HOLLYWOOD — A star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame shall be unveiled Thursday posthumously honoring Andy Kaufman for a profession finest remembered for his portrayal of mechanic Latka Gravas on “Taxi” and a wide range of outlandish moments.
Kaufman’s “Taxi” castmate Marilu Henner, former “Saturday Night time Dwell” forged member Kevin Nealon and actress/comic Kristen Schaal are set to talk on the 11:30 a.m. ceremony at 1555 Vine St., between Selma Avenue and Sundown Boulevard.
Schaal was chosen to be one of many audio system as a result of she was the 2005 recipient of The Andy Kaufman Award, created by his household to protect his legacy. It honors “promising cutting-edge artists with recent and unconventional materials, for these prepared to take dangers with an viewers, and for individuals who don’t outline themselves by the everyday conventions of comedy,” in line with its web site.
Kaufman’s brother Michael will settle for the star.
The ceremony shall be streamed on the Stroll of Fame’s web site, walkoffame.com.
The star is the two,761st for the reason that completion of the Stroll of Fame in 1961 with the preliminary 1,558 stars.
Born Jan. 17, 1949 in New York Metropolis and raised Nice Neck, Lengthy Island, Kaufman started his profession in 1971 acting at numerous small comedy golf equipment on the East Coast after graduating from the now-defunct Grahm Junior Faculty in Boston.
Kaufman’s act included the character Overseas Man, who spoke in a meek, high-pitched, closely accented voice and claimed to be from “Caspiar,” a fictional island within the Caspian Sea, play a recording of the theme from the “Mighty Mouse” cartoon present whereas standing completely nonetheless, and lip-sync solely the road “Right here I come to save lots of the day” with nice enthusiasm.
Overseas Man would usually inform jokes incorrectly and do weak imitations of well-known folks then burst into an Elvis Presley imitation.
Kaufman carried out the “Mighty Mouse” bit on the premiere of “Saturday Night time Dwell” on Oct. 11, 1975.
Overseas Man impressed Kaufman’s character on “Taxi,” an immigrant from a rustic that was by no means recognized.
Kaufman additionally included wrestling into his act, providing any lady within the viewers $500-$1,000 if they might pin him. He later proclaimed himself “Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World.” Kaufman additionally engaged in a faux feud with wrestling star Jerry Lawler, together with on an look on “Late Night time With David Letterman”
Kaufman’s foray into wrestling led to his induction within the WWE Corridor of Fame this yr.
One other of Kaufman’s characters was Tony Clifton, a foul-mouthed and domineering lounge singer.
Kaufman died of lung most cancers on Could 16, 1984 at age 35.
