I knew people who knew that professional wrestling was fake but still thought the Andy Kaufman wrestling drama was real. Andy was really convincing. The slap from Lawler on Letterman was a significant part of that. Some people said that loud slap proved their conflict wasn't fake. It was a genius idea.
Andy was such a fantastic heel and did so much to legitimize pro wrestling back in a time when it wasn't "cool" to do it. He totally understood kayfabe and was just perfect at playing the role of the "uppity celebrity" heel. Jerry was the perfect foil for Andy, and it's great to not only know that they were friendly off-camera, but that Jerry still credits Andy for boosting both his career and pro wrestling as a whole. It would have been great to see where Andy would have taken things had he lived. I think he would have went full into wrestling, like Jerry said. Would have been awesome to see him come out as Tony Clifton to manage a heel wrestler. That was a perfect heel manager-type character.
I met Mr Lawler back in the very early 2000's. Super nice guy, incredibly gracious, really taking the time to answer my questions. Of course I asked him about Andy. I'll never forget that meeting, what a legend.
I’d suggest watching Taxi, Andy was in this tv show and also check out the slap on David Letterman’s Show with Jerry and Andy in which EVERYONE thought was real lol. He was also on Saturday Night Live for a little while before he got kicked off. :P Man on the moon is also great! I’m old enough to have been around when Andy was doing these stunts and was a fan of him then as a child. It pleases to no end seeing younger people enjoying his act.
Jerry is KING...👑 Thank you for setting the record straight... I'm sure you had shed some tears behind closed doors in the past all the time keeping the curtain up in public about your true friendship with Mr. Kaufman...
One of the craziest,funniest, most unique performers of all time… Tony Clifton, Taxi, the happening on Saturday nite live, the brilliant wrestling bit… funny as hell… he did one of the best Elvis impersonation of all time…
I wanna say that Jerry must have great genetics combined w really taking care of himself. If you watch man in the moon which came out in 99 that was like 20 years after the real Events and he looks great. In 20 years after that he look really good.. A lot of wrestlers even in their 40s don’t look so good Jerry did
The Kaufman Lawler show woke up Wrestling and Cable TV. The Entertainment value and the sold-out crowds in Memphis made wrestling into entertainment vs. some brawling sport. Kaufman took the Heel role to another level. Soon After, Vince McMahon told the New Jersey Gaming Commission that wrestling was entertainment, not a sport. 30 years later, Wrestling is a dominant player on cable TV.
In 1985 Jerry Lawler and his wife came into my piano store in a mall in Clarksville Indiana. He was very nice but my step brother happened to be there at the too and he started in on Lawler not being a champion at all and how fake it was. The whole deal, insulting him the entire time he was there. He had just came in to buy a song book and was treated so badly. I tried to apologize to him and he acted like it was all ok. But I really felt lousy that he was treated that way in my store . He never lost his cool he just took it. A true gentleman. I kinda wish he could have gotten back at him somehow.
Kaufman was so innovative and different as the “anti-comic” - a wild performer who just wanted to rile the crowd and keep everyone guessing. Nobody did what he did before or since. True, unique performance artist.
After Andy's passing his wife went through his office and found every check Lawler and Jerrett gave Andy for all his performances, his fair cut of all the shows he was on, were all still there, Andy never cashed a single one.
So glad that Jerry was honest about how it was an entertainment stunt. Behind the scenes as showed in the film it was all an act. They were friends because it helped promote the wrestling business. Jerry was told not to give it away and Andy would have wanted people to believe it was Real when it was an act.
I remember all of this when it was happening. It was quite a spectacle! Andy, already famous from Taxi, would be on late night talk shows, and he'd taunt women in general about being weak, and dare any woman from the audience to wrestle him. He'd eventually pin her and he'd then taunt some more. That seemed to be his schtick for a while but Lawler came into the picture. It was getting national attention that an actor and a professional wrestler had an ongoing beef. Then they wrestled, or more accurately Lawler mauled Andy, and the footage of it also made its rounds on entertainment news shows and late night talk shows because a professional wrestler did that to a famous actor. I remember the first time I saw the clip, I thought Lawler broke Andy's neck; it looked brutal! The aftermath was, was Lawler going to be in legal trouble? What's going to happen? Then the David Letterman thing happened. I remember tuning in because I was expecting them to bury the hatchet and all. After all, they had a big beef that played out in public that resulted in a bad injury for Andy, so this should be it, right? When they both sat next to each other on set, Lawler looked like a monster compared to Andy. Then the slap happened. Wow, that was one of the most shocking things I've seen happen on TV! National TV talk shows never lose control of their guests, but everyone just witnessed a real physical assault from a big professional wrestler to a guy half his size - it was crazy! I remember thinking, well Andy kinda had that coming lol. Then more chaos ensued with Andy being hysterical. Then that was it. Or so I thought. Fast forward almost 20 years and Man on The Moon came out and the scene came on that revealed that Andy and Lawler were in cahoots that whole time! Absolutely brilliant! You got us, Andy. You got us good!
