Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind Of Andy Kaufman - Softcover

First biography of the comedian Andy Kaufman, soon to be played by Jim Carrey in Milos Forman’s new film Man On The Moon.

In the 1970s a handful of young American comedians revolutionised US comedy. At the forefront was Andy Kaufman. From his debut on Saturday Night Live, lip-synching Mighty Mouse’s cry of "Here I come to save the day!", to his role as Latka on the sitcom Taxi, Andy was breaking new ground, and hiding a vastly darker side.

Whether creating an alter-ego – lounge lizard Tony Clifton – or wrestling women, whatever the "gag" was, Andy Kaufman was living it. Part performance artist and part prankster, Kaufman lived his life as a relentless performance, and he inspired, and enraged those around him in equal measure. So when he was diagnosed as having cancer at 34, hardly anyone believed him, not even when they saw his body in the coffin...

With the full cooperation of Kaufman’s family, friends and colleagues, this is a trip into the dark side of a comic genius.

'I believe in going all the way with it and not breaking character and not giving away to the audience that I'm playing a role. I believe in playing it straight to the hilt.' Andy Kaufman

In the 1970s a handful of comedians revolutionised American comedy: Steve Martin, John Belushi, Bill Murray. Foremost – and strangest – amongst them was Andy Kaufman. Part performance artist and part prankster, Andy Kaufman's comedy ranged from the inane to the bizarrely avant-garde. He played the bumbling Latka Gravas on Taxi; he reigned undefeated as World Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion, a title he invented; he was Elvis Presley's favourite Elvis impersonator. The only constant in Kaufman's work was his total commitment to the role.

But as his star rose, the boundary between Andy the performer and Andy the person became increasingly blurred. Based on six years of research, Andy's own unpublished writings and hundreds of interviews, Bill Zehme brilliantly illuminates the comedian's dark and troubled progress. When, tragically, Kaufman was diagnosed with cancer, fans continued to believe he was enacting an elaborate gag. Many still believe he did not die, but – like the Elvis he impersonated so uncannily – is just biding his time waiting for the right moment to make his comeback.

Andy Kaufman's short and turbulent life has recently been filmed as Man on the Moon, directed by Milos Foreman and starring Jim Carrey as Andy.