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October 2001
Who WAS that crazy masked man at the LA
premiere of "My Breakfast with Blassie" (as viewed in the introductory footage to the re-released video
version of My Breakfast with
Blassie)?
Not to confuse the issue, there were actually at least two
masked people present that night (at least in the video footage). I was interested in the main masked man, the
one that actually "greeted" visitors to the premiere, just like the folks at WalMart. The one that referred
to himself as "Screamin' Steven" toward the end of the bit. For years now, it has annoyed me not knowing
who this was and what motivated him to act in such a hysterical way. Was he a truly impassioned Andy Kaufman fan?
Was he simply hopped up on caffeine or Eggo waffles swimming in syrup? Who knows. But it really bugged me, so CAKS
finally decided to find out. We didn't find out the "why", but we have the "who". Our exceptionally
groovy source, Angel Coffee, tracked down this masked man of frenzy and inquired, on behalf of CAKS, whether his
identity could now be revealed. The fellow graciously agreed to this apparent CAKS exclusive! His name (drum
roll, please) is Dukie Flyswatter. Yep. Dukie. Yep. Flyswatter. Below is a recent picture of the fellow (courtesy
of the Clint Howard Variety Show).
Ouch!
Dukie Flyswatter
For those interested, Dukie has been in a number of bands,
most notably, as lead singer for the legendary Haunted Garage, a very theatrical and freaky punk/metal L.A. outfit. So, he's not exactly Donnie Osmond. Other bands have included Penis Flytrap, and, most recently, Fox Twat. He's also appeared in tons
of movies including Lord of Illusions and Hollywood
Chainsaw Hookers. Anyway, Angel Coffee
was able to uncover a few other tidbits regarding Dukie on the night of the LA premiere. In the video footage,
you see that Andy Kaufman's girlfriend, Lynne Margulies, bravely tackles and umasks the fiendish wrestling host.
According to Angel Coffee, Ms. Margulies "was goaded into ripping the guy's mask off by her troublemaker brother,
Johnny Legend." Angel Coffee also adds, "Andy had no idea of what was going on and was quite surprised
to see his Lynne chickie acting in such an undignified manner." Fans of Andy Kaufman have long wondered as
well if this incident (which occurred at a time when Andy was quite ill) troubled Andy that night. Angel Coffee's
sources were able to reveal that it hadn't bothered Andy, and that it "was just one more bit of madness in
a very crazy evening."
September 2001
Andy's Grandma Pearl use to say
to him, "Cut the kiddin', Kid McCoy!" Where did this come from?
Bill Zehme's Lost in the Funhouse makes
a short reference to this (page
20):
"Cut the kiddin', Kid McCoy!"
Was what Grandma Pearl always told him.
He never listened.
He loved to play with her.
(And for Grandpa Paul and sometimes Grandma Lillie.)
But most of all for Grandma Pearl, who lost Papu.
Like him.
Stanley and Janice noticed that he still had that sad face.
Somber almost. Sullen.
Unless he was making those noises behind that door.
(Or when he hid on them. Him with the surprises always.)
Or when he was with Pearl.
"Cut the comedy, Kid McCoy!"
"Cut the clownin', Kid McCoy!"
Pearl loved it, really.
I wondered where that saying came from and how it applied to Andy. Well, Charles "Kid" McCoy was a real
person... a popular boxer who began his trade in the late 1800s. McCoy would feign illness before boxing bouts
and tell the media that he had not been able to train as well. As a result, he would surprise the hell out of his
opponents and the press when it turned out he was quite well and ready to fight. It has also been said that this
was the source for the inquiry "Is this the real McCoy?" I expect Andy knew about McCoy and personalized
it for the benefit of his own wrestling shenanigans. By the way, you can find out more about Kid McCoy at Enshrinees and SecondsOut. Sounds like a real character in his own right.
Of course, I wondered what Angel Coffee thought about this, and this was the response:
No, I have no idea about the "Kid
McCoy" thing. But "Nathan McCoy". as I'm
sure you know, was a pseudonym Andy used occasionally, I'm pretty sure
that's how he checked into the hospital at the end there. Probably
connected as Andy never forgot anything, especially stuff from his
childhood.
