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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- Hosting segments from Andy Kaufman's hard-to-find final television appearance.
Taped January 22, 1984. Aired January 27.
Four months before Andy Kaufman's tragic death from lung cancer, and despite not feeling well, he agreed to be a last-minute hosting replacement for Chevy Chase on the premiere episode of Harold Ramis' "The Top." Brief appearances from a few well-known comedians and good debut ratings wouldn't be enough to keep the show on the air. This would end up being the one and only episode of "The Top" ever produced and aired. Read WHY here:
nightflight.com...
Michael Dare, one of the head writers for "The Top," created that groovy little webpage details his fond memory of being one of the last people to work with Andy, why the show was so short-lived, how/why it was developed in the first place, and the backstage drama that caused Chevy Chase to quit. It's pretty cool that such background info exists, considering that the show was gone almost as quickly as it came.
@antoniod The show was actually a hit. This was the only episode that ever aired, but it received good ratings. As far as I know, this is also the only episode ever taped too. I don't want to give the idea that there are extra episodes in the vaults or anything. I don't think so. I think this is it. Also, Chevy Chase was supposed to host this pilot, not Andy. Andy agreed to be a last minute replacement. I doubt he would've hosted any more episodes after this, if the show had continued.
The link with the info doesn't work?
He died 4 months from this and was only 35...fuck this place.
Personally, I think he faked his death. It'd be his greatest prank.
Bob Zmuda reckons he died of Aids.....and the wrestling matches were just foreplay and he usually banged the women after...... he lived the life of a mass fornicator and paid the price...
Even though cancer sucks big time, i am going to remember the comedic genius that was Andy and NOT how bloody sick he was or looked. He looked great. I love and miss him. Thank u to all who continue to share his videos
I hope this clip never gets taken down. Amazing document. Thanks for posting.
+James Richardson This clip is probably safe since they cut all the Music out of it I know there was a video up on YT with the full show but probably the Sony and Warner Music Police complained about it having their music in it.
I could not agree more ! This video is utterly awesome and amazing !!
Does anyone have the full episode? I was hired as a regular dancer (fly girl) and we taped with Cindi Lauper, The Romantics, Randy Newman and Chevy Chase. I guess Andy was added later because Chevy quit.
This show resembles an acid trip.
Andy started wearing extra clothing so he would not look so skinny. I think it was the national enquirer that first broke the story of his health. Jerry Lawler said it was hard to watch his quick downfall especially the last 3 months of his life. He wanted to fight it holistically but it didnt' help at all.
He coughed at about 5:55. From what i understand, his friends and family had been worried about his cough. He finally had it checked out and his cancer was discovered. Hard to believe he died only 4 months after this.
At 5:55 he holds back a cough.
☹
you right! :C
@@TorkG8 😿💔
@Danimal300zx 😥😭
Andy was more or less literally a last minute replacement, Or, a-week-later replacement. Backstory, New Wave Theater was a local tv-show for Los Angeles, produced by David Jove. When the host, Peter Ivers, was killed in a still-unsolved murder in 1983, the show ended. Ivers' friend, Harold Ramis, actor-director-writer-producer, decided to help Jove continue the spirit of NWT, with a new show, to be shown nationally, as the west-coast version of SNL. Chevy Chase was to host. During production it became clear that Jove had a very specific idea in mind, and shot down every single idea proposed by comedic geniuses Ramis and Chase. His way or the highway. Even the headwriter, hired by Ramis, was told directly that none of his input would be used. Anyway, the pilot is about to be filmed, and Jove, right off-stage, comes up and tells Chevy "Put on his punk-outfit", spiky hair, vest, the whole thing "and go out there and just wing it". Chevy put it on, went out, and it turned out that Jove had invited an audience of punks. The theme starts, Chevy runs out, the theme keeps playing, and he just stands there. Then a bunch of punks runs the stage and begins to pogo to the music. Chevy don't know what is going on and starts to push them off the stage. They push back and soon after, Chevy is punched. He storms out and never returns, about 30 seconds in. Shooting somehow continues. They film the interviews backstage and the musical segments. Ramis is pissed and takes over.
