ANDY KAUFMAN Biography - Other artists & entretainers

 
 

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ANDY KAUFMAN

Name: Andy Kaufman                                                                 
Birth name Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman                                                 
Born: 17 January 1949 New York City                                               
Died: 16 May 1984 Los Angeles, California                                         
                                                                                   
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (January 17, 1949 - May 16, 1984) was an American         
entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, 
Kaufman did not self-identify as one. He disdained telling jokes and engaging     
in comedy as it was traditionally understood; instead, he saw himself as a         
practitioner of anti-humor or absurdist performance art, and                       
referred to himself as a "song and dance man".                                     
                                                                                   
Kaufman was born in New York City on January 17, 1949 into a Jewish family, the   
first son of Stanley and Janice (Bernstein) Kaufman. He grew up in Great Neck,     
Long Island, New York, and began performing at the age of 9. He attended the       
now defunct two-year Grahm Junior College[4] in Boston, graduating in 1971.       
After leaving college he began performing stand-up comedy at various small clubs   
along the East coast.