After many years I think I finally understood Andy Kaufman and his acting. Andy did with comedy what Duchamp did with modern art one century ago. Between trolling people and being genius. After a long carreer Duchamp suddendly started to expose ordinary objects inside museums, like wheels, chairs, even porcelain urinals. He arrived at a point where he knew that no matter what you show, it's the place that create the meaning. People went to museum and started to look at stuff that they see everyday believing to see some art. The same thing happened with Andy. He knew that audience was there expecting to see a skit, and acting like they were watching something funny, something that you see everyday, a man who eat an ice cream. And to make it clear (or to confuse people) Andy added recorded fake laughs, people who laugh everytime he put the spoon in his mouth. At this point the audience started to laugh, even if the act was really not so funny. Because they were there to see a comedy show, exactly like people go to museum to see art.
+Matt Moves i've always been a firm believer in nonsense as a weapon. i used to apply it in school to not be bullied. if some guy started pushing me or talking shit, i'd do the exact opposite. i'd start eating meat
Eating ice cream was really pushing the boundaries? What boundaries? What if he went up there and tied his shoes for ten minutes, would that also be pushing the boundaries? I feel like the kid in The Emperors New Clothes.
@@gargantuaism all comedy is based around one precept: replacing the expected with the unexpected. You see the comedian come out and you expect him to do a comedy show, you don't expect him to order some ice cream and eat it on stage. Andy Kaufman is your favorite comedian's favorite comedian.
@@gargantuaism Obviously, you didn't get it. For one, the timing and the constructing of the actions around the timing in the recording takes a lot of creativity. Andy was a great troll of pop culture and its expectations.
It takes balls of steel to perform a joke/prank like that, or a sociopathic indifference. He knew that it wouldn't get big laughs so he provided his own. That is some sort of beautiful crazy.
Announcing the skit and actually doing the skit are two different things, knowing about the name is 4th wall info, when he starts the skit it's a blank canvas meaning anything said before that point shouldn't apply
When I learned he was playing the audio of a crowd cheering, I watched again. It's actually quite funny when this is understood because he's making facial expressions as though he's a bit shy with all the attention he's getting from the raving crowd. He kind of rolls his eyes as if to say, "Well, I'm a bit bashful but okay, I guess you can applaud." Then, he would try to respond to the cheers by doing a little extra like moving his spoon around a bit more as though the crowd was egging him on for more. So not only is the joke the absurdity of an audience cheering for someone eating ice cream, it's the fact that he himself is responding in a way one might respond when being cheered for. I really like this idea!
@@weezalicious bro u still didn't get it, kauffman was actually trolling people like u, this bit was different from his other stuff because here he is trolling brain dead people like u who will even laugh at this skit he did, because this is just like seeing dog piss on pole and people watching it, its same level so basically he is trolling brain dead people like u who will say this is funny or this is art and try to laugh or actually dumb to laugh so that they can sound "different" or feel "smart" which they aren't
The laugh track is so distorted I couldn't even tell that's what it was until someone pointed it out. I thought it was just static, which I find for some reason just as funny.
Takes balls to do something like this on stage. Anyone can go on stage and emulate other comedians. To be first one to do something like this is amazing,
What if he just went on stage and tied his shoes would that also take balls? I mean is there a point where it just becomes dumb? Or is it always edgy and brave?
It's funny because it's not supposed to be funny. The audience expects a joke but they get something so average. The whole joke is that it isn't a joke. And it makes us laugh because it's something so unexpected. Kaufman is a genius
i count about 15 distinct jokes in this piece. they are subtle but they exist. during the intro, pretty much every sentence is a self contained joke with its own punchline. during the ice cream sequence, the audience's position/perspective are shifted around so many times at an incredible pace, all the way to the end.
Dumbest question of the century! And yet, it worked! Andy Kaufman was such a hilarious screwball, and was so good at it, that he could probably do something so simple, such as, say, scratch his wrist, add some comical expression(s), & have people laughing! Improvising a skit where he had a record player with the 45 RPM little record called "Mighty Mouse" on it, playing it until it came to the words "Here I come to save the day", and him singing along on just those words, was genius! What made it funny was how he just added those body and facial expressions as he sang those words. When he did that particular skit, it was as if he was referring to himself as Mighty Mouse! If you think about it, the way that he could do so much to make you laugh, with just the right "Panache", if you will, he was the Comedic form of Mighty Mouse, and yes, he did save the day! Andy Kaufman-Gone waaaaay too soon! Rest In Peace, Andy.
According to Jerry Lawler (who was a good friend), Kaufman said he did not consider himself a comedian and "never told a joke in his life". He considered himself a performance artist and tried to get reactions from the audience, good or bad.
My goodness. Are you serious? The death of western culture IS post modernism. Post modernism calls attention to this dead body today is the elephant in the room.
I think it's brilliant. once he starts the tape, every time the canned laughter plays, members of the audience start laughing. just like a sitcom, it doesn't matter if something funny actually happened, there's a Pavlovian response which I'm sure Andy was getting kicks on
Exactly! And no matter the public response, he has a cover for it.... But he knew people will laugh at something commonly not laughable. Andy was a genius.
@@aelfycarcini3992 he wasn't a genius, if you call him a genius eventually you'll have a hard time being funny as a whole. this is very simple but the thing is that he did it when no one else dared to because he is just mischievous and careless. he did everything for his own entertainment and genuinely never cared if the audience laughed or not
@@cube4547 You don't understand or see genius when you see it. Orson Welles, a man with the highest artistic eye in the world, thought Andy Kaufman was a Genius. Orson Welles> cube4547.