A week later, shooting continues. Jove is literally handcuffed in the production-room. Andy Kaufman has been hired to record these 5-10 minutes of host-filler, just to deliver the pilot. The show got ok ratings, but Jove had alienated everyone during production, due to his bizarre behavior, and no more episodes were made.
The song at the end, by the way, is Jove's wife and daughter, Comedienne Lotus Weinstock and Lili Haydn, now a super-talented session violinist and musician in her own right.
It was Kaufman's choice to just "be himself", during the host-segments, by the way. If he looks awkward, it might be because, for pretty much the only time in his too brief career, he didn't put on some sort of a character, for what he probably would have known would, or at least very well could, be his final appearance on TV.
Very interesting. Where did you find this info?
Real or not, it sounds legit. Fascinating story none the less.
Actually Derf Scratch of Fear kicked Chevy in the balls.
It's very inspiring and very sad at the same time. When he coughed for a moment there, I just couldn't take it.
It seems at some points in the video (it may be just me) that Andy's voice is raspy and different from what it normally sounded like, which is another sign that he was battling Lung Cancer. I've got to hand it to him, even though he was very ill at the time of this taping, he took the job anyways, which is incredibly brave, considering it's in front of the entire TV viewing world.
Andy Kaufman came to my family's apartment in Brookline, MA in 1981 because my brother's girlfriend knew him.
Blimey ! What a trip to watch ! From what I've read online, poor Andy was dead from his terminal form of lung cancer only four months later (May of 1984). And to me he looks completely healthy here ! Andy certainly had a unique (some would say bizarre or weird) comedy style. Love him or hate him, it was heartbreaking to see him die at such a young age (only 35, poor fellow !). Thanks for uploading this rare gem !! :-)
I don't see the weight loss that' s often referred to. Andy always was very thin. Not to say he didn't have cancer, just that he doesn't look physically ill here at all.
well, t.v. does add weight, the account i've read says it was the live audience who noticed andy not looking well. they would have obviously seen things behind the scenes, they may have noticed him not moving well, etc. he went home after this very tired and very sick.
I can tell he's lost weight but is definitely not emaciated here. In '83, his face was almost swollen. Here he's lost that paunch. But nobody would know he was sick by looking, you're right there. We only know because we "know".
You don't see the weight loss? How can't you see it? He looks so sick here... :(
Dude come on man The poor guy looks like hes dying on on his feet. I'm hoping this is just an elaborate act though it's 30 years come on Andy its time to come out now.
Cancer is a disease that's up and down. Sometimes they have enough strength and energy to function normally. Other times they'll feel really sick and tired. Here Andy was well enough to perform.
Bless him. We love you Andy, wherever you are :)
If you like Andy Kaufman then I can pretty much guarantee you'll like Hans Teeuwen.
He seems quite subdued here and you can tell something is not quite right - low energy/going through the motions type vibe, Cancer is just the worst and dying of it at 35 is incredible bad luck RIP
Some say he had Aids.....Bob Zmuda for one......the number of chicks he banged it wouldn't be a surprise.
He’s quite thin here, so brave
why brave? he looks fine.
Kind of a derivation of TOTP, in Great Britain?
In the AK bio by Zehme, it says Andy just collapsed from exhaustion after he finished taping. IDK Y that hurt me so much to read. 😢
@issy_b_onair I felt the same. 😿💔
Neat!!! (I'm on an Andy binge lately) Thanks for posting.
5:55 THE COUGH HE TRIED TO HIDE WAS DUE TO LUNG CANCER
We KNOW.... He had been coughing since November 1983 and it can be heard/seen in his tv appearances of that time here on youtube.
Andy didn't do this for the money according to this: "Promoter Jerry Jarrett (said) that for two years he would mail paychecks to Kaufman, with payments comparable to what other main-event wrestlers were getting at the time, but Kaufman never cashed any of them."
@Silvertrine
Man, your few words are probably the most wisest I've ever read on TH-cam. It's true, we never know what people are going through (but they try not to show it, too...)... by being nicer we just don't hurt each other anymore...
Yeah. I've always been curious about seeing this, but it is pretty hard to watch. Especially noticing his arm...
Oh, this is so bad.Poor Andy.No wonder it didn't sell.
