American comedian Andy Kaufman (1949-1984) was a performer like no other--a rule-breaking iconoclast who blurred the line between performance art and comedy, at times between life and art itself. Misunderstood by the public at large during his lifetime, and embraced by a cult of fans that has consistently grown since his premature death from cancer, Kaufman is the perfect counter-cultural martyr, ripe for a Gap khakis ad. Like Lenny Bruce before him, Kaufman chafed at the reigns of comedy; he didn't always want to make people laugh, in fact he wished to make them uncomfortable. One might consider those notorious French bad-boy playwrights Alfred Jarry and Antonin Artaud (who pushed the envelope of good taste and thoroughly enjoyed confusing their audiences) to be Kaufman's spiritual predecessors, though this might be taking things too seriously. His most well-known routines--the inept stand-up comedian "foreign man," the basis for the character Latka Gravas on the hit sitcom "Taxi"; the grizzled, professional lounge lizard Tony Clifton; and the reigning world champion of inter-gender wrestling--all hinged on making the crowd squirm. Life was a show for Kaufman, who began staging elaborate shows for friends and family at the age of 7; everything was a put-on and yet totally, dead-on serious.

Judging by Bob Zmuda's book (released in anticipation of a biographical movie starring Jim Carrey), Kaufman wasn't the easiest guy to be a best friend to. But, as Zmuda tells things, he rose to the challenge--letting Kaufman confide that he had a daughter he'd never seen, keeping his mouth shut at the appropriate times, and otherwise fulfilling best-friend duties with aplomb. Andy Kaufman got the friend he deserved in his lifetime, but this is not the biography he deserves; it is written in a well-meaning though hackneyed and hard-to-digest style. Simple points are made again and again, as if the two(!) authors were attempting to fuse a poorly-written college essay with a USA Today article. And Mr. Zmuda makes the mistake of assuming that his own history will be of much interest to the reader, who is ostensibly reading a tell-all about Kaufman, not his best friend. There are tremendous anecdotes here; about half the book is filled with glorious tales of artful mischief, hijinks, pranks, and funny stuff that Zmuda and Kaufman pulled on friends, crowds, and strangers. Fans will undoubtedly want to pick this one up, while those with a more casual interest are cautioned to perhaps look elsewhere for a less clumsily written tome. --Mike McGonigal


From Publishers Weekly
The brilliantly subversive comedian Andy Kaufman is remembered today not only for his ability to make people laugh but also for his unnerving blend of shock humor and high-concept performance art. Fifteen years after Kaufman's death from lung cancer at the age of 35, his close friend and collaborator Zmuda unveils an intimate portrait of the enigmatic performer. In 1972, Zmuda, then a struggling writer/comedian, first saw Kaufman perform at New York's Improv as Foreign Man, a lovable dork, who, after bombing miserably on stage, would burst into a dead-on impersonation of Elvis Presley. Foreign Man would become Kaufman's signature act, leading to regular appearances on Saturday Night Live and a role as Latka on the TV sitcom Taxi. Yet Kaufman, according to Zmuda, often grew bored with celebrity and constantly pushed the comic envelope: inventing an alter ego, the swaggering, foul-mouthed lounge singer Tony Clifton; taking a Hollywood audience out for milk and cookies (a concept for which Zmuda claims credit); going on tour to wrestle college-age women, an idea apparently dreamed up by Kaufman in order to get women to sleep with him. Kaufman's unpredictability was such that audiences never knew whether or not they were in on the joke; when the comedian succumbed to cancer, many wondered whether he was faking it. Zmuda reveals some long-kept secretsAincluding the truth about the infamous feud with wrestler Jerry Lawler, which landed Kaufman in the hospital. Although Zmuda touches upon Kaufman's obsessive-compulsive behavior and the possibility that he might have exhibited a form of multiple personality disorder, this highly absorbing memoir will be read less for its insights into Kaufman's psyche than for the immediacy with which it recounts his brief but blazing career. (Sept.) FYI: The Andy Kaufman craze continues this fall as Universal Pictures releases the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon, directed by Milos Forman and starring Jim Carrey. In November, Delacorte will publish Lost in the Fun House: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman by Bill Zehme. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Lance Gould
...Zmuda has composed an often hilarious tribute to his best friend that does reveal many of this master trickster's secrets.


From Booklist
With a movie about Kaufman forthcoming, his manager and friend Zmuda's recollection of the late comedian is timely. Best remembered as English-challenged immigrant Latka Gravas on the '70s sitcom Taxi, Kaufman also appeared regularly on Saturday Night Live, did stand-up, and wrestled women. He baited pro wrestling in general and Jerry Lawler in particular, a gambit that, it seemed, eventuated in his own grievous physical harm. His comedy involved a high degree of audience manipulation, never better displayed than in his wrestling-related endeavors. Whether his injury at Lawler's hands was real or a hoax has long been debated. The movie spills the beans, and the book does, too. So Lawler's apparently brutal "pile driver," Kaufman's subsequent neck brace, and the final, violent confrontation on David Letterman's Late Night set--were they just hype? Finding out is just one reason to read this thoroughly entertaining, illuminating showbiz bio. Oh--Jim Carrey contributes a cutely cryptic secret message about understanding Kaufman's humor, but the book is still worthwhile. Mike Tribby