One of the most cleverest contemporary artists I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching, his style of comedy,,impersonations ,, his acting ,,and not one swear word ..
I laughed hard and I don't know why. I think the false expectations of things happening makes this funny. And starting with "This is a joke, prepare to laugh." Which is dangerous. They can say and do literally anything and people would laugh, not questioning the content of whatever is said.
MwieZorro humor: step 1) create expectations step 2) subvert expectations step 1) "this joke got me kicked out last time i tried it but i hope it goes well here" creates the suspense and expectations of a routine step 2) there is no routine, act out everything normally while the audience is only more intrigued and wondering if this is an act, leading to an act, or if there is no act at all. he pranked the audience, those that have confirmed that this isnt a joke or act at all are laughing at the situation and are now wondering if he'll start a joke or drop this act... or if this is the act. others are still hopeful for a joke and engrossed as well wondering if it'll lead to anything or if this isn't a joke at all. a joke beyond jokes, made by making people expect a joke that never comes but never hinting at whether there is one or not.
Pixics.com wow, you seem to really dislike Andy, but hey here you are watching him and leaving multiple comments about him. For someone who thinks Andy isn’t funny, you’re really wasting a lot of your energy on him
Even the waitress is like "Seriously?". All people expect a joke. At least one punchline. Perhaps he's going to say something about the waitress? Or maybe he's going to roll the ice cream into snowballs and throw them into audience? What is he going to do? And then he... finishes the meal... stands up... makes a couple funny gestures... says "That's it" aaaaaand... that's it. Just like that. What the hell was...? God, damn the guy's a genius.
Pixics oh god, please post a video of you trying to do anything remotely comedic. Is this the only Kaufman bit you've seen? and why are you so bitter about it? *edited to take out the link to your bland website selling knockoff goods.*
Andy was fearless...I admire that.I think everybody wants to be this at peace with awkwardness.Can you imagine seeing that at a comedy club now...you'd be in shock..amused..utterly confused...you'd remember it forever though.Way way ahead of his time.
Disagree, I feel like those types of sitcoms went for obviously corny jokes intended to be funny by the writers like "Marsha, you're gonna be late again!" "Uh oh! *turns clock back a few minutes*" Andy Kaufman seems like he was aware he was doing something unfunny, and then once nervous laughter started to flow he would play off of it and keep the audience rolling. Genius and seemed to struggle alot before he passed. RIP to a legend!
kavous niamir: Correct. You just unlocked the joke: Andy Kaufman despised the triteness of sitcom "comedy" and was mocking it here by doing something utterly mundane and having a laugh track, inviting his audience to question and laugh at sitcom methods with him, and by doing so, paradoxically, laugh at themselves and popular culture more broadly. Your insight about 70s tv sitcoms when nothing funny happened but there were sounds of laughter is spot on. Why laugh when nothing's funny? Why not laugh when in a comedy club? Kaufman was showing us, to put the question in the air.
Something about Andy was absolutely fascinating. I had to watch the whole thing just to see what did he do that was funny. His timing is amazing. And his ideas are insane, he was on of the most inventive entertainers that ever lived. He made anything he did interesting and funny even though he wasn't always trying specifically to be funny. That made much of the stuff he did even funnier for some odd reason.
I couldn't tell what that sound was supposed to be; only comments like yours made it clear. (Blame my lousy phone speakers, I suppose.) My best guess was a toilet flushing.
The audience knew him well so they didn't boo him off. Andy just really liked the ice cream (actually a fudge sundae on the menu) that this place served. It was a little comedy club/restaurant called Pips. He always ordered it whenever he performed there in New York (sometimes he even ordered two). I think he wanted to perform this bit just to pay homage to the fudge sundae they served. And he got to eat another fudge sundae.
...to understand Kaufman, you Have to understand his childhood; that Was where his comedy was actually still at, His childhood...he was experimental, way ahead of other comedians at that particular time, until cancer claimed his life...it worked for him, because He was a daredevil in his own world!!!...genius or an idiot, one has to decide for their self...for me, Kaufman was a manic genius...
@Raul Duke, this is beyond the concept of humor. He was messing with the expectations of reality. What people wanted from him, you would almost never get. His mercurial "move in any direction" humor was based on bucking nearly any societal trends happening at the time. He was only really providing amusement for himself. If anything, this is an excellent document of the depths that Kaufman was capable of.
A lot of people are saying this is a pointless skit, but I believe he is commenting on sitcoms with laugh tracks, which he abhorred. The Big Bang Theory is basically Andy eating ice cream with fake people prompting you to fake laugh. Watch this again with the sound off. Nothing, right? Watch Big Bang without a laugh track. You'll hear the crickets in the back yard.
Josh Ringler you dont understand comedy... its about subverting and playing with someone's expectations... the point of him eating ice cream on stage is that people are expecting jokes, and his opening makes him think that this would be a bad joke... they're expecting something special and its not... thats the joke
+elgatochurro i thought the joke was that it was just random and unexpected for a guy to just eat ice cream in front of them... needless to say i'm that type of person who loves that kind of comedy
It's anti-humor. It's random, surprising and weird which are all legitimate engines for comedy. But you can't base an entire act just on being weird and random, you have to know exactly what you're doing. And Andy did know, he was part brilliant and part insane.
