Was Andy Kauffman really a genius?
Even watching his bits on YT seem lame.
shareWell, speaking from being there during his career.
He started off with a bang because his stuff was entirely original. This hooked him up with a successful TV show called "Taxi". He appeared now and then as a character he created. Kaufman called him "Foreign Man". The character's name on "Taxi" was Latka.
Ok, all well and good. The problem for Kaufman is his act grew tiresome, very quickly. Instead of going up and up and getting bigger and bigger, he became more and more insignificant. To the point one didn't even know of the wrestling business he did. When Eddie Murphy showed up on the scene, Andy Kaufman was 100% entirely forgotten.
When he passed, my thought was "oh yeah, I remember him". It wasn't a big deal , no one really cared. One didn't even know he had cancer.
So, there you go, this is Kaufman's career in a nutshell. Does this make him a genius?
I doubt it.
How sad.
shareWell, yeah, maybe it's sad - but it's the truth.
One really doesn't know why some in history have tried to classify him as a genius.
By the time he passed he was totally irrelevant.
My God...do you have anything positive to say about his legacy?
shareWhen he first came out, his material was completely original.
I should add too, one was a bit insensitive. Even though Kaufman died completely insignificant in terms of comedic importance, it is very sad for someone to pass so young.
[deleted]
So your litmus test for whether someone was a genius or not is how popular they were? Gee, glad you're here to tell us these things.
shareHey, you're very welcome. I'm glad I could clue you in to the reality of Kaufman's career.
And he isn't a genius, but in fact, none of the rest of them (fellow comedians) are either.
Some of them very bright, yes. Genius is an entirely different level.
Oh you clued me into something alright, unfortunately it involved the qualitative state of your brain, not Andy's.
shareComing from someone that apparently can't spell correctly.
Hey man if you want to add to it and express your opinion, great, I'm all ears.
If you're going to sit there and be a judgemental jerk - then you can FO.
Got it? Clear enough?
Think I've already made my opinion quite clear. And what exactly did I misspell? Are you going to give me your enlightened perspective on how "alright" is a more modern albeit less formal version of "all right" and shouldn't be accepted as proper diction on an internet message board? Oh, please do.
By the way, after the pitiful ad populum argument, why did you decide to directly inject DancingintheDark's opinion about other comedians not being geniuses into your post as your own? You're not doing yourself any favors here, boy.
You have? That's news to me.
Hey and GFY on the rest of it. Why don't you enlighten me on what exactly is your opinion of Andy Kaufman? I'll state mine again. Genius, no. Funny? His original material , when he first came out was funny. He himself wasn't all that funny, notice when he got the role on "Taxi" - it was his character, not he himself. Long term staying power, no - completely irrelevant on the comedy scene at his death.
Oh and lastly, did he fake his own death? No, he died of a virulent form of Cancer. By the time he decided to take the opinion of Doctors (prior to this he was trying to solve the problem on his own) - it was too late, although, unfortunately for him, he wouldn't have lasted long even if he did follow Doctors orders to a T. However, he may have lasted another year or two.
He ended up , as a last resort, buying into some absurd therapy in a foreign country. They happily ripped him off.
What a genius! Now, how about you, genius that you are - why don't you tell us all your opinion on ANdy Kaufman?
I'm going to be offline for a couple of hours here - so you have plenty of time to exhaust your own brilliance presenting a thorough take on Andy Kaufman. I'm waiting with bated breath!
You're babbling, friend.
DancingintheDark: "Genius, no, but neither is Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Dave Chapelle…."
5 minutes later...
jacotodd47: "And he isn't a genius, but in fact, none of the rest of them (fellow comedians) are either."
As for my opinion on Andy Kaufman, instead of your plagiarism... I don't really have a strong one. My issue was with the ludicrous notion you presented that we should judge someone's genius by their general popularity. Feel free to back off on that totally ridiculous point and we'll be (mostly) copacetic.
Ok, yeah, well first of all, I couldn't possibly care less if we are copacetic.
Your thoughts are as significant to me as the thoughts of a woodpecker.
I agreed with what Dancinginthedark said - thus I made it part of my answer. Notice I indicated I respected Dancing's viewpoint. However, if I post it, and I post it into my answer - then it is my opinion - which happens to be an opinion I share with dancing. It's still my opinion. Ok? Got it?
Plagiarism? WHat I presented are facts on Kaufman, infused with my opinion. If you don't agree with my opinion, that's fine. And BTW, I didn't look anything up. I use my own brain, which is why I post on Moviechat, to exercise my brain. You can make the argument I share the same opinion with Dancing that Kaufman's fellow comedians aren't genius's either. Everything else I wrote came from my own brain. ANd if you don't believe me, you can GFY on that, too.
"ludicrous notion you presented that we should judge someone's genius by their general popularity."
I think the only comedian there may be empirical data that indicates he actually is a genius is Woody Allen.
I don't know that there is any empirical basis that Kaufman was a genius. As far as his popularity, I was stating facts. I know because I was in my early teens when he passed. Stuff like comedians, music, movies - one was entirely hip on everyone at that time (not like now). He was a non-entity. Any early success he had was completely worn off when he passed.
Does this indicate he was or was not a genius, no it doesn't. But in fact, I never said it did, one was simply stating the truth.
"Your thoughts are as significant to me as the thoughts of a woodpecker."
Yet you're here furiously typing out long winded quasi-essays in response to them. I mean, what exactly is your endgame here - to waste my time? Because if you're trying to salvage back a little self respect, or convince me that you aren't in fact a complete dumbass for using popularity as a gauge for genius, you're doing a pitiful job. Just admit it was a stupid point to make next time.
But hey, I am glad you went from claiming you had no clue what I was talking about in terms of presenting someone else's opinion as your own, to in fact admitting that you presented someone else's opinion as your own. So thanks for that.
HEY, TO ANYONE THAT READS THIS - IF YOU HAPPEN TO READ SOMETHING I WROTE, AND YOU AGREE WITH IT - AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO USE IT IN YOUR OWN ANSWER....
Please do - I'll take it as a compliment.
As for you Maul, BTW Maul? What do you maul, ant holes?
I'm done with this and I'm done with you. Best of luck and have a great life.
Take care.