System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Andy Kaufman, Comedian/actor
January 17, 1949 - May 15, 1984
Born on January 17, 1949, in New York City Andy performed for himself from the time he was a kid, alone in his room. As he grew older, he put on his acts for his two younger siblings. As a teen he acted at kid's birthday parties. At Graham Junior College, he discovered his lifelong interest in transcendental meditation, which also gave him the confidence to take his act into small Manhattan clubs, then to the Improv in Los Angeles.
He was discovered by agent-manager George Shapiro, who had picked up on his talent right away. Saturday Night Live impresario Lorne Michaels asked him to appear on the first broadcast of the sketch comedy show, which aired Oct. 11, 1975. Kaufman brought the house down with a hilarious off-shoot of the "Mighty Mouse" song. His performance brought him much critical acclaim. Andy was off-beat and highly original. His act ranged from brilliant to boring to bizarre. His career snowballed after his Saturday Night Live appearance. He then became a regular on the series "Taxi" (1978-1983), as Latka Gravas . Among the things he did outside of "Taxi" were a television comedy show, appearances as lounge singer Tony Clifton, wrestling women and taking on the Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry "The King" Lawler.
In 1982, after his 14th appearance on SNL, viewers voted him off the show in a call-in poll and the following year, "Taxi" was cancelled. At 20, Kaufman had a daughter with a girlfriend but never married.
In the fall of 1983 Andy Kaufman, a non-smoker/drinker/drug user, developed a persistent cough that was diagnosed as a rare and deadly form of lung cancer known as 'Large Cell Carcinoma'. With the cancer already in advanced stages, he began chemotherapy, consulted with a "Holy Man" and even flew to the Philippines to get medical aid from a "Miracle Doctor". Unfortunately none of these methods worked, and his cancer was quite virulent and spread rapidly. He died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center on May 16, 1984, at age 35. Right up until his death many fans thought that the whole illness thing was an elaborate gag.
In 1992, the band, R.E.M. wrote the song “Man on the Moon” about him. And fifteen years after his death there was renewed interest in Andy when a memoir was published by his friend Bob Zmuda, "Andy Kaufman Revealed," (September 1999) and a biography by Bill Zehme, "Lost in the Funhouse," (December 1999). In December 1999, a much-anticipated biographical movie "Man on the Moon", starring Jim Carrey was released nationwide. Carrey's performance of Andy Kaufman's life and times introduced a whole new generation to his work.