BlaccEagle no... its humor humor, humor is about subverting people's expectations, his speech at the start was that this was an awful joke and got him kicked out last time he tried it. he made it seem like the audience was going to be in for a big joke, he got their expectations up, then ordered ice cream like a normal person and ate it. the awkwardness of people expecting a joke and getting something they know is normal and are still watching excuse they're expecting something stunning but thats not happening. the audience expecting a stunning and possibly controversial joke and getting a man who's just eating ice cream is the joke. no where was this weird... no where was this random... this was surprising, mainly because people expected him to tell a joke, not to do something as redundant as eat ice cream. this took a lot of courage to do and pull of and he pulled it off well.
Honestly, I didn't think of the whole "anti laugh track" angle this joke had. I just thought it was a subversion of the audience's expectations while giving them exactly what they were promised, a joke that got him banned.
bleeding gums murphy when you are the first to do something and now it ripples throughout every aspect of comedy from TV to standup? yeah that's a genius
I think Mack missed the full scope of the act. First, as soon as Andy reaches the stage, he starts a prolonged and ernest note of thanks to Bud Friedman, this is not only the set up to the joke but also makes us believe that what we start with is the real him. This clearly isn't the case, the entire introduction is done in the character of an honest and awkward man, obviously the exact opposite of the deceitful and outgoing Andy Kaufman. Next you're right he tells the audience that the act is a tried and tested failure, itself a punchline, but i think thats mainly a setup for how nonsensical and pointless it is. Like we are expecting another "bad comedy" sketch and what we actually get is something that makes no lucid attempt at either comedy or entertainment. The Waitress doesnt even look like she's in on the act (her first words are "seriously?"), creating a weird tension that has only recently been revived in shows like Ali G and Nathan for You, where normal people struggle to merge themselves with a character they are supposed to become within the performance, often breaking character to ask for direction. Andy is also playing/demonstrating an audience member on the stage, which is kind of like holding a mirror up to the audience, drawing attention to how pointless the act is while also bringing the audience into the sketch. The waitress lists everything in the menu, of course we already know he's going to have ice cream. There's barely a murmur when she gets to it. And a gentle realisation when he does. As he waits he looks at the crowd expectantly as if they are the performance and he the spectator. When he eats the icecream and plays the laugh track, first of all it is a bite at comedy television and a fantastic joke about that. It points to the ridiculousness of cueing laughter with indiscretion on low quality material. You can hear the laughter hesitate as it drags on, half the crowd knows he's hooked them and they've essentially fallen into a trap, laughing on cue, the other half find that fact funny too. The timing is brilliant with the laughter on each spoonful and his difficulties keeping up. We almost find that the laugh track validates his performance by showing us that him eating is funny, but i guess thats just being brainwashed by comedy tv. The use of applause at the end is incredible, it reverses our expectation of his act being poorly timed. And whats more, it outlasts the real applause which dutifully follows it, until his final words, "thats it", his face dropping, reveal that the guy bowing and taking applause was still the character. Its a lot of pretty innovative comedy, and not that easily accessible.
Hannah Macphearson humor: step 1) create expectations step 2) subvert expectations step 1) "this joke got me kicked out last time i tried it but i hope it goes well here" creates the suspense and expectations of a routine step 2) there is no routine, act out everything normally while the audience is only more intrigued and wondering if this is an act, leading to an act, or if there is no act at all.
Everyone called him a genius but now days he would just be another troll. I guess he was one of the first big trolls? Definitely entertaining regardless
I don't think the first troll, but the first troll to be famous for being a troll. Before post modernism became mainstream, stuff like this would have got you kicked out and never heard from again. Post modernism will be the death of western culture
In a way this is anti-anti-comedy. The audience knows Kaufman and expects anti-comedy, that's what his intro implies. What he does next is not only not funny, it also doesn't seem funny or isn't built like comedy.
***** Thanks. I should've mentioned in my comment that the explanation above is exactly why the act is very very very funny imo. It's of course funny, because it isn't. That's powerful ((anti-)anti-)comedy.
It's Andy saying, "I can do anything because of my celebrity and they will laugh." This is why he says during the beginning of the skit, "I tried this 5 years ago and it didn't work. Now lets see if it does." Of course it does, because it's not funny, but supposedly Andy is.
To choose his own reaction to the bit rather than anything a real audience would give him breaks the warp barrier of comedy. I'm not huge into Kaufman but this bit is one of the best things I've ever seen a comedian do.
the real genius of kaufman --is taking real life scenarios of all different kinds of people in all different walks of life and re-enacts the funny ways they eat--talk-drink--ect--you know--we have watched others and laugh silently at them--he brings it out to the front---when i saw him first do the ''might mouse'--i got it!! and i never laughed so hard--it was utter ridiculous --but soooo damn funny--i knew then his humour was deep and he had a gift .
Only Andy Kaufman could have done this. Whilst taking time to go over all his filmed work, it took a while to appreciate him. (I'm British remember). But his antics in wrestling, Taxi, and elsewhere, he really has remained unique. And his untimely death at 35 only added to his mystique.
Hey whoever reads this, I can see your internet history. I know know that you just watched Nostalgia Critic. I also know that before that you watched those dirty videos, but I'm not telling anyone, don't worry.
By typing that you won't tell anyone you have thereby informed people that I have been watching the alleged "dirty videos" and therefore you must be eliminated as you broke your promise... Not that I in particular have been watching any such videos (nervous laughter)
oh boy, if he was just born years later in this content driven internet - what crazy content would he have done. before mukbangs and asmrs, he has already done it.