It's really sad Andy had to die when he did. And, yes, I think he really did die. It would of course be the ultimate joke to fake his death but it really did happen
I've been watching all your videos for the last couple days I and I was wondering why you haven't done a video of wrestlers who put over other wrestlers. For example when Andre the Giant put over hulk Hogan when he let him body slam him. Another example is when razor Ramon lets the 123 kid pin him.
Vince McMahon sr turned down Andy Kaufman for the act Andy wanted to do because he felt it would make more people believe wrestling was fake by bringing in an actor. He was about kayfabe. Vince McMahon jr capitalized on the acting and encouraged it just look at the first wrestlemania. Andy and Lawler did something before their time. What they did and spread was genius for the wrestling world
Muhammad Ali adopted the same strategy of self-promotion in his career, creating the persona of the guy you love to hate... Ali said he wanted to provoke as many people as possible into paying money to come see him lose...
Not to get political- but some have written that Trump fashioned his whole presentation , branding, fanfare, hostilities etc -based on - this stuff. Not sure , but i can see it. And gee- what an irony if Trump was mimicking Andy.
Trump definitely is using Wrestling Heel tactics. It's no coincidence during his 2016 Campaign that Vince McMahon endorsed his campaign and when Trump won Vince's wife was given a spot in Trumps cabinet. Vinny Mac taught Trump how to perfect wrestling promos.
Classic comedy....wrestling had a country reputation. The Country Club set was not going to wrestling nor are they going to encourage their publicity friends to glorify it. Too bad, it's a great comedy athletic and real guts show alot.
If you read and listen to what happened to Kauffman after wrestling he did get tossed from Saturday night live and he was lucky to finish out taxi and then he died. This is the problem with wrestling or the "fake" "scripted" wrestlers is that they will never (rarely) knock wrestling. Lawler didn't tell the truth about the movie or Kauffmans career (pertaining to what wrestling did to Kauffumans career). Thatsbecause they earn lots of money scripting a "sport." Image getting a director and producer and you and you fellow athletes (that couldn't play pro sports) and athletic friends (and I played at high levels) and know exactly, like a movie who wins, who loses and the like and get paid lots of money. That is what wrestling is at the pro level. Personally, I think once taxi was cancelled Andy may have did a few things but nothing major, more writing and production end than the talent end, because he didn't have any talent. God Bless brothers and sisters!!✝️✝️✝️
i think andy got snl vote before the lawler feud...i could be wrong andy was doing the wrestling of women on snl people didnt get it...because this was before wrestling went mainstream....which andy helped to happen the things that hurt andy's career were the bad movies he was put in hollywood didnt get him...till after his death
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This brought a tear to my eyes. Such kind words from Mr Lawler about one of my comedy heroes Andy Kaufman
Andy never gets enough credit for what he did for wrestling. I really appreciate Jerry’s words here.
He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame just last yr & got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame too. Long overdue if you ask me.
Lawler is so sincere, great interview.
I was one of them that thought the Andy Kaufman incident was real. They sold it completely. The sincerity in Jerry's voice makes this interview
I knew people who knew that professional wrestling was fake but still thought the Andy Kaufman wrestling drama was real. Andy was really convincing. The slap from Lawler on Letterman was a significant part of that. Some people said that loud slap proved their conflict wasn't fake. It was a genius idea.
Me too
Andy was such a fantastic heel and did so much to legitimize pro wrestling back in a time when it wasn't "cool" to do it. He totally understood kayfabe and was just perfect at playing the role of the "uppity celebrity" heel. Jerry was the perfect foil for Andy, and it's great to not only know that they were friendly off-camera, but that Jerry still credits Andy for boosting both his career and pro wrestling as a whole. It would have been great to see where Andy would have taken things had he lived. I think he would have went full into wrestling, like Jerry said. Would have been awesome to see him come out as Tony Clifton to manage a heel wrestler. That was a perfect heel manager-type character.