From Kirkus Reviews
Andy Kaufman's best friend may be taking us for one last ride in his tell-all biography, but his rendition of their shared lunacy is so heartfelt and funny that it hardly matters. All the anecdotes seem kosher, but since most of Zmuda's tales are about himself and Kaufman duping their audiences, it's hard to be absolutely sure. Like much of Kaufman's humor, half the fun is just guessing. The other half is sitting back and letting the action happen. After all, this is the story of a man whose friends didn't even believe he had really died of cancer in 1984, and they had watched him waste away for months. Zmuda, who executive produces HBOs Comic Relief, starts the story off in the early 70s, when he and Kaufman collided on the New York comedy scene. They were nut cases, both of them. Kaufman was the performer, Zmuda was the guy who handled the details. The sheer outrageousness of their exploitsfrom the mysterious screenwriter Zmuda worked for to Kaufman's insatiable libido to the comic's final days trying to beat cancer through psychic surgerymakes for a great read. Neverthelss, Zmuda is a reluctant storyteller. Much of his motivation for revealing secrets is the upcoming movie Man on the Moon (of which he is an executive producer), starring Jim Carrey and directed by Milos Forman, which is going to spill what Kaufman's friends have kept quiet over the years. The revelationssuch as what really went on with the public feud with wrestler Jerry Lawler and who exactly was dressed up as Kaufman's obnoxious alter ego Tony Cliftonare anticlimactic because our interest was never about the truth anyway. The one intriguing mystery that Zmuda can't unpuzzle and that guides the entire narrative is the mysterious nature of Kaufman's comic gifts. Was he a genius or was he absolutely crazy? Zmuda's story is a riot, but Kaufman took that answer to the grave. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Download Description
Kaufman's closest friend breaks his 20-year silence about the star and unmasks the man whom he knew better than anyone, chronicling Kaufman's meteoric rise, the development of his extraordinary personas, and the private man behind the driven comedian.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Andy Kaufman, best known for his portrayal of sweet-natured Latka on Taxi, was one of the most ingenious and controversial entertainers of his time.. "Now, for the first time, Andy's closest friend, writer, and coconspirator, Bob Zmuda, breaks his twenty-year silence about the truth behind the headlines. He paints an illuminating portrait of a complex, often misunderstood loner who seldom ventured out of his room unless it was to jar millions of television viewers with his calculated lunacy or to satisfy his myriad sexual fetishes. Zmuda describes how Andy made his living straddling the thin line between genius and insanity and how he influenced the likes of such comic luminaries as Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, David Letterman, Lily Tomlin, and John Belushi. Zmuda finally confesses what really happened between wrestler Jerry Lawler and Andy to cause Kaufman's hospitalization for a life-threatening neck injury and elucidates the notorious confrontation that followed on Late Night with David Letterman. In a great testimonial to the appeal of the antihero, he also relates the origin and rise of Tony Clifton, an obnoxious lounge lizard whom Andy metamorphosed into when his dark side felt playful.. "Zmuda offers rare and intimate perspectives and compelling behind-the-scenes stories about Elvis Presley, Andy Warhol, Richard Burton, the cast of Taxi, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Gilda Radner, among many others. And through deeply personal diary entries, Zmuda chronicles Andy Kaufman's disturbing last days, his heroic struggle to cheat terminal cancer, and the public hysteria that continues to this day over the possibility that Andy faked his death.

FROM THE CRITICS

Keith Phipps - Orion.com

Andy Kaufman was, by all accounts, a difficult person to get to know, and had he not been, it's hard to imagine his comedy working half as well. With Kaufman--famous for his work on Taxi, but legendary for what he did elsewhere--it was always clear that he was making a joke, but never entirely clear who it was on, or even if he was in on it. At one point in Andy Kaufman Revealed!, his writing partner, best friend, and co-conspirator Bob Zmuda describes the real Kaufman as being somewhere unseen working the controls of his body from a bridge deep within his mind. That makes him a particularly tricky subject for a biography, and Zmuda's is one of two timed to coincide with Milos Forman's forthcoming biopic Man On The Moon.

As a biographer, Zmuda suffers from a problem of perspective: In some ways he's too close to Kaufman to write about him, and in others too distant. For many moments in Kaufman's life, he simply wasn't there, not being present during his childhood and barred from the set of Taxi and Heartbeeps as too great a distraction to the easily distracted actor. But taken as a personal reminiscence, Andy Kaufman Revealed! proves both enlightening and entertaining. Kaufman lived his act, and while it's true that if anyone got a chance to know the real Kaufman it's Zmuda, it's more important for the sake of the book that he knew the act. The "revealed" of the title is only half there for the sake of a joke: Zmuda explains what went into such creations as Tony Clifton, Kaufman's wrestling career, and other elaborate pranks that played themselves out in public. It's fascinating material, and it goes a long way toward compensating for the fact that Andy Kaufman Revealed! reads with all the flatness usually associated with ghostwritten memoirs (which it is). Also curious: the tone with which Zmuda addresses Kaufman's sexual exploits and involvement in Transcendental Meditation. Maybe it's co-writer Matthew Scott Hansen's fault, or maybe it's Zmuda's way of doing another joke with Kaufman by parodying tell-all biographies, but the book's passionless, voyeuristic reportage seems less interested in understanding and more interested in exploiting the peculiar aspects of its subject's private life. Only in its closing chapters, which address Kaufman's sudden death from cancer in 1984, does Zmuda let his guard down and portray his friend in terms that are moving as well as entertaining.