![Andy Kaufman - That's When Your Heartaches Begin 1979 [HQ DVD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6C1vKsILQRY/mqdefault.jpg)
![⭐ฮิตในTikTok!! ( หมูเด้ง MooDeng ) Ver. แดนซ์โจ๊ะๆ ReMix BY [ ดีเจกิต รีมิกซ์ ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3krsyfWUeHU/mqdefault.jpg)
This reminds me of that episode of Spongebob where he's on stage at the Krusty Krab and he starts mopping the floor, and the crowd starts cheering.
Would've been great in the office
Dude you beat me to it, by 8 years
@@artiemilano378 spongbob
After many years I think I finally understood Andy Kaufman and his acting.
Andy did with comedy what Duchamp did with modern art one century ago.
Between trolling people and being genius.
After a long carreer Duchamp suddendly started to expose ordinary objects inside museums, like wheels, chairs, even porcelain urinals.
He arrived at a point where he knew that no matter what you show, it's the place that create the meaning. People went to museum and started to look at stuff that they see everyday believing to see some art. The same thing happened with Andy.
He knew that audience was there expecting to see a skit, and acting like they were watching something funny, something that you see everyday, a man who eat an ice cream.
And to make it clear (or to confuse people) Andy added recorded fake laughs, people who laugh everytime he put the spoon in his mouth. At this point the audience started to laugh, even if the act was really not so funny. Because they were there to see a comedy show, exactly like people go to museum to see art.
+Matt Moves i've always been a firm believer in nonsense as a weapon. i used to apply it in school to not be bullied. if some guy started pushing me or talking shit, i'd do the exact opposite. i'd start eating meat
Ho man you open doors for me
Pixicscom yes but these prank channels are 30 years late he set a trend my friend, these trolls followed
He was able to prank very powerful people and he is still around to talk about it......er....🤪
Charlie Chaplin done the same things 60 years before in his early comedys
He pushed the boundaries so hard he accidentally fell into the contemporary art category.
Eating ice cream was really pushing the boundaries? What boundaries? What if he went up there and tied his shoes for ten minutes, would that also be pushing the boundaries? I feel like the kid in The Emperors New Clothes.
no he created one
@@gargantuaism all comedy is based around one precept: replacing the expected with the unexpected. You see the comedian come out and you expect him to do a comedy show, you don't expect him to order some ice cream and eat it on stage. Andy Kaufman is your favorite comedian's favorite comedian.
@@gargantuaism Obviously, you didn't get it. For one, the timing and the constructing of the actions around the timing in the recording takes a lot of creativity. Andy was a great troll of pop culture and its expectations.
@@gargantuaism brah you must be joking
The more Kaufman I watch, the more sure I am that he wasn't interested in entertaining anyone but himself.
And me. Don't forget about me. This is the most incredible comedy routine I have ever seen.
That's why he was so good
A comedian who isn't entertaining themselves is just a talk show host.
Ewen Nicolson unless you're eric andre
I'm utterly disgusted! Apart from the bits where I'm laughing like a cunt.
It takes balls of steel to perform a joke/prank like that, or a sociopathic indifference. He knew that it wouldn't get big laughs so he provided his own. That is some sort of beautiful crazy.
that was pre recorded applause he provided, to structure his ice cream eating performance. not laughter
The laughs he got were GOLD though and the look from Bud as she walked by with it 🤣🤣🤣
I like how he announces that the skit is called "Eating Ice Cream," then takes two minutes to go through the menu before ordering the ice cream.
Announcing the skit and actually doing the skit are two different things, knowing about the name is 4th wall info, when he starts the skit it's a blank canvas meaning anything said before that point shouldn't apply
@@thetoot9615 doo doo fart
The waitress is just the best... "Seriously?!?"
When I learned he was playing the audio of a crowd cheering, I watched again. It's actually quite funny when this is understood because he's making facial expressions as though he's a bit shy with all the attention he's getting from the raving crowd. He kind of rolls his eyes as if to say, "Well, I'm a bit bashful but okay, I guess you can applaud." Then, he would try to respond to the cheers by doing a little extra like moving his spoon around a bit more as though the crowd was egging him on for more. So not only is the joke the absurdity of an audience cheering for someone eating ice cream, it's the fact that he himself is responding in a way one might respond when being cheered for. I really like this idea!
He’s so meta it’s taken decades to even catch up.
@@weezalicious bro u still didn't get it, kauffman was actually trolling people like u, this bit was different from his other stuff because here he is trolling brain dead people like u who will even laugh at this skit he did, because this is just like seeing dog piss on pole and people watching it, its same level so basically he is trolling brain dead people like u who will say this is funny or this is art and try to laugh or actually dumb to laugh so that they can sound "different" or feel "smart" which they aren't
The laugh track is so distorted I couldn't even tell that's what it was until someone pointed it out. I thought it was just static, which I find for some reason just as funny.
That's what that was! Makes the bit so much better.
That was where he lost me. I was like what the fuck is that?
Takes balls to do something like this on stage. Anyone can go on stage and emulate other comedians. To be first one to do something like this is amazing,
@@Pixics bite a fart
Yeah you're a bigger idiot than he is
What if he just went on stage and tied his shoes would that also take balls? I mean is there a point where it just becomes dumb? Or is it always edgy and brave?
@@gargantuaism I wouldn't really call it brave because Andy loved doing stuff like this but to say that this is dumb is petty ignorant
@@jameswashere187I agree. Andy thrived on doing the expected things that he did. It was his comfort zone.