Quit bringing Tony Clifton into the conversation; he owed Kaufman nothing.
I met Mr Lawler back in the very early 2000's. Super nice guy, incredibly gracious, really taking the time to answer my questions. Of course I asked him about Andy. I'll never forget that meeting, what a legend.
Thank you Jerry Lawler for setting things straight
Touching. Well said, heart felt. I’ve just discovered who Andy was and he is right up my alley of humour, I would’ve been a big fan.
I’d suggest watching Taxi, Andy was in this tv show and also check out the slap on David Letterman’s Show with Jerry and Andy in which EVERYONE thought was real lol. He was also on Saturday Night Live for a little while before he got kicked off. :P Man on the moon is also great! I’m old enough to have been around when Andy was doing these stunts and was a fan of him then as a child. It pleases to no end seeing younger people enjoying his act.
@@werewolflover8636 oh, I watched reruns of taxi with my grandma, that was a great show 😂
Jerry is KING...👑 Thank you for setting the record straight... I'm sure you had shed some tears behind closed doors in the past all the time keeping the curtain up in public about your true friendship with Mr. Kaufman...
its a shame his commentary isn’t all there anymore, the king was goated :)
Great feud.
Kaufman was so funny.
Kaufman did great promos.
Beautiful sentiments from Jerry! Andy was a legend and that feud still stands the test of time!
One of the craziest,funniest, most unique performers of all time… Tony Clifton, Taxi, the happening on Saturday nite live, the brilliant wrestling bit… funny as hell… he did one of the best Elvis impersonation of all time…
Thank you so much for posting this interview. Andy and Jerry worked so well together. RIP Andy
I have always been captivated with Andy and Lawler story line, early forth wall shit
His slap was more real and entertaining than Will Smith's
Totally!!!lol
Jerry gives great interviews too bad he doesn't have many at all. He seems so down to earth, hopefully he can give more stories before he passes away.
Great interview! Thank you, Jerry. You’re a good man.
I love Jerry, what a complete professional
Agreed.
Its so funny how they played off one another. Jerry legitimately loved Andy. What a legend. Both of them.
I wanna say that Jerry must have great genetics combined w really taking care of himself. If you watch man in the moon which came out in 99 that was like 20 years after the real Events and he looks great. In 20 years after that he look really good.. A lot of wrestlers even in their 40s don’t look so good Jerry did
It's sad Kaufman wasn't around long enough to become the Super Villain of Pro Wrestling but he got pretty close.
He and JR makes one of the greatest commentators pair 💖💖💖
I dare say THE greatest
@@sirianfelixbrightonesquire3247 I won't argue about it man. But Michael Cole and Taz also great 👍👍👍👍
You notice how he redneck's his voice on commentary, sounds nothing like that in this interview, stereotypes 😏
Jerry and Andy-absolute legends!!!
Probably the greatest storyline and acting ever in wrestling,both Lawler and Kaufman,of course.
I agree. This was beyond a work. Pure art
@@sjf1981 As well as a solid friendship very well disguised.
Andy Kaufman was an amazing actor
First saw Kaufman on "Van Dyke and Company" in 1976. Had never seen anyone like him.
The way Jerry talks about Kaufman tells you how much he still likes him.
Thank you so much for the post. It's so refreshing to see and understand the behind-the-scenes stories of one of my favourite performers. :)
The King
Wow touching that Andy knew and predicted maybe impacted culture. Lawler well spoken and heart-felt.
A very touching interview.
that was a heartwarming post. cheers to you Mr. Lawler. Love to Andy. "here he comes to save the day. . . . "
Andy wanted to keep the feud going after he died, so Jerry promised to keep trash talking him. Thats friendship.
very cool interview. respect!!
That's awesome to know. Thanks Jerry the stuff you guys did was awesome
So great to get this insight into Andy
They were very good friends.
I saw this story in Milos Forman's Man on the moon movie, King was in the movie.
Seeing this warms my soul.
Andy was a great heel
The Kaufman Lawler show woke up Wrestling and Cable TV. The Entertainment value and the sold-out crowds in Memphis made wrestling into entertainment vs. some brawling sport. Kaufman took the Heel