Who was the guy at the end if not Andy? - Man on the Moon (1999) Discussion

[–] tmaj48 15 years ago

Even when he was dying, there were many who believed that he was faking it,
because of his reputation for stunts; some people are still waiting for him
to reappear and reveal that he's just been in hiding all these years. The movie
purposely left it up in the air whether that was true or not (maybe the filmmakers believed Andy would want it that way--and he probably would, too).

I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!

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[–] chad_farr_21 15 years ago

In reality, the man performing was Andy's good friend Bob Zmuda. The film attempts to leave this ambiguous, or make it seem like it was Andy himself dressed as Tony Clifton by showing Bob in the audience.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] chad_farr_21 15 years ago

Yes, but in this specific case it was Bob Zmuda.

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[–] Boomstick87 15 years ago

It couldn't have been Bob Zmuda. At the end of the performance, right before the movie ends, we see Bob in the audience clapping. It seemed like this was done intentionally, to make it clear to us that it wasn't him. So either Andy didn't really die, or it was just someone else.

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[–] phunkiemonky 15 years ago

Boomstick87 - Its called "movie magic". they made it look as if Bob Zmuda was in the audience at the same time. duh

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[–] Boomstick87 15 years ago

Okay, I get it. I didn't read chad farr 21's first post before I posted mine. My bad. I'm well aware of how "movie magic" works, I just didn't know that it was all supposed to be ambiguous. I took the scene literally. Also, it's been a couple of years since I've seen the movie.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Boomstick87 15 years ago

So, I was right the first time.

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[–] CamsReviews 15 years ago

It's not Bob Zmuda or Andy Kaufmann at the end. It's just some guy impersonating Tony Clifton like Andy did with Elvis. I think it's meant to show that Andy had reached the same status as celebrities like Elvis if he's being impersonated after he died.

Got my foot on the ladder and i'm climbing up to the moon...

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[–] matt197981 12 years ago

In real life several people had played Tony Clifton including some of Andy's friends from Chicago who Bob hired to play Tony Clifton sometimes

My mini city

http://wonker-town.myminicity.com/com

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[–] peterstrauss-1 15 years ago

Or it's trying to emulate Andy's nonsensical style of comedy, confuse the audience without giving any real explanation.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] thefabslv 15 years ago

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner, Mr. Strauss! :-)

And now for something completely different...

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[–] Aloft 12 years ago

Bob Zmuda wasn't the only one that played Tony Clifton, his brother did as well. This scene was a tip of the hat to that---it wasn't meant to be ambiguous. Clifton still makes rare appearances to this day. It's his old friends' way of honouring Kaufman's memory.

That's what this scene is about.

Not some cheap trick to make you wonder if....

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[–] TheConfounder 15 years ago

His brother also performed as Tony Cliffton in real life I believe. His brother was also the "doctor" who rushed up on the stage at Carnegie Hall in the movie, so he was in on Andy's stunts ... almost to the point that he didn't believe he was dying at first.
In the last scene, you do not see his brother in the audience. So it is probably the brother on stage, but you would have had to catch the significance of the Carnegie Hall bit to guess it might be him...

"Tool up, honey bunny. It's time to get bad guys."

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[–] angloo 14 years ago

I have been bugged about this ever since I saw the movie for the first time. And 3/4 of you have not addressed this issue. We know it;'s not Andy, we know it's not Zmuda, and nothing else is explained. Was it real or fake? If this did not happen in real life in 1985, why add it to the film? If it did happen, why no explanation?

His brother? I guess that's plausible. Faked death? After watching this movie I am sorry I ever watched Andy Kaufman. He used, fooled, deceived and lied to his audience over and over again and I would never forgive him if I were a fan.

Although I did not like the movie the 2nd time I watched it, Jim Carrey was absolutely brilliant in it and deserved an Oscar nomination. He nailed most of Andy's mannerisms and was spellbinding in his portrayal.

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[–] kaneforgov 14 years ago

There is no mystery. It is well known that Andy's brother and Bob Zumda both played Tony Clifton at various times.

Tony Clifton was touring with his act just last month. I really doubt it was Andy.

http://www.tonyclifton.net/#/blog-00-00/

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[–] Robbmonster 14 years ago

I think the end shot is to remind us that by the end of the film we still know almost nothing about Andy Kaufman as a person, what drove him, what made him tick.

It adds mystery to mystery.

Never defend crap with: "It's just a movie"
My work:
watch?v=uwRqc0KSkJ0
watch?v=z74-vDDDmTU

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[–] amazinjay1 14 years ago

It was really Zmuda. Zmuda confirms this in his biography on Andy Kaufman. The movie just wants to paint the doubt in your mind...just like Andy would have, no doubt.

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[–] orclord 14 years ago

just like andy would have.. that is exactly true.

that concert really did happen a year after andy's death. it was really zmuda in costume.

just because this movie showed zmuda standing in the audience DOES NOT MEAN THAT IS HOW IT HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE.

i think the real zmuda added that final scene as another honor to his friend andy. it got people questioning things, it got them wondering and doubting. it got them to remember andy again in a way that you wouldnt think about, even though you just watched a movie about his life.

they did a great job with that final scene!
-
I cannot be caged. I cannot be controlled. Understand this as you die, ever pathetic, ever fools

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[–] gabby_bm 14 years ago

If not Zmuda or Andy's brother, it could be one of his meditation friends, either the actor that Shapiro recognizes or even the chick. She would have made a great Tony.

"Atlas Shrugged" coming soon to a theater near you![/red]

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[–] shtiffen 13 years ago

orclord answered it fully and beautifully...yet,, if you are/were aware that others (definitley his brother as well as Zmuda, and possibly others) performed Clifton most of the time, it would not seem so ambiguous an ending.(surely most people don't know that...after all, I think that was the essence of the gag.

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[–] smokzey 13 years ago

The movie was trying to tell us that when Andy performed Clifton - noone appreciated it, like Andy said "gotta be few steps ahead of 'em", now he's dead and others are imitating him.

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[–] Kariann1 13 years ago

I am happy to read your post to fill in the answers. Thank you.

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[–] jefgg 12 years ago

I heard Robin Williams appeared as Tony Clifton after Andy Kaufman passed away.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] GoMangoMan 11 years ago

Some other person. The point being that Tony Clifton had become an act that anyone can play.

==================
astrolupine: even with makeup, you can't make an actor's face look like a chair

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[–] dana5570 11 years ago

I took it to mean that when Andy was alive, everyone knew Tony was Andy but everyone had to go through great lengths to make sure they pretended it wasn't Andy and Tony was a living person. So since Andy is not Tony, Tony really is alive and well and still performing. Because he's not Andy and I think that's the way Andy wanted it--to keep people confused even almost 30 years after his death.

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[–] 11 years ago

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