He is comedy. Every fiber of his being is about the performance..... he's the American Mr. Bean, which is the highest praise you can give
Mr bean is the British Andy Kaufman
His ability to sit quietly on stage already makes him extraordinary. The rest are beautiful, magical, entertaining bonuses.
It's funny because it's not supposed to be funny. The audience expects a joke but they get something so average. The whole joke is that it isn't a joke. And it makes us laugh because it's something so unexpected. Kaufman is a genius
i count about 15 distinct jokes in this piece. they are subtle but they exist. during the intro, pretty much every sentence is a self contained joke with its own punchline. during the ice cream sequence, the audience's position/perspective are shifted around so many times at an incredible pace, all the way to the end.
Makes a lot of sense~
Humour is a very interesting thing~
Giuseppe Wow, took you a lot of brainpower to think of that comment?
Your comment is garbage compared to the first ones.
This is NOT genius. It's lazy.
Jon C, I'm betting a lot goes over your head your whole life so far and you don't realize it.
*Gets handed menu*
"What do you have?"
He probably asked so he wouldn't have to read
Dumbest question of the century! And yet, it worked! Andy Kaufman was such a hilarious screwball, and was so good at it, that he could probably do something so simple, such as, say, scratch his wrist, add some comical expression(s), & have people laughing! Improvising a skit where he had a record player with the 45 RPM little record called "Mighty Mouse" on it, playing it until it came to the words "Here I come to save the day", and him singing along on just those words, was genius! What made it funny was how he just added those body and facial expressions as he sang those words. When he did that particular skit, it was as if he was referring to himself as Mighty Mouse! If you think about it, the way that he could do so much to make you laugh, with just the right "Panache", if you will, he was the Comedic form of Mighty Mouse, and yes, he did save the day! Andy Kaufman-Gone waaaaay too soon! Rest In Peace, Andy.
Made me laugh so hard, especially because I’ve actually gotten that question many times as a bartender.
@@ronaldshank7589 hahaha, dude, you're not even close to the point. try harder.
According to Jerry Lawler (who was a good friend), Kaufman said he did not consider himself a comedian and "never told a joke in his life". He considered himself a performance artist and tried to get reactions from the audience, good or bad.
My goodness. Are you serious? The death of western culture IS post modernism. Post modernism calls attention to this dead body today is the elephant in the room.
Pixics.com You must be one of those people that watches those Far Right guys. What a shame.
@@Pixics nah, commenting pointless petty shit on TH-cam videos is usually code for no talent
@@Pixics eat a fart
@@Joseph-nh6in hear a fart
I think it's brilliant. once he starts the tape, every time the canned laughter plays, members of the audience start laughing. just like a sitcom, it doesn't matter if something funny actually happened, there's a Pavlovian response which I'm sure Andy was getting kicks on
Exactly! And no matter the public response, he has a cover for it.... But he knew people will laugh at something commonly not laughable.
Andy was a genius.
@@aelfycarcini3992 he wasn't a genius, if you call him a genius eventually you'll have a hard time being funny as a whole. this is very simple but the thing is that he did it when no one else dared to because he is just mischievous and careless. he did everything for his own entertainment and genuinely never cared if the audience laughed or not
@@cube4547 huh?
Norm always said that comedy wasnt art, it was craft. That's true for every comedian ever except one. Vince Champ....No, I meant Andy Kaufman.
@@cube4547 You don't understand or see genius when you see it. Orson Welles, a man with the highest artistic eye in the world, thought Andy Kaufman was a Genius. Orson Welles> cube4547.
A truly brilliant comedian.Soooo badly missed and taken from this globe to quick.xx
He's probably like, this audience will laugh at anything.
Andy dorked with all of us back in the day, and I loved it.
Unbelievable. He had some real courage inside him that most of us wont even recognize.
One of the most cleverest contemporary artists I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching, his style of comedy,,impersonations ,, his acting ,,and not one swear word ..
most clever, not most cleverest
That was my introduction to Andy Kaufman, whom I had never even heard of before yesterday. And I have to admit he's brilliant!
I laughed hard and I don't know why. I think the false expectations of things happening makes this funny. And starting with "This is a joke, prepare to laugh." Which is dangerous. They can say and do literally anything and people would laugh, not questioning the content of whatever is said.
MwieZorro humor: step 1) create expectations
step 2) subvert expectations
step 1) "this joke got me kicked out last time i tried it but i hope it goes well here" creates the suspense and expectations of a routine
step 2) there is no routine, act out everything normally while the audience is only more intrigued and wondering if this is an act, leading to an act, or if there is no act at all.
he pranked the audience, those that have confirmed that this isnt a joke or act at all are laughing at the situation and are now wondering if he'll start a joke or drop this act... or if this is the act. others are still hopeful for a joke and engrossed as well wondering if it'll lead to anything or if this isn't a joke at all.
a joke beyond jokes, made by making people expect a joke that never comes but never hinting at whether there is one or not.
The only man in history to make so many people react by simply eating a bowl of ice cream! Awesome!
because people are idiots
Namely you.
scottydog636
that was a lousy attempt at trolling. seriously?
Ted Striker
No. Stop being an instigator and stop talking to me.
scottydog636
I am sorry, but it is a legitimate claim that people who think watching some Jew eat soup on stage is humorous are idiots.
Seriously the man had a some unique and subtle sense of humor. A man much ahead of time . A genius who passed away so early.
this is classic dadist avant garde comedy. Its entertaining deliberately despite itself.
