
When Orson Welles Interviewed Andy Kaufman (1982) - tintinnabula
http://www.openculture.com/2017/12/the-improbable-time-when-orson-welles-interviewed-andy-kaufman-1982.html
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Dirlewanger
What exactly is Kaufman's appeal? I do admit to ignorance on him. I think I
watched a standup performance of his years ago, and it was basically anti-
comedy with musical bits. I've dismissed him ever since. Was it that he was
avant-garde for the time? Should I go watch Taxi/Man on the Moon? What is
quintessential Kaufman?

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deadmetheny
Calling Kaufman a comedian is a bit misleading - he's far more of a
performance artist whose favoured delivery vehicle was that of a prank, put-
on, or practical joke. In particular, his stint in the professional wrestling
arena and his feud with Jerry Lawler was so well-put on that most people
thought it was legit.

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soperj
Not really though. Look at his SNL bits. Like the Mighty Mouse one. Really he
was just trying to push people in any way possible. Not just the crowd but the
people involved in the show, everyone was his audience, from fellow actors, to
stage hands and producers.

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alsetmusic
Welles was not a professional talk show host, so I can forgive him for talking
far more than his guest.

For fans of Andy Kaufman, let me save you a few minutes: he gets to speak very
little and the interview serves as more of a teaser than anything.

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whoopdedo
It's difficult to tell if Andy is showing deference to Orson because of
personal admiration, or is it that he is the type of person who will control
any room that he is in. In many cases Andy was that dominant personality,
which is why this interview is a fascinating intersection of show business
talent.

I would have like to have heard the Ron Glass interview as well. I'm more
familiar with him from Firefly and don't know much about what he was like
early in his career.

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ChicagoDave
Barney Miller. Watch it...it was brilliant.

