Andy Kaufman Still Alive? Did he Fake his Own Death? Internet Abuzz with Rumors
Is Andy Kaufman still alive?
A rumor swirling around purports that Andy Kaufman is still alive and, according to some new stirrings, faked his own death.
The internet had "Andy Kaufman" trending on Oct. 20, 27 years after the comedian's death. Twitter streamed an influx of tweets about the famous comedian who died of lung cancer in 1984.
Or did he?
POFPOLICE.com (@pofpolice) tweeted, "New Doc Claims Andy Kaufman Is Still Alive." Others followed suit. Christopher Maloney (@neuropathealth), who bares the same namesake as the film's director, tweeted, "There is a documentary out about Andy Kaufman asking whether he really is dead. I was intrigued because the director shares my name. But really, if Andy was alive, he'd be doing something else besides laying low. On the other hand, the weathermen taught us that you can hide in plain sight."
The "new documentary" referred to in various tweets and in blog posts is "The Death of Andy Kaufman" and actually first came out in 2008; though it is cited on the social networking sites as a recent film.
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The film is about the mystery that surrounds Kaufman's untimely death in the 1980s.
When it happened, no one could believe that someone so young and talented could be taken so quickly.So people then started speculating that Kaufman did not actually die at all and that he possibly faked his own death in the "greatest hoax of all time."
Hollywood Soapbox wrote on Oct. 10 that the documentary, directed by Christopher Maloney, investigates Kaufman's death but does not add much to the public record.
The Smoking Gun shot down rumors of Kaufman's death hoax back in 1999 when it posted a copy of the comedian's death certificate.
So what gives?
The gossip may just be another case of "the Amber Cole phenomenon" where unsubstantiated news spreads like wildfire. It may also be belated press for the documentary.
Or the murmurs may have flared again due to the upcoming Andy Kaufman Awards on Nov. 11. Professionals along with friends and family of Kaufman are in charge of narrowing down the contestant pool to 15 Alternative Comedians.
The Andy Kaufman Award is touted as "the most coveted comedy award in the world."
Kaufman was renowned for his roles in "Saturday Night Live" and "Taxi."
He was a quirky and unorthodox. He broke all the rules of comedy. In the midst of his comedic fame, he decided to become a professional wrestler - a wrestler who sparred against women.
His zaniness and charm led to the creation of the 1999 biopic "Man on the Moon" starring Jim Carey, a comedian with similar oddities.
So is Andy Kaufman still alive? Is he eating milk and cookies on a desert island? Is he partying with Elvis? The legend lives on.