Well, I didn't see anything funny, but I laughed several times. I have no idea why. Love this guy.
Pixics.com wow, you seem to really dislike Andy, but hey here you are watching him and leaving multiple comments about him. For someone who thinks Andy isn’t funny, you’re really wasting a lot of your energy on him
Ikr, nothings happening but its still funny because of how random it is
He knew how to play with people's expectations, manipulate timing and experiment with the medium. Great artist.
Andy was a genius. How sad we lost him far too soon. RIP Gorgeous man. Your eyes spoke 4 u
Hahah. His face at the end when the real audience was applauding says ‘I’ve proved my point’. I love it
Years ahead of his time!
oh, there was indeed a joke. and the laughs, were all for Andy. All those nervous laughs, comedy GOLD. RIP Andy, or not.
Made me smile big, I love Andy so much. This took real nerve and imagination, brilliant.
try as i might, i will never be as good at ordering and then eating ice cream as Andy Kaufman
Try to be as untalented and unfunny as andy kaufman, it's not easy.
pachma Almost as hard as having as little taste as you
I am the BIGGEST Andy Kaufman fan in the world I miss him so much.
Even the waitress is like "Seriously?". All people expect a joke. At least one punchline. Perhaps he's going to say something about the waitress? Or maybe he's going to roll the ice cream into snowballs and throw them into audience? What is he going to do? And then he... finishes the meal... stands up... makes a couple funny gestures... says "That's it" aaaaaand... that's it. Just like that. What the hell was...? God, damn the guy's a genius.
Pixics oh god, please post a video of you trying to do anything remotely comedic. Is this the only Kaufman bit you've seen? and why are you so bitter about it?
*edited to take out the link to your bland website selling knockoff goods.*
@@Pixics : The genius thinks of something that nobody's ever done before, and the non-genius says ‘I could have done that.’.
This is my favourite video on youtube.
People in 2016 still haven't caught up to Andy Kaufman's type of entertainment.
Andy Kaufman doesn’t ‘prank’.
Andy was fearless...I admire that.I think everybody wants to be this at peace with awkwardness.Can you imagine seeing that at a comedy club now...you'd be in shock..amused..utterly confused...you'd remember it forever though.Way way ahead of his time.
Reminds me of the 70's tv sitcoms when nothing funny happened but there were sounds of laughter
Disagree, I feel like those types of sitcoms went for obviously corny jokes intended to be funny by the writers like "Marsha, you're gonna be late again!" "Uh oh! *turns clock back a few minutes*"
Andy Kaufman seems like he was aware he was doing something unfunny, and then once nervous laughter started to flow he would play off of it and keep the audience rolling. Genius and seemed to struggle alot before he passed. RIP to a legend!
kavous niamir: Correct. You just unlocked the joke: Andy Kaufman despised the triteness of sitcom "comedy" and was mocking it here by doing something utterly mundane and having a laugh track, inviting his audience to question and laugh at sitcom methods with him, and by doing so, paradoxically, laugh at themselves and popular culture more broadly. Your insight about 70s tv sitcoms when nothing funny happened but there were sounds of laughter is spot on. Why laugh when nothing's funny? Why not laugh when in a comedy club? Kaufman was showing us, to put the question in the air.
I'm starting to think that he's the first "performance artist." LOVED that he brought his own laugh track and applause.
Just completely F'ing with the audience. Doing nothing, making them laugh. He wins, again. Typical Kaufman. Genius.
And he’s trolling you 40 years after his death.. he played the audience for sheep and now you too lmao
I don't think he's dead
He's not "doing nothing". He's performing the entire time...
@@idkman09 You're witty.
His face at the end as the fake applause mixes with the real applause. He's delighted
Something about Andy was absolutely fascinating. I had to watch the whole thing just to see what did he do that was funny. His timing is amazing. And his ideas are insane, he was on of the most inventive entertainers that ever lived. He made anything he did interesting and funny even though he wasn't always trying specifically to be funny. That made much of the stuff he did even funnier for some odd reason.
Did nobody else notice the fact that he had a laugh track playing? That was half the joke.
How could you NOT notice that?
Did anyone NOT notice?
Oooooouuuuu, now i understand nothing🤣🤣🤣
I’d say 85% of the joke
I couldn't tell what that sound was supposed to be; only comments like yours made it clear. (Blame my lousy phone speakers, I suppose.) My best guess was a toilet flushing.
This reminds me of the intro to the movie Rubber.
Why is the Andy Kaufman ice-cream bit funny? No reason.
I love how much he loved to bore the hell out of people for his own personal entertainment
The audience knew him well so they didn't boo him off. Andy just really liked the ice cream (actually a fudge sundae on the menu) that this place served. It was a little comedy club/restaurant called Pips. He always ordered it whenever he performed there in New York (sometimes he even ordered two). I think he wanted to perform this bit just to pay homage to the fudge sundae they served. And he got to eat another fudge sundae.
fizik he was eating just chocolate ice cream, not a sundae
I can't believe this has been online SIXTEEN YEARS and I'm just finding it
...to understand Kaufman, you Have to understand his childhood; that Was where his comedy was actually still at, His childhood...he was experimental, way ahead of other comedians at that particular time, until cancer claimed his life...it worked for him, because He was a daredevil in his own world!!!...genius or an idiot, one has to decide for their self...for me, Kaufman was a manic genius...
the only person I know who can make you laugh eating a bowl of ice cream
Andy: I bet you a million dollars I can silently eat a bowl of ice cream on stage, and the audience will love it. Bookie: You're on.