August 2001
Did Andy try out for any TV sitcoms
other than Taxi? Is the rumor true that Andy had considered or had been considered for the part of Woody Boyd on
Cheers?
I had heard this rumor a while back
that Andy Kaufman had been considered for the part of Woody Boyd (what an interesting mix that would have provided!)
and wasn't sure if there was any truth to the matter. However, the time would not have been right. It wasn't until
the death of actor Nicholas Colasanto ("Coach") in 1985 that prompted the addition of the Woody Boyd
character to the series. Of course, Andy had passed away by then. James Burrows was a director for Taxi and director/producer
of Cheers, so it's possible that Andy Kaufman had been considered for a part on Cheers which debuted in September
of 1982, a possibility even though the two sitcoms overlapped (Taxi ended in 1983).
This is what Angel Coffee had to say about the Cheers rumor:
Sorry, I don't know. But a couple
of little tidbits of interest; Andy was
offered roles in both "Animal House" and "Airplane", but his manager had him
turn them down because they were "ensemble" movies and he wouldn't have a
starring role. So he had him take the starring role in that great comedy
masterpiece "Heartbeeps" instead. Enough said on that subject.
With regard to Andy trying out for other TV sitcoms, Angel Coffee delivers some more interesting tidbits:
What happened in Andy's career before
Taxi I can't say, but after Taxi was
cancelled, Andy's manager had him read for a TV pilot (Andy didn't want to
do it, but always tried to do what George suggested). The plot involved
three beach boy buddies and their hilarious beachside adventures. I think
they were lifeguards. Two were hunks and one was the bespectacled
nerd/comedy relief guy, which was the role Andy read for. He didn't get the
part, to his great relief. I think the show might have been produced for one
season, but then disappeared into oblivion.
July 2001
Did Andy like Saturday morning cartoons?
Did he enjoy any "junk" TV? Was he "inspired" by anything on TV other than "Howdy Doody"?
I was inspired with these questions
after reading the book Harpo Speaks, the autobiography of Harpo Marx. According to Harpo's
son, Bill, who writes a short essay at the end of the book:
"[Dad's] all-time favorite
television star was Cecil, The Seasick Sea Serpent, a hand puppet on "Time for Beany." If any one of
us dared break into the den while Dad was watching Beany and Cecil, we got grounded. Certain areas of our father's
domain were unalterably sacred."
It got me wondering about Andy and his early friend, The TV, and I wondered what other tidbits could be learned
about how and whether Andy was influenced in later life by this powerful medium.
I realized that Andy Kaufman was a big fan of "Howdy Doody", but what else?
I received this little tidbit from Don Mead: ideas courtesy of Bill Zheme's
Lost in the Funhouse (page 26):
Like them? He *lived* them! Everything
from "Popeye" to "Mighty Mouse" to
"Winky Dink and You". These characters became his friends, his mentors, and
most of all, his inspiration! They burned indelible impressions into his
psyche that became a part of everything he did: Make believe, dual
characters, alter-egos, and the wonder of the world as seen through the eyes
of a child...
And Angel Coffee also provided
CAKS with some very interesting details:
Did Andy like Saturday morning cartoons?
Can't answer for when he was a kid, but as an adult, no.
Did he enjoy any "junk" TV?
I guess his enjoyment of "junk" TV took a different turn then it would for
most people. He saw those KTel ads for Slim Whitman in the 70's
and we all know what that led to. Also, in 1981 he had a video service tape
every episode of "People's Court" for him, which was the great precursor to
the current batch of lame court TV shows on now. Perhaps he was
contemplating "Judge Andy"? Ahead of his time, as usual.
Was he "inspired" by anything on TV other than "Howdy Doody"?
As a kid, wrestling of course. As an adult, the great Dr. Gene Scott.
Here's a little known fact: A radio station in Los Angeles used to
broadcast Alan Watts' lectures at midnight, and Andy tuned in whenever he
was near a radio at that time.
