Andy Kaufman
Stand-up comedian · 1949–1984

Andy Kaufman

Who Andy Kaufman is

American entertainer and performance artist, often called an 'anti-comedian', who rejected conventional joke-telling in favour of characters such as the meek Foreign Man, the abrasive lounge singer Tony Clifton and a self-styled 'Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion'. He performed on the first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975 and played Latka Gravas on Taxi (1978–1983). He died of lung cancer in 1984 at age 35.

At a glance

Born
1949
Died
1984
Style
Anti-comedy
Came up through
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Comedy Store
Stand-up specials
Andy's Funhouse, Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall and The Andy Kaufman Show
Albums
Andy and His Grandmother
On screen
Saturday Night Live, Van Dyke and Company, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and 4 more
Official site
andykaufman.com ↗

Specials, shows and podcasts

Stand-up specials

Albums

On screen

Where they got their start

Came up the same way

Other comedians in SUCDb who came through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Comedy Store:

The Launching Pads: the shows the comedians came through →

Comedians like Andy Kaufman

Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.

Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →

Career timeline

  1. 1949Born
  2. 1975Saturday Night Live (16 appearances, 1975–1983) On screen
  3. 1976Van Dyke and Company (1976) On screen
  4. 1976The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1976–1978) On screen
  5. 1978Taxi (Latka Gravas, 1978–1983) On screen
  6. 1979Andy's Funhouse (1979, ABC) Special
  7. 1980Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall (1980, Showtime) Special
  8. 1981Fridays (1981) On screen
  9. 1982Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1983) On screen
  10. 1983The Andy Kaufman Show (1983, PBS Soundstage) Special
  11. 1983My Breakfast with Blassie (film, 1983) On screen
  12. 1984Died
  13. 2013Andy and His Grandmother (2013) Album

Questions about Andy Kaufman

What stand-up specials has Andy Kaufman released?

Andy's Funhouse, Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall and The Andy Kaufman Show.

What TV shows and films are they in?

Saturday Night Live, Van Dyke and Company, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Taxi, Fridays and Late Night with David Letterman, among 7 credits.

Where did they get their start?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (appearances) and The Comedy Store (one of the 1970s generation Mitzi Shore picked).

Who are some comedians like them?

David Letterman (also in Late Night with David Letterman), Paula Poundstone (also in Late Night with David Letterman), Byron Allen (also came through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson), Elayne Boosler (also came through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson) and Jay Leno (also came through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson).

The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with their place on the Legends ballots.

Their SUCDb record →Their own site ↗

Sources

Updated 5 October 2026 · the record checked 27 September 2026