You have to be the first to do it, that's the only catch.
@Raul Duke, this is beyond the concept of humor. He was messing with the expectations of reality. What people wanted from him, you would almost never get. His mercurial "move in any direction" humor was based on bucking nearly any societal trends happening at the time. He was only really providing amusement for himself. If anything, this is an excellent document of the depths that Kaufman was capable of.
A lot of people are saying this is a pointless skit, but I believe he is commenting on sitcoms with laugh tracks, which he abhorred. The Big Bang Theory is basically Andy eating ice cream with fake people prompting you to fake laugh. Watch this again with the sound off. Nothing, right? Watch Big Bang without a laugh track. You'll hear the crickets in the back yard.
Josh Ringler Big Bang Theory is shot in front of a live studio audience,there is no laugh track.
The big bang is absolutely filmed with a laugh track. The actors actually have to pause between most lines so that laughs can be added in.
Josh Ringler you dont understand comedy... its about subverting and playing with someone's expectations... the point of him eating ice cream on stage is that people are expecting jokes, and his opening makes him think that this would be a bad joke... they're expecting something special and its not... thats the joke
+elgatochurro i thought the joke was that it was just random and unexpected for a guy to just eat ice cream in front of them... needless to say i'm that type of person who loves that kind of comedy
***** it is random and unexpected and yet theres more to it
he's like a reflection of the audience.
hysterical.
brilliant.
earnest.
thank you andy.
The king of anti-humor. Love this guy.
Fantastic. Andy Kaufman ruled, without sleaze.
I LOVE Andy Kaufman the greatest comedian of all time I wear your t-shirt with pride see you in heaven Andy.
Everything Kaufman did was outrageous. Can't stop watching his vids.
the laugh track´s awesome even though it sounds more like darth vader flushing a toilet.
A legend.. a genius..
Andy Kaufman forever!
It's anti-humor. It's random, surprising and weird which are all legitimate engines for comedy. But you can't base an entire act just on being weird and random, you have to know exactly what you're doing. And Andy did know, he was part brilliant and part insane.
BlaccEagle no... its humor humor, humor is about subverting people's expectations, his speech at the start was that this was an awful joke and got him kicked out last time he tried it. he made it seem like the audience was going to be in for a big joke, he got their expectations up, then ordered ice cream like a normal person and ate it. the awkwardness of people expecting a joke and getting something they know is normal and are still watching excuse they're expecting something stunning but thats not happening. the audience expecting a stunning and possibly controversial joke and getting a man who's just eating ice cream is the joke.
no where was this weird... no where was this random... this was surprising, mainly because people expected him to tell a joke, not to do something as redundant as eat ice cream. this took a lot of courage to do and pull of and he pulled it off well.
GrayHistory anti-humor is just humor
he was truly one of a kind, genuinly in my top 3 comedians of all time
A genius who left too early.
Or did he...
Agreed. A little Andy goes a long way. Plus, he doesn't make you think that much.
Better than Amy Schumer that's for sure
Everyone is
unfair comparison
Only Andy Kayfman can make waiting for ice cream funny. Bless his beautiful soul.
Comedy: ha ha ha
Genius: **watching Kaufman eat his meal on stage**
The humor isn't in what HE is doing. The humor is in observing how people are.
My left ear didn't enjoy this.
Thanks for this comment, I only had my left ear piece in and thought there was no audio
Your left ear is one of the 200 who didn't enjoy the skit.
Good that means my earbuds aren't broken
that "seriously?" was so genuine!!
Comedy's version of Samuel Beckett
Thank you veddy much!
I thought I was the only one who mashed up ice cream before I ate it.
You're not alone dude.
I microwave it. Makes it softer.
Sion Weeks you're not alone....
johnnymccraze
My mom did, too. I thought she was fucking nuts the first time I saw her doing that!
Oh, HELL NO….I LOVE ice cream soup......
Ive never seen this particular clip before! Thanks for uploading funny as hell!
Unreal. Creepy though that at the end he just reminded me of David Berkowitz.
Cold u nailed it, i always felt the way, inside joke as long as he got it, IF we did too all the better
It's not easy acting so dead pan when you know you're making everyone uncomfortable
This channel is earning almost 1,200 subscribers and 2,400,000 views!!!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly, I didn't think of the whole "anti laugh track" angle this joke had. I just thought it was a subversion of the audience's expectations while giving them exactly what they were promised, a joke that got him banned.
there are tWo kinds oF people in this world. One's the type that gets Andy Kaufman's humor
If he tried to make me mad for waiting six minutes to a joke that never occurs, then he nailed it.
I feel bad for you that it goes over your head. I hope one day you understand.
Andy Kaufman was pretty much the one person who could take something so simple and turn it into comedic gold
Andy was hilarious but I wish people would stop calling him a genius. He just had the balls to try bits like this
bleeding gums murphy when you are the first to do something and now it ripples throughout every aspect of comedy from TV to standup? yeah that's a genius
Pixics.com Dellusional
THAT actually, WAS the genius...
He was an entertainer above everything.
I know he was ok, but why is this funny , just eating ice cream so hilarious , or is this just super hype ?
*****
entertaining and sad as watching a cat in a dryer
it's one of his most easily interpretable act.