CAKS Update: Along with Harpo Marx, Andy Kaufman was a Wink-Dink and You fan! According to Bill Zehme's Lost in the Funhouse, "Equipped with his very own Official Winky-Dink Kit, [Andy] could draw directly on the TV screen
- with magic crayon over green cellophane - so as to interact with...his cartoon pal with the star-shaped head."
Readers are reminded that Andy Kaufman used this TV art to great effect during his Sound Stage special. If you're
interested learning about Winky-Dink
and You, click here.
June 2001
Was "Blood Sucking Freaks" Andy's favorite movie? If no, where did this rumor come from? Did Andy enjoy b-movies?
Well, I got the idea about these questions
after stumbling onto Dave Lewis website, Video Addicts where he stated, "Makes you wonder why ["Blood Sucking Freaks"] was the late Andy
Kaufman's favorite film". I have been able to find no reference to this movie in any of the Andy literature
I have access to, and Dave has not yet responded to my email inquiries. Interestingly, I did find a reference to
a horror flick in Bob Zmuda's Andy
Kaufman Revealed! (page 58):
"I figured it was another
Andy put-on and that we'd end up seeing a movie, probably "Night of the Living Dead," which he loved,
and which we'd seen six times."
So, it would appear that Andy did have an interest in horror camp. Remember, this was back in the 70s when rental
movies were not so common. In view of that, it's reasonable to presume they really had to go out of their way to
see this movie SIX TIMES! "Night of the Living Dead" is a great campy horror flick, but not quite on
par with the extremely gory "Blood Sucking Freaks". The question of whether or not this was Andy's favorite
movie still begged to be answered. That is, until I received this helpful message from one of CAKS' best resources,
"Angel Coffee":
"No, Blood Sucking Freaks
was not AK's favorite movie, in fact, he maybe never heard of it, or maybe he just liked the title. He didn't watch
"B" films of that sort. (His weirdo girlfriend Lynne did, and does though). Andy's favorite movies were:
"8 1/2" by Fellini. "Miracle in Milan" by Vittorio De Sica. "A Face in the Crowd"
by Elia Kazan.
Some interesting notes about the above films: Andy was investigating getting the rights to "Miracle in Milan",
as he wanted to do a remake with himself in the lead role of the innocent Toto. If you watch this film and think
about why Andy loved it, you'll get a better idea of the "true" AK. Another note: "Miracle in Milan"
is also Milos Forman's favorite film.
In "A Face in the Crowd", you'll see where Andy got his good guy / bad guy
TV host persona.
Andy did not own a VCR, but when he "died" he had a few VHS tapes on hand.
These were: "The Red Balloon", two Howdy Doody tapes, six W.C.
Fields films, "The T.A.M.I. Show", "Early Elvis", Abbott & Costello, Amos &
Andy, and "Avant Garde & Experimental Films"."
CAKS Update: Mel Sherer, one of Andy's writers, has stated that "he loved the movies 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and '8-1/2'."(1999 Interview with Robert
J. Elisberg).
May 2001
What ever happened to
the video Tony Danza supposedly took during Tony Clifton's legendary boot from the Taxi set?
According to an anonymous source for CAKS, Tony Danza lost the infamous 8mm footage of Tony Clifton. Simple as
that...unfortunately. If you're not familiar with the general story, here's what another CAKS member," Dr.
Blavatsky", had to say:
"I was listening to radio hosts Mark &
Brian interview Tony Danza several months ago to hear if he had anything to say about Andy. Tony mentioned this
incident saying that he brought in a home movie camera, either an 8mm or a super8 camera and shot some footage
of the proceedings. Hehad it developed and brought in the reel to project. He was showing it in a darkened room
to a handful of the cast and crew. The reel was almost done when Andy walked in and watched the remaining minute
with the hushed group. When it was finished Andy said something like, "what an asshole", and walked out.
And that was that. He didn't say where that film was now, or if it remains. Hopefully one day it will be made available.
If it wasn't thrown away, it should still be in fine condition as I've bought old super 8 movies off of ebay and
they're perfect. Don't know if it had sound or not. If one could ask Danza about it, maybe it would turn up (Webmaster:
"Not so" from anonymous source!). One reel of super8 film lasts just three minutes. But what a three
minutes that would be!"
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