Andy Kaufman: Dead or Alive? - A Review of the Party for a No-Show
As the date of May 16th closed in on us, excitement among Andy Kaufman fans built up to a level approaching that of the whole "Man On the Moon" and original Andy Lives era. Bob Zmuda did a good job promoting his production, working the press like the old pro P.T. Zmudee is. Articles abounded online and in local papers thanks to press releases and Andy Kaufman even made the cover of the L.A. Weekly.
Hundreds of fans of Andy Kaufman and/or Tony Clifton waited in line for well over an hour, but chatted with each other in an attitude of excited expectation. It was a slow advance as the show started late and security was fairly tight, and while we waited F'Ugly th3 Kl*wn could be seen working the line -- clip board in hand, rubber chicken's neck twisted under the clip, taking signatures to FREE ANDY KAUFMAN. Local news stations were there in force, cameramen shooting the crowd. Comic Relief camermen shot the goings on inside.
The House of Blues rests on a hillside at Sunset Blvd. It's an elaborate, towering patchwork tin shack, cozy but not laid out very well on the inside. The low ceiling at the back bar restricted full view of the large screen above the stage, but monitors were placed along the sides of the hall. There were seats in front of the stage, the VIP area, and standing area behind them. There was no difference between the 100 dollar and the later offered 50 dollar SRO tickets, as far as any advantages in nearness to the stage was concerned.
The show started out with Bob Zmuda taking the stage and welcoming the wild crowd. Bob told the usual stories, edited for brevity this time, and focused on Andy telling him about his desire to fake his death and Bob claiming to leave him out of it. Lynne Margulies took the stage with Bob and also relayed tales of Andy, the King of Negative Energy, continuously telling her he was going to die of cancer one day.
A few audience members were introduced: Larry Karaszewski, screenwriter for MOTM and 'Fridays' producer John Moffit. An early female writer for SNL whose name escapes me was also asked to stand. Little Wendy also took a bow. George Shapiro was there and waved to the crowd.
Bob Kerman stepped up wearing Andy's light blue Elvis-styled jumpsuit, created by Elvis' own designer, Bill Belew, and told that story.
Paul Rudd came up and conveyed his love for Kaufman and spoke about growing up with Kaufman's television exploits.
Jerry Lawler took the stage and was probably the most effective of the speakers, telling about his relationship with Andy and how he came to the notorious Mid-South Wrestling federation.
Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Nevada came up and told some stories about Andy's voracious consumption of 18 hookers in a very short period of time. He said that Andy would take a couple of them and have them wrestle each other and the winner would get to wrestle Andy. "I'm a wrestler! I am a professional wrestler! Do you want to wrestle me?!"
It was a raucous, volatile night. Andy Dick came up to speak. Dick went into a rambling, confused half-memory of seeing Kaufman on the 'Fridays' fight episode, and the crowd became restless with him. After what seemed like an eternity, Dick got off.
Zmuda then introduced Rich Voss, contestant of the Stand-Up Comic reality show, and we became bewildered. So now it's a half-assed Stand-Up show? I've never cared for Voss, and the vibe turned very mundane for a production like this. A few guys came up, some better than others, but nothing particularly Kaufmanesque about it. Bob Odenkirk was announced and provided a wry poking at the stand-up set and the FCC-scare times we're living through right now, and easily trounced the previous comics.
After the stand-up bullshit, it was time for the showing of the never-before-seen, never-to-be-seen-again videotape. This was introduced earlier by Lynne Margulies and she said that it was Tony Clifton's Movie. It turned out to be something that should've made it's way to the 'Man On the Moon' DVD extras menu. It's a fine film in itself -- a peek into Jim Carrey's method acting and behind the scenes behavior for his roles in 'Man On the Moon'. Just as Andy did, Jim Carrey never broke character and would come to the set as Andy or Tony and even maintained characters while at home between calls. The film was rather long, about 40 - 50 minutes or so, lacked any performance by Andy Kaufman, and the audience's enthusiasm, what was left of it after the Brick Wall Bunch, was seriously dampened. The mood had turned sour enough that by the film's end, it had elicited boos from many disappointed audience members. They were hoping for some unseen Kaufman performance.
So this was Tony Clifton's big build-up. He came out immediately following the film's closing credits and had a big band behind him. He sang almost too well. He did the "If You're Happy and You Know It" routine that Andy as Tony had done. A few people got up on stage and water was inevitably dumped on a stooge's head (was it the guy who played Stanley Kaufman in MOTM? or that guy from Soundstage who was "shooting the bull?") At any rate, Tony Clifton wowwed the audience.
The crowd was loving and hating it all at the same time, perhaps wishing for more, or something more spectacular. Personally, I wish Tony would've come out and stunk up the joint more, doing a less slick Tony with more of an accent on pissing off the crowd. Tony sang "Where the Broads Are", "I Gotta Be Me"," Volare", but, surprisingly, not "I Will Surveeve". A rendition of "Black Magic Woman" dumbfounded and exasperated many, with its long instrumental. Dancers, the Cliftones, added to the showiness of the production, but also distracted from Tony's spotlight. There was a large Octave Meter set up on the stage. Tony said that he was right above Mariah Carey on the meter, and that he intended to go for number ten on said meter. He claimed that this octave was so high that only a dog could hear it. He hit the octave, silently shreiking out the note, and the top red light was lit up to prove it. Then he sang the REM song, "Man On the Moon", which was sweet and poignant and reminded us more of why we were there.