I think Mack missed the full scope of the act. First, as soon as Andy reaches the stage, he starts a prolonged and ernest note of thanks to Bud Friedman, this is not only the set up to the joke but also makes us believe that what we start with is the real him. This clearly isn't the case, the entire introduction is done in the character of an honest and awkward man, obviously the exact opposite of the deceitful and outgoing Andy Kaufman. Next you're right he tells the audience that the act is a tried and tested failure, itself a punchline, but i think thats mainly a setup for how nonsensical and pointless it is. Like we are expecting another "bad comedy" sketch and what we actually get is something that makes no lucid attempt at either comedy or entertainment. The Waitress doesnt even look like she's in on the act (her first words are "seriously?"), creating a weird tension that has only recently been revived in shows like Ali G and Nathan for You, where normal people struggle to merge themselves with a character they are supposed to become within the performance, often breaking character to ask for direction. Andy is also playing/demonstrating an audience member on the stage, which is kind of like holding a mirror up to the audience, drawing attention to how pointless the act is while also bringing the audience into the sketch. The waitress lists everything in the menu, of course we already know he's going to have ice cream. There's barely a murmur when she gets to it. And a gentle realisation when he does. As he waits he looks at the crowd expectantly as if they are the performance and he the spectator. When he eats the icecream and plays the laugh track, first of all it is a bite at comedy television and a fantastic joke about that. It points to the ridiculousness of cueing laughter with indiscretion on low quality material. You can hear the laughter hesitate as it drags on, half the crowd knows he's hooked them and they've essentially fallen into a trap, laughing on cue, the other half find that fact funny too. The timing is brilliant with the laughter on each spoonful and his difficulties keeping up. We almost find that the laugh track validates his performance by showing us that him eating is funny, but i guess thats just being brainwashed by comedy tv. The use of applause at the end is incredible, it reverses our expectation of his act being poorly timed. And whats more, it outlasts the real applause which dutifully follows it, until his final words, "thats it", his face dropping, reveal that the guy bowing and taking applause was still the character. Its a lot of pretty innovative comedy, and not that easily accessible.
Hannah Macphearson humor: step 1) create expectations
step 2) subvert expectations
step 1) "this joke got me kicked out last time i tried it but i hope it goes well here" creates the suspense and expectations of a routine
step 2) there is no routine, act out everything normally while the audience is only more intrigued and wondering if this is an act, leading to an act, or if there is no act at all.
@@MrIsaacE: How many did you smoke before writing that?
This Angel started it all
What a legend 🙏♥️
This takes a lot of nerve, the guy is crazy
I think this was a bet... And he won.
welp, i just got trolled
Andy was the original troll!
Only andy can make an entire audience laugh everytime he takes a bite of icecream.. rest in peace to the real OG of comedy
Everyone called him a genius but now days he would just be another troll. I guess he was one of the first big trolls? Definitely entertaining regardless
I don't think the first troll, but the first troll to be famous for being a troll. Before post modernism became mainstream, stuff like this would have got you kicked out and never heard from again. Post modernism will be the death of western culture
its not only trolling its also timing and a well structured routine
Surreal genius. This wasn't comedy this was an artistic social experiment that got ironic laughs.
In a way this is anti-anti-comedy. The audience knows Kaufman and expects anti-comedy, that's what his intro implies. What he does next is not only not funny, it also doesn't seem funny or isn't built like comedy.
you suck
***** Thanks. I should've mentioned in my comment that the explanation above is exactly why the act is very very very funny imo. It's of course funny, because it isn't. That's powerful ((anti-)anti-)comedy.
Korneel Snauwaert Andyy!!! IS THAT YOUUU!?!?!? it must be??!!!! come on. you are DEAD!!!! It cannot be you but it sounds like you!!!!
***** pff
It's Andy saying, "I can do anything because of my celebrity and they will laugh." This is why he says during the beginning of the skit, "I tried this 5 years ago and it didn't work. Now lets see if it does." Of course it does, because it's not funny, but supposedly Andy is.
To choose his own reaction to the bit rather than anything a real audience would give him breaks the warp barrier of comedy. I'm not huge into Kaufman but this bit is one of the best things I've ever seen a comedian do.
I don't get it. I thought he was going to tell some jokes.
That's the point.
He wasn't your typical comedian.
It's all about the skit, always was with Andy.
You r the joke...we all are...
the real genius of kaufman --is taking real life scenarios of all different kinds of people in all different walks of life and re-enacts the funny ways they eat--talk-drink--ect--you know--we have watched others and laugh silently at them--he brings it out to the front---when i saw him first do the ''might mouse'--i got it!! and i never laughed so hard--it was utter ridiculous --but soooo damn funny--i knew then his humour was deep and he had a gift .
He should have gone to Japan.... where the dry absurd is laughed at.
Only Andy Kaufman could have done this. Whilst taking time to go over all his filmed work, it took a while to appreciate him. (I'm British remember). But his antics in wrestling, Taxi, and elsewhere, he really has remained unique. And his untimely death at 35 only added to his mystique.
Hey whoever reads this, I can see your internet history. I know know that you just watched Nostalgia Critic. I also know that before that you watched those dirty videos, but I'm not telling anyone, don't worry.
He knows to much! We must eliminate him post haste!
By typing that you won't tell anyone you have thereby informed people that I have been watching the alleged "dirty videos" and therefore you must be eliminated as you broke your promise... Not that I in particular have been watching any such videos (nervous laughter)
OMG we have got to get him!!
Nobody takes my furry porn away from me!
HAH! I just watched the Spoony Experiment and I'm looking at the dirty videos right now, fraud!
oh boy, if he was just born years later in this content driven internet - what crazy content would he have done. before mukbangs and asmrs, he has already done it.