Did Andy Kaufman Fake His Death?

This is not the usual kind of thing that I bring to ATS. I don't buy into dead celebrities faking their own deaths (Elvis, Howard Hughes, etc). But I saw this story and thought it is something to take notice of. Personally, I think Mr. Kaufman is long dead. But something close to 50% of people polled think he may actually be alive. So I thought this would be a good thread for ATS.

Andy Kaufman was born in 1949. He considered himself a 'song and dance' man, but most people saw him as an comedic character actor. He was big into ruses and pranks. In 1984, he is supposed to have died of Cancer.

TMZ - Did Andy Kaufman Fake His Death?

1. When you look up Andy on the Internet database of record, there is no date of death listed.
2. In 2001, the database shows Andy lived in Cook County, Illinois.
3. There's another address indicating he lived in Westchester County, NY later in 2001.

Andy Kaufman himself said that he would fake his death.

Andy Kaufman Info

During the 1990s, “Tony Clifton” made several appearances at L.A. nightclubs, prompting speculation that perhaps Kaufman was still alive and working under the makeup. Jim Carrey stated on the NBC special Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman that the person doing the Clifton character was in fact Bob Zmuda and that the character had been passed on to him by Kaufman while he was still alive. Kaufman’s death certificate is on file with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and is also available on the web site The Smoking Gun.

Some fans believe that Kaufman faked his death. There is a website related to this claim, and, recently “a grainy video has surfaced that purports to show Kaufman living under an assumed name in Albuquerque, N.M.” The website is registered to a Stephen Maddox of Greenwood, Indiana.[38] Maddox claims to be Kaufman”s son and that Kaufman and his stepfather exchanged identities, so Kaufman could be relieved of his fame.

In November 2013 at the 9th Annual Andy Kaufman Awards at the Gotham Comedy Club in NYC a woman came forward claiming to be Andy Kauffman's daughter. She said that he is alive and wanted to live a quiet life and raise a family.

I would think that giving this woman a DNA test and matching it to her 'uncle' would prove or disprove her story immediately. If it proves true, then it proves Kaufman lived past his 'death date'.
Huffington Post - Kaufman is Alive Says His Brother

The girl who joined Kaufman's brother onstage also reportedly claimed to be 24 years old. If true, that places her birth date after Kaufman's official death date. The funnyman is said to have succumbed to lung cancer at Cedars Sinai hospital, on May 16, 1984.

Huffington Post - Kaufman met with death hoaxer

Andy Kaufman May Be Alive - New Report Suggests

However we have ANDY KAUFMANS DEATH CERTIFICATE
Picture here
It looks pretty authentic to me. Not that I"m an expert. But it seems there IS a death certificate. I don't know if those can be faked and be in public like that for so long. I imagine someone like a POTUS could fake official documents rather easily ... but a Hollywood actor back in 1984 ?? I dunno ...

Anyways, there is some of the info.
Anyone interested can debunk or verify as you wish ...

Find a Grave - Andy Kaufman

Information from Find a Grave.
Of course, it could be faked ... but there it is for those interested.

To be honest, this wouldn't surprise me at all. After reading what I've read about him, and seeing some of the video footage I've seen (his career was way before I was born) I really wouldn't put it past him. Andy was a troll before the term 'troll' was even coined. Something like this would have taken a hell of a lot of planning, time, and money. But I have no doubt in my mind that somebody like him would have had the dedication to pull this off.

He may have simply gotten sick of his fame and decided to do this. Maybe he planned to re-emerge decades later so he could have a good laugh at the shocked people.

reply to post by FlyersFan


You have no idea how much I loved (love) Andy

No matter what actually happened - he really set us up - but good

Don't know that we'll ever know - we can't even seem to agree on where our president was born

:-)

(I think Andy really knew his crowd - and exactly how to work it)

For those interested -

10 Celebs Who Fans Think Faked Their Death
1 - Elvis
2 - Jim Morrison
3 - Princes Di
4 - Adolph Hitler
5 - Michael Jackson
6 - Tupac Shakur
7 - Jimmy Hoffa
8 - Andy Kaufman
9 - Jimi Hendrix
10 - Kurt Cobain

I think they are all very much dead.
But these are the top 10 celebs that people doubt the official story on.

reply to post by FlyersFan


The man was a performance artist genius. He insisted he wasn't a comedian, but a performance artist. And if he was still alive I'd be so glad to have a drink or something else with him. Thanks for raising our false hopes, it's good to think he created the ultimate performance and has never broken character.

Before anyone else posts this .... I'll do it.
I'm very sure this is a fake. A poor fake ...

www.youtube.com...

A German film crew claims to have exhumed the body of Kaufman.

Why it's fake (IMHO) .... they did it themselves and not with an official exhume crew.
The body was waaaay too old looking ... like it came from ancient Egypt or something.
An exhumation doesn't go like they are doing ... there is a casket inside the cement box
and the casket doesn't get opened in the ground with dirt falling onto the persons remains.

And no DNA was taken or tested.

Xaphan
To be honest, this wouldn't surprise me at all.

I really don't think he did, BUT ... I can see why people think he did. I mean ... he died soon after saying he'd fake his death and soon after meeting with someone who knew how to do it. Also, he was known for pranks and jokes etc etc. So I can understand why many people think he might have.