Still, Andy Kaufman Revealed! is difficult to put down, providing a compelling look at the life of comedy genius whose comedy and genius were his life.

Lance Gould - NY Times Book Review

Zmuda has composed an often hilarious tribute to his best friend that...reveal[s] many of this master trickster's secrets.

Publishers Weekly

The brilliantly subversive comedian Andy Kaufman is remembered today not only for his ability to make people laugh but also for his unnerving blend of shock humor and high-concept performance art. Fifteen years after Kaufman's death from lung cancer at the age of 35, his close friend and collaborator Zmuda unveils an intimate portrait of the enigmatic performer. In 1972, Zmuda, then a struggling writer/comedian, first saw Kaufman perform at New York's Improv as Foreign Man, a lovable dork, who, after bombing miserably on stage, would burst into a dead-on impersonation of Elvis Presley. Foreign Man would become Kaufman's signature act, leading to regular appearances on Saturday Night Live and a role as Latka on the TV sitcom Taxi. Yet Kaufman, according to Zmuda, often grew bored with celebrity and constantly pushed the comic envelope: inventing an alter ego, the swaggering, foul-mouthed lounge singer Tony Clifton; taking a Hollywood audience out for milk and cookies (a concept for which Zmuda claims credit); going on tour to wrestle college-age women, an idea apparently dreamed up by Kaufman in order to get women to sleep with him. Kaufman's unpredictability was such that audiences never knew whether or not they were in on the joke; when the comedian succumbed to cancer, many wondered whether he was faking it. Zmuda reveals some long-kept secrets--including the truth about the infamous feud with wrestler Jerry Lawler, which landed Kaufman in the hospital. Although Zmuda touches upon Kaufman's obsessive-compulsive behavior and the possibility that he might have exhibited a form of multiple personality disorder, this highly absorbing memoir will be read less for its insights into Kaufman's psyche than for the immediacy with which it recounts his brief but blazing career. (Sept.) FYI: The Andy Kaufman craze continues this fall as Universal Pictures releases the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon, directed by Milos Forman and starring Jim Carrey. In November, Delacorte will publish Lost in the Fun House: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman by Bill Zehme. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Michael Colton - Brill's Content

In the 15 years since his death, Andy Kaufman and his performance-art comedy have become legendary among his peers and the public. Now, with a bio-pic starring Jim Carey opening in December, Kaufman's having a much deserved moment in the sun. Andy Kaufman Revealed! Best Friends Tell All, by Kaufman's writing partner, Bob Zmuda, with Matthew Scott Hansen, details the brilliance of Kaufman's career—beyond playing Latka Gravas on the sitcom Taxi and regular appearances on Saturday Night Live—as seen by his closest confidant. Kaufman redefined the relationship between performer and audience; he would rather make his audience angry than make it laugh. Or, perhaps, as Carrey says in the book, "Andy was the director and the audience"—and we were his performers.

Kirkus Reviews

Andy Kaufman's best friend may be taking us for one last ride in his tell-all biography, but his rendition of their shared lunacy is so heartfelt and funny that it hardly matters. All the anecdotes seem kosher, but since most of Zmuda's tales are about himself and Kaufman duping their audiences, it's hard to be absolutely sure. Like much of Kaufman's humor, half the fun is just guessing. The other half is sitting back and letting the action happen. After all, this is the story of a man whose friends didn't even believe he had really died of cancer in 1984, and they had watched him waste away for months. Zmuda, who executive produces HBO's Comic Relief, starts the story off in the early '70s, when he and Kaufman collided on the New York comedy scene. They were nut cases, both of them. Kaufman was the performer, Zmuda was the guy who handled the details. The sheer outrageousness of their exploits—from the mysterious screenwriter Zmuda worked for to Kaufman's insatiable libido to the comic's final days trying to beat cancer through psychic surgery—makes for a great read. Neverthelss, Zmuda is a reluctant storyteller. Much of his motivation for revealing secrets is the upcoming movie Man on the Moon (of which he is an executive producer), starring Jim Carrey and directed by Milos Forman, which is going to spill what Kaufman's friends have kept quiet over the years. The revelations—such as what really went on with the public feud with wrestler Jerry Lawler and who exactly was dressed up as Kaufman's obnoxious alter ego Tony Clifton—are anticlimactic because our interest was never about the truth anyway. The one intriguing mystery that Zmuda can't unpuzzle and thatguides the entire narrative is the mysterious nature of Kaufman's comic gifts. Was he a genius or was he absolutely crazy? Zmuda's story is a riot, but Kaufman took that answer to the grave.