It was then that Tony Clifton told the audience that part two of that evening would take place at the Comedy Store, where Tony Clifton had been on this same night, nineteen years before in 1985. The entire audience filed out of the House of Blues and trekked up the hill and began crossing Sunset Blvd. A man on stilts wearing a wrestling referee's shirt stood in the middle of the street and stopped traffic for the pilgrammage. Walking up the stairs of the Comedy Store, we entered a large room and were led to the Cliftones handing out a bag of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies and a small container of milk. Following the line, we were led past items available for purchase, including a DVD called Tony Clifton's Movie, illustrated by Lynne Margulies' great artwork depicting Andy and Tony in the context of sideshow freak banners. There were grey t-shirts with the Herb Ritts photo image of Tony Clifton, the backs of which said Tony Clifton and the Cliftones. Also laid out was Zmuda's biography, Andy Kaufman Revealed. Rounding the corner, we saw that a wrestling ring had been set up. Tony introduced some wrestlers he had discovered who were second-rate league guys, playing it up as Latino homosexuals. Their opponents that night were guys in chicken wrestling masks and outfits, though I guess "cocks" would be a more appropriate label for them. This was also an odd twist for the night. Maybe watching women wrestle would have been more Kaufmanesque. At any rate, near the end of the match, Jerry Lawler crawled in and kicked some ass to wrap things up in the ring.
Tony returned to announce a little surprise for the next act, a treat for the audience members. He reminded us that when Andy Kaufman did the Carnegie Hall show, he took his audience out for milk and cookies. He reiterated that Tony Clifton, twenty years later (or so) took US out for milk and cookies. "Those of you that know the story know what happened the next day..." he went on. Andy and Bob met a group of about 300 people the morning following the Carnegie Hall show and they went on the Staten Island Ferry for a ride and ice cream and chocolate cake. Tony said that what will happen next will go down in history. "Tomorrow night", (May 17th), he exclaimed, "we will continue at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch." "Your ticket stub is good for one hooker!", he bantered, "a slice of hot ass and pussy pie." This is Tony Clifton, remember. When Andy Kaufman's Tony was kicked off the TAXI set, Clifton had brought hookers along with him and rocked his trailer with their combined antics. Crass? Crude? You betcha. Tony encouraged couples to go and conferred with a few of the Bunnies onstage that they would be happily accomodating. The three or four Bunnies that were up there with Tony proceeded to remove their tops and fans of female mammary glands were made that much more happy. The packed crowd went nuts and thinking that this was the end of the night, streamed out of the comedy club.
Waiting until a few moments had passed and many people had left the building, Tony Clifton continued, telling the remaining audience that, now that the others had left and the hardcore fans hung in there, it was time for the NEXT ACT. He directed the crowd to take a small candle from the Cliftones and join him in a candlelight vigil at the former apartment of Andy Kaufman. We walked a short ways down Sunset and downhill again, gathered in a small cluster of about fifty people. Andy Dick had reappeared and seemed to be happy to be there. Tony Clifton said that there was a private collection of memoribilia on display in Andy's former apartment room, which had been given up for the night by its understanding occupant, an Andy Kaufman fan himself. We milled around, waiting to go up to the room in hushed groups of twenty. Tony Clifton became a little more Zmudafied as he told little stories and answered questions the crowd tossed to him. Little Wendy showed up too, and my main highlight of the night was briefly meeting her and getting her vibe. We received a report from a guy who had been up to the apartment and were told that it was Wally Wingert who had brought his amazing collection of various articles, including clothing Andy wore in performances and other things.
The word on the web the following morning was mixed. Many expressed feelings of being scammed or of Zmuda's exploitation of Andy Kaufman's life. Even before buying a ticket one could see that this was classic hokum in the old huckster style. At the bottom of the page on the Comic Relief website it was written, "Audience members will not be allowed to enter or leave the theater during the last 30 minutes of Andy Kaufman -- Dead or Alive?" -- straight out of the William Castle bible of promotional magic. Bob Zmuda is a modern day carney of the ten-in-one sideshow strip. But that's also what I like about ol' Bob. And I'm sure that's what Andy liked about him too. Lynne Margulies' artworks depicting the sideshow banner treatment of Kaufman/Clifton couldn't have been a more apropos theme for the evening, and perhaps it should have been. The night was a fun party for a no-show, and we only wish he could have been there to enjoy it with us. Bob, er, Tony Clifton will apparently list tour dates on his website to bring his unique show to a theater near you. Let the tub thumping begin.
All said and done, who knows what was going on in the basement of the House of Blues when we returned to get our car at 2:30 in the morning? But there was a little light shining below and someone was having a blast down there. You'd have thought the world's greatest joke had just been told...
Addendum:
The morning of May19th, Lynne Margulies visited a message board to post a message, excerpted in part below:
"...NOW, regarding Bob Zmuda. I get soooo angry whenever I read anyone saying that he's "profiting off of Andy" or that he's "revealing Andy's secrets" or is in any way being disrespectful to Andy's memory. ANDY ADORED BOB. And Bob adored Andy. Still does, as do I. Bob is still my dearest friend, and that would not be if he were not the wonderful, generous guy he is. Now, he will get mad at me for saying this, but I'm going to: he paid for the House of Blues show on May 16th out of his own pocket, and I'm talking multi-thousands of dollars. He did not even come close to making his money back, but he didn't do it to make money. He did it to honor Andy, Tony, and, as I said in the L.A. Weekly article, to have fun. Which we did, and I hope all who were there did too. By the way, the official Tony Clifton site is tonyclifton.net. Okay, I'll stop ranting now! I'll check in here to see your replies.....Andy Lives!!"
For more information, see the links listed below:
There is a great 'blog blow by blow here.