In 1977, Andy Kaufman filmed a special that was so unusual for network TV at the time that ABC didn’t air it until the summer of 1979, once Andy had broken out on Taxi. To say this had the ability to leave the audience stunned is an understatement. He does some lackluster impressions of Archie Bunker and Ed McMahon before breaking out a drop-dead Elvis, complete with a transformation and everything. This involved an incredible build up to the impression.Īndy first comes out as his Foreign Man character, speaking in very broken language as a man that hails from a fictional island. Despite being so early on in his career and at such a young age, he completely nailed it.Ī staple of Andy’s Elvis impression was the big surprise. Every other performance was Andy singing. The show was produced by an old college friend, and they invited Andy to come on in honor of Elvis performing nearby that night.Īndy went on, and lip-synched to Elvis, marking the only time he ever did so. Kennedy At Night was a local show in Chicago, and it just so happened to be Andy Kaufman’s first time performing on television that wasn’t his college TV station. In honor of the new Elvis movie opening today, we’re taking a look at how Andy’s Elvis impression evolved over his too-short-but-fascinating career. And even as it’s been nearly 40 years after Andy’s own death of lung cancer, we can’t help but agree. And Elvis even said that out of everyone that did an impression of him, Andy did it best. It turns out that shortly before he died in August 1977, Presley actually saw Andy performing as Elvis. ![]() While performing at the Grand Old Opry as part of Johnny Cash’s Christmas Special, Cash let Andy in on a little secret. Elvis turned to Andy and said “You’ve got a weird mind, kid.” For Kaufman, it was praise from Caesar. Upon meeting Elvis, he presented him with a play that he wrote about him. He hid in a cabinet backstage – dressed in a hot pink suit he bought at the MGM warehouse sale – and waited for his chance. In fact, when Elvis announced that he would be doing a Vegas residency which turned into the epic 1968 Comeback special, Andy hitchhiked from Great Neck, Long Island to Las Vegas to meet Presley. During the 60’s, when Elvis was making all those movies and it wasn’t necessarily hip to still be an Elvis fan, his love of the King never wavered. ![]() Kaufman’s Elvis fascination actually extended to offstage as well. He used to perform at local children’s birthday parties and break out his epic impression throughout his act, long before he ever saw a comedy club stage. It was something that he had been perfecting throughout his childhood, thanks to the countless hours he spent watching the King and perfecting all of his movements and mannerisms. Well, one of the earliest Elvis impersonators was actually Andy Kaufman.Īndy Kaufman’s Elvis impression became a staple of his act almost from the start. ![]() Who hasn’t joked about eloping in Vegas with Elvis presiding over the ceremony. The Elvis impersonator is basically synonymous with Las Vegas at this point. Elvis Presley is perhaps one of the most impersonated people in entertainment.
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