A star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame was unveiled Thursday posthumously honoring Andy Kaufman for a occupation very best remembered for his portrayal of mechanic Latka Gravas on “Taxi” and a range of outlandish moments.
Kaufman’s “Taxi” castmate Marilu Henner, former “Saturday Evening Live” cast member Kevin Nealon and Kristen Schaal spoke at the late-morning ceremony at 1555 Vine St., between Selma Avenue and Sunset Boulevard.
Schaal was picked to be a person of the speakers for the reason that she was the 2005 receiver of The Andy Kaufman Award, developed by his spouse and children to protect his legacy. It honors “promising reducing-edge artists with refreshing and unconventional substance, for all those eager to consider challenges with an audience, and for those who do not determine on their own by the regular conventions of comedy,” according to its site.
Kaufman’s brother Michael accepted the star.
The star is the 2,761st since the completion of the Wander of Fame in 1961 with the first 1,558 stars.
Born Jan. 17, 1949, in New York Metropolis and raised Good Neck, Long Island, Kaufman started his vocation in 1971 undertaking at many tiny comedy golf equipment on the East Coast soon after graduating from the now-defunct Grahm Junior School in Boston.
Kaufman’s act included the character International Person, who spoke in a meek, substantial-pitched, intensely accented voice and claimed to be from “Caspiar,” a fictional island in the Caspian Sea, and who would enjoy a recording of the theme from the “Mighty Mouse” cartoon demonstrate while standing beautifully nevertheless, and lip-sync only the line “Here I arrive to help save the working day” with great enthusiasm.
Overseas Person would often notify jokes improperly and do weak imitations of renowned folks then burst into an Elvis Presley imitation.
Kaufman performed the “Mighty Mouse” little bit on the premiere of “Saturday Evening Live” on Oct. 11, 1975.
Foreign Gentleman impressed Kaufman’s character on “Taxi,” an immigrant from a place that was in no way discovered.
Kaufman also included wrestling into his act, supplying any female in the viewers $500-$1,000 if they could pin him. He afterwards proclaimed himself “Inter-Gender Wrestling Winner of the Earth.” Kaufman also engaged in a pretend feud with wrestling star Jerry Lawler, which includes an physical appearance on “Late Night time with David Letterman.”
Kaufman’s foray into wrestling led to his induction in the WWE Hall of Fame this 12 months.
An additional of Kaufman’s people was Tony Clifton, a foul-mouthed and domineering lounge singer.
Kaufman died of lung most cancers on May perhaps 16, 1984 at age 35.