A simple way to prove that he did ... match the DNA from the 'daughter' to the known uncle.
If it comes out a match, then he obviously was alive past the 'death date'.
If it doesn't match, that doesn't necessarily mean he's dead. It just means she's a liar.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Watched the youtube of the body dig up, a not so good fake - the coffin is buried a foot and a half down, they would have taken a long view showing the hole and body in context with Kaufmann's gravestone and surroundings, and would he have been buried behind his gravestone or in front of it? There is a sidewalk right in front of it, so would that be a sidewalk put in after he died or before? There would also be some hair and clothing left in the casket, and not just a naked skeleton.

Andy Kaufmann himself would have made a better grave-digging-up video, so it's not him who made this one.

Oh this could be the best thing to happen in a long time! I am so hoping he is still around. That guy could kill it if he came out now and had fooled the world.

What would be even more funny is if he came out with a few of the others on the list...though I think the most likely one to still actually be alive would be Andy.

Man I would love to see Andy back in the spotlight and doing his thing!

FlyersFan
For those interested -

10 Celebs Who Fans Think Faked Their Death
1 - Elvis
2 - Jim Morrison
3 - Princes Di
4 - Adolph Hitler
5 - Michael Jackson
6 - Tupac Shakur
7 - Jimmy Hoffa
8 - Andy Kaufman
9 - Jimi Hendrix
10 - Kurt Cobain

I think they are all very much dead.
But these are the top 10 celebs that people doubt the official story on.

I believe Princess Di is very much gone. I don't think she would do this to her sons, and allow them to have large concerts in the past to honor her life.

I lived in Seattle when Kurt died. Every one I know, thinks someone killed him. I don't think his death is faked.

A small part of me likes to entertain the idea of Jim Morrison, walking around Paris all of these years incognito, tucked away from the rest of world, still writing poetry somewhere, and haunting graveyards

don't know if the comic faked his death, but i hear tell there is a president who has faked his life

I loved Andy Kaufman! I think he's the inventor of the awkward style of comedy that people like sacha baron Cohen ( borat) have made so popular recently. Ill always remember him as the first inter gender wrestling champion. He would barely beat his women opponents then strut around the ring flexing his nonexistent muscles. And the crowd would be furious!! Pure comedic genius!!

To fake his death would not surprise me for minute, but if he was going to re-enter the public eye I think he's missed the window of opportunity. I mean he was known for awkward timing but the time to comeback was prolly about ten years ago

Andy is gone...

But, we are still talking about him.

He would be very pleased.

I think Andy and Elvis both are still alive.
I think Jim Morrison was killed by his own father, or at least, his father had something to do with it.

JayinAR
I think Andy and Elvis both are still alive.
I think Jim Morrison was killed by his own father, or at least, his father had something to do with it.

Ah...yes...I should have said Elvis as well....especially after those marathon threads on Cotner. I would think that there would be some evidence of it somewhere out there as well. Someone with his off the wall sense of humor and abilities would certainly have to have very similar traits throughout life. With the number of people that loved him I would think SOMEONE would have recognized him and taken pics or something.

reply to post by FlyersFan


If a guy was that smart to pull this off then he is smart enough to know it is illegal.
Coming out and saying "hey I'm alive" would mean jail time.

He can't be that stupid if he was smart enough to pull this off.

For that reason,I don't believe it.

TO the poster above, something tells me Andy would not be going to jail for faking his death. Call it a gut feeling. He may have to pay a hefty IRS bill though.

I loved Andy Kaufman, he was before my time but when I found out about him through my mom, I watched everything I could ever get my hands on about him. I personally always wanted him to be alive. I think this story, above all others has the most going for it.


There was something about the woman's mannerisms in the tmz video that has me scratching my head though. It seems like she is forcing 'Andy' mannerisms throughout the whole clip. That could be meaningless, or it could be telling. It's 50-50 imo. But that 50-50 feeling is enough to make Andy alive in my heart.

FlyersFan
For those interested -

10 Celebs Who Fans Think Faked Their Death
1 - Elvis
2 - Jim Morrison
3 - Princes Di
4 - Adolph Hitler
5 - Michael Jackson
6 - Tupac Shakur
7 - Jimmy Hoffa
8 - Andy Kaufman
9 - Jimi Hendrix
10 - Kurt Cobain

I think they are all very much dead.
But these are the top 10 celebs that people doubt the official story on.

Haha. This is a comment I just posted on the other thread without having seen yours;

I believe he faked his death, along with Elvis, Michael Jackson, Kurt Cubain,
Jeff Buckley, Diana Spenser, Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Biggie Smalls,
Tupak Shakur, Whitney Hueston, Amy Winehouse and many more.
It an exceedingly common occurrence among the 'stars'.
Did I also mention JFK?

A lot of matches there, I see. And I believe it all true!

bknapple32
TO the poster above, something tells me Andy would not be going to jail for faking his death. Call it a gut feeling. He may have to pay a hefty IRS bill though.

I loved Andy Kaufman, he was before my time but when I found out about him through my mom, I watched everything I could ever get my hands on about him. I personally always wanted him to be alive. I think this story, above all others has the most going for it.


There was something about the woman's mannerisms in the tmz video that has me scratching my head though. It seems like she is forcing 'Andy' mannerisms throughout the whole clip. That could be meaningless, or it could be telling. It's 50-50 imo. But that 50-50 feeling is enough to make Andy alive in my heart.

edit on 14-11-2013 by bknapple32 because: (no reason given)

My thought is that if she grew up with him and his mannerisms that would be exactly how she would act. She picked it up from living with him all her life.

This story definitely has my interest piqued.