Andy Kaufman (January 17th, 1949 – May 16th, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes been called an "anti-comedian". He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, once saying in an interview, "I am not a comic, I have never told a joke. The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him. My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can." After working in small comedy clubs in the early 1970's, Kaufman came to the attention of a wider audience in 1975, when he was invited to perform portions of his act on the first season of Saturday Night Live. He would then become best known for using his Foreign Man character basis for his performance as Latka Gravas on the hit television show Taxi (1978-1983). Andy also appeared in several TV shows and movies, on Broadway, did a one man show at Carnegie Hall, enjoyed a brief professional wrestling career and performed in concerts nation-wide. He was also a frequent guest on sketch comedy and late-night talk shows, particularly Late Night with David Letterman.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Kaufman only appeared alongside Franco Columbu at the 1979 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the new Rocking Lion Toy Float.