You've got to be a heartless douche to down vote this video.Here's a guy knowing he's going to die soon but he's putting his best foot forward to entertain in spite of his advanced condition. Fucking brave, just brave.
Lighten up Francis
watching this 28 years later, and it was a pretty damn good concept,
the animal heads, ducks, the acts... hilarious =)
look up andy kaufman's last photo and tell me he faked his death. You dont fake how emaciated he was. People need to stop being so naive. when conspiracy theorists said kaufman's ss# was still active and he was alive in an unprecedented move, the LA coroner re-released the signed death certificate. its a felony to forge a death certificate and anyone involved would lose their medical license and could go to jail. What many think happened is that Andy made a deal with the coroners in some way so that they didn't put in his SS# as dead. Even if you are a celebrity there is paper work that still needs to be filed. Bindy Irwin didn't get her money from that cooky dance show because she had to have written proof her dad steve irwin wasn't alive. I think Andy wanted the public to think he was alive so that's why it was done. you can't fake the pain his mom and ex girlfriend and so many others went through at the hospital and
at his open casket funeral and at the hospital bed. Then a couple of years ago his nutty brother hires an actress to say Andy is alive and she is his daughter. the internet went nuts until it was found he hired her and she was an actress and her real dad was a shrink. deal with what is, not with what might be.
If anyone really wants to know the story behind this clip, read the first chapter of the book, by Josh Frank "In Heaven Everything is Fine: The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers and the Lost History of New Wave Theatre". This isn't a plug, but I'm reading it now and it's quite good. The original host before Andy K was brought in was Chevy Chase!
1984 must have been a big year for cocaine. XP
lol you people are trying so hard to look for things; Andy looked fine here... the sad thing is he had to do a show this horrible...
His legs are very skinny here, and he has two shirts and a sweater on.
Actually despite what I said...Upon further review he also wore three layers of clothing in the 1980 Letterman interview. So it wasn't unusual for him to appear like this.
Imagine dropping Acid and then watching an Andy Kaufman marathon or just going to one of his shows when all of the sudden he decides it's time for him and the audience to conduct a bunny hop several blocks down the street and back again or perhaps not to return... I'm honestly not sure I'd come all the way back from that trip but I'd have one hell of a fun time losing my mind with Andy in the meantime. :)
+Another You Tube Account You should never be afraid of LSD, especially if you smoke pot.
They should bring this show back. It looks like it can be cheaply produced.
man, this is so 80's...
All the special guests are all 80's.
No shit.
I remember he coughed during Letterman and it seemed like part of the act.
@HLJokerRP He also clears his throat at 1:31 ...
Am I on drugs?
,,,truly bizarre ,, Kaufman was so out of his element and shaken up, It actually seems like he was trying to do a good job. I don't think he was getting any work at that time because of the wrestling stuff and the fact they all thought he was bull shitting about his cancer. Must have been a heart breaking time for him and all of his friends and family cuzz he died less than 2 months after this aired.
5:55
He was truly very sick. According to his family authorized biography, he went home to rest immediately after he got done taping this. He wasn't trying to do a character. He just wanted to be himself. I think he wanted to take this opportunity to say goodbye to his fans.
Christina Webb
He didn't die less than 2 months after this aired. This aired on January 27th (filmed on the 22nd). He died May 16th, which was just under 4 months later, not 2 months.
i remember all the accusations of him faking his death, it's true most people assumed it was just one of andy's elaborate hoax's, must have been an awful time for him, on the one hand he loved pulling one over on the public/audience but at the same time he must have been heart broken that his sickness and passing wasn't taken seriously.
what a shame he is in a cher special i have from 1979 so young to die he was good rip :(
He doesn't look good here. God bless him
@barbarash Well if you click that link in the info section of this video, that may answer your questions... particularily the last couple paragraphs, in regard to Andy. He wasn't trying to put on a top-notch performance here. He knew he was dying and was saying goodbye.
:(
You can actually hear that Rodney hat to dub in Andy instead of Chevy.
I think the 2 most likely scenarios are that Andy Kaufman either did die of lung cancer when and where the official story says he did, OR, he actually did fake his death with the intention of later revealing himself, but then ended up actually getting sick and passing away at a later date, and never ended up doing his big reveal. I've heard some other clips where there was speculation that he faked his death but then was diagnosed with AIDS soon after and died for real. This actually seems alot more likely to me than the "Andy is Still Alive Today" theory because it would explain why he never came out to reveal himself as being alive even after all these years and decades have passed. So one way or another I think he is currently deceased, whether he originally faked his own death or not. I truly don't believe he is still alive, not only because of all the evidence that says he died, but as a performer myself I honestly can't see someone like Andy who was born to be a performer and entertainer ever being happy living in hiding or just living as a regular guy without ever returning to performing at least on a limited basis. In most cases when you are a performer and have been one all your life, it's in your blood and in your brain and in your heart, and it's part of who you are. Part of your identity. You don't just turn it off and "go into hiding" for basically the rest of your life especially when you know you have many fans out there who would give anything to see you perform again. I mean...not unless the Mafia put out a hit on him or something like that.
I was wrong about the show not selling, but David Jove's humor is painfully forced.It reminds me a little of the Douminian SNLs, or the 1977 "Laugh-In" revival.
There isn’t a cure for lung cancer and never was right?
He died four months later. Doesn't look too sick.
Look for his Letterman appearance from Nov. 1983, just 2 months prior to this, and you can see that he's lost an incredible amount of weight.
at first i thought the left arm looked fine and he didn't look so brittle as stated. then after a while you notice andy has trouble lifting the arm, he in fact never lifts the whole arm up, like when he's on the phone he literally bends his head down to the receiver rather than lift it up to his ear. he was clearly very weak at this point.
5:55 he can't hold back his cough.
Idiots have never seen cancer patients and they're spitting bullshit.This guy looks ill here?He looks great.2 months away from death a cancer patient can barely stand on his feet
Cancer patients can fade very quickly. My aunt went for having an unknown life span to death in about 10 days. What generally makes cancer patients lose weight and look ill is Chemo therapy. They can and do put weight back on after a spell of treatment and look healthier even if the cancer hasn't been eradicated. This is one of the more interesting fake death conspiracy theories though given he was known not only for hoaxes but also is known to have talked about faking his own death for a long period. Someone somewhere must have successfully faked their death, so its not impossible...but like with God, I can't believe something is true whens there's no actual evidence.
So you're telling me Andy went out on the top? seems appropriate.
quite a sad poignant last song sung in the clip
Jack who? Ass or off? me confused 4sure :-s
Sorry, it's the prologue, not the 1st chaper.
I wonder if Eric Andre got the idea for his show from this.
WHY DID YOU CUT OUT RAPPIN RODNEY:(
Have you Lauper's performance????
He does look ill in the video
TV is a vast wasteland.
OH THERE IT IS, 5:50
He coughs at 5:54 introducing ZZ Top video, the cough that led him to the doc the month before.
Wrong. This was late January 1984. He went to the doctor late November 1983 (2 months earlier, not the month before). He had been coughing all throughout November 1983 and it's documented in several of his tv appearances during thar time. The cough that can be heard here in late January is much deeper. The lung cancer was clearly getting worse since his November 1983 television appearances.
i'VE BEEN WAITING FOR HIM TO COUGH FOR 5 MINUTES AND NOTHING!
5:55 That enough 5s for you to wait?
His social security number listed on his "death certificate" is still active, and not listed in the death index. So, either Kaufman is still alive or someone stole his social and is living under his identity or did he switch identity with someone? His social and public records show Kaufman/or whoever using his social, living at addresses way after 1984. Weird??? The last address linked to his social I could confirm for free on the internet was in Chicago in 2000. The public record showed a phone number as well, but I believe that number is inactive now. Why was his death not reported to Social Security or was the number on the certificate fake, or was the certificate fake? I could verify online the social listed on the certificate is linked to his name, and was issued in New York in 1962. Kaufman was born and raised in New York. I am not the only person who has searched and verified his social over the years. Something doesn't seem right about the whole situation???
I feel bad for him and his family if really got sick and passed, and I always believed that. However, recently discovering his social still being active and finding fairly current addresses linked to his name with matching relatives makes me have doubts, and I am very open to the fact that he faked the whole thing!
I guess Kaufman never imagined 30 years ago we'd have the internet one day, and be able to access public records conveniently from our own home. ;)
Mandy Pandy Yeah, he's dead.
+Mandy Pandy We can only hope
+Mandy Pandy he's dead; ask his mom and his girlfriend who never thought all of this faking of his death talk was very funny. ridiculous. he's dead
Oh the 80s...
No cough??no weakness,full of energy,seems happy optimistic... 2 months later in a wheelchair with a shaved head???military friends saw him in the Philippines in march,Clark Air base....
.probably faked his death...he should say Hello to everyone!!🎤💃🎭
x pete He wasn't full of energy here, sadly. He rose to the occasion and was professional. According to the Kaufman family-authorized biography Lost In The Funhouse, right after he filmed this, he went immediately home and rested. And never appeared on TV again.
NO COUGH??? WATCH THE VIDEO AGAIN! At 5:55 he's coughing and then go and watch his very last appearance here on youtube of him at a movie premiere EXTREMELY EMACIATED (look up the word if you don't know what it means) and tell me he wasn't dying. You're an idiot.
Never made me laugh
4real? :-(
Top demais
You can tell he is distressed and fumbling his words in this clip and struggles to remember his lines. Man, and this was only the start of his cancer apparently.
ok
*;-;*
Cause of death states he had cancer which had spread to his brain.... If he was two months away from death here then he went down hill markedly fast.....
mrbillhicks
This was just under 4 months from his death, not 2.
yeah happened to my grandad. he had a triple bypass, they found a shadow on his lung, diagnosed as having lung cancer that was untreatable and he died 5 months later.
Do you have the Cyndi Lauper performance? I can’t find it anywhere.
mascottie I had it uploaded but TH-cam must have removed it. :/ I don't have the computer software that I used to upload this clip any longer. But I will try to get it back up for you. ;)
tygersflowerz thank you! It would be cool to see. If you do, will you message me again on here and let me know?
He had lung cancer...this was his last appearance...
No, he made another appearance which is now on youtube of him at a movie premiere, extremely emaciated and sporting a mohawk, but it wasn't online during the time you made your comment.
Yeah, that appearance with the mohawk was in March 1984 and he passed away only 2 months later in May '84 😞
Andy looks fine here... not a man that's dying. Kind of adds to the possibility he may still be alive...lol
No, he looks frail and weaker than in other videos from 1983.
It actually convinces me he's gone. But he sure was fascinating while he was here.
I agree, mws755 -- that is not a dying man.
Kaufman found a “body double,” someone with his general physical appearance, who was genuinely dying of cancer. Then he began changing his own physicality to match that of the dying man, including losing weight and shaving his head, and released photos of himself in this state.
Check out what he looked like in March 1984 at the "Breakfast With Blassie" premiere. He's skeletal. That's how cancer (and AIDS) wasting works. You can look healthy right up until the end. It's the radiation/chemo that causes cancer patients to look so pale & sick.
He had a really bad kauf, man.
;)
I think he might just be alive. Having heard recent rumors. He just might be, I think we'll know within the next 8 years.
Troy Rossi Rossi? that's Italian right? You in the Mafia?
I think it's more likely he died of AIDS due his infamous cavorting with prostitutes...and possibly men in the bath houses of the Castro (according to his girlfriend Lynne). As the news coverage of AIDS spread along with the disease, Andy knew his time was almost up so he started planting death-faking "clues" to cement his legacy. And also to cover up what was really going on. At that time, having AIDS meant you were gay. Rock Hudson died the following year.
Anon Girl no, he had large cell carcinoma, not HIV sometimes things are what they are.
this is pure awful
I saw the Romantics in concert in 1984
Y is he coughing all da time? Annoying
You're an idiot. He died of lung cancer less than 4 months after this appearance.
He looks fine.
petercjulian1
You hear his lung cancer cough at 5:55.
Danimal300zx 5
Danimal300zx tbh his cough seemed thought about. he was basically done introducing the song anyway. why drag it out just to cough
You're right. He faked his coughs that he'd been having since November of 1983 and he faked losing all that weight and he faked his death. You're an idiot.
@@Danimal77 It's unbelievable the nonsense some people write here. Sad.