cowboy hat and led four unsuspecting audience volunteers in a hilarious pantomime of Old Macdonald Had a Farm.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Classic Comedy Moments: Andy Kaufman's First Appearance as Elvis on the Johnny Carson Show

Andy Kaufman was an eccentric comedian and as he liked to call himself, a performance artist.

One of his most beloved characters was known as "Foreign Man." In that role he was introduced as an impressionist. 

He would do a few very bad impressions, setting a low level of expectation from his audience. Then announcing that he will imitate "The Elvis Presley," he turned his back to the audience, made a few changes to his appearance, and launched into what is probably the best Elvis impression ever seen.

Last year we posted a tribute to Kaufman on his 30th Yahrzeit that included his famous "Mighty Mouse" routine that he performed on Saturday Night Live's first show, and  a full (23 minute long) episode of Taxi where as Latka Gravas, he marries his girlfriend Simka in a hilarious wedding ceremony that's a sendup of all ethnic ritual ceremonies. Both of these hilarious videos are worth a second look.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.) 

Remembering Comedian Andy Kaufman on His 30th Yahrzeit

We didn't believe it at first. We had to go to Wikipedia to verify it, but it's true. This month marks the 30th yahrzeit of comedian Andy Kaufman, who for all the funny characters he portrayed, insisted on being known as a song-and-dance man. 

According to his Wikipedia biography, Kaufman "was a popular and eccentric American entertainer, actor and performance artist."

"Elaborate ruses and pranks were major elements of his career. His body of work maintains a cult following and he continues to be respected for his original material, performance style, and unflinching commitment to character."

Kaufman came to prominence with his "Mighty Mouse" routine on the first Saturday Night Live show. He portrayed a garage mechanic from an unidentified European country on the sitcom Taxi, which also starred Danny DeVito and Jewish actors Judd Hirsch (Alex) and Carol Kane (Simka) and featured Dr. Joyce Brothers as herself in this episode.

The character he played on Taxi, Latka Gravas, had a Jewish and Eastern European feel to it even though it was never specific. The dialect, language and rituals were all made up, but whatever your ethnicity, they made it seem that they captured some of the flavor of the "old country", whatever it was.

Kaufman was born in New York City and grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in Great Neck, Long Island. He died at the age of 35 from a rare form of lung cancer. For years his fans thought he was faking his death as another elaborate prank. 

Here is Kaufman's Mighty Mouse routine and a full episode of Taxi where he marries his girlfriend Simka in a hilarious wedding ceremony that's a sendup of all ethnic ritual ceremonies. We couldn't stop laughing and we hope it helps to start your day off with a big smile. (Warning: The Taxi episode is 22 minutes long.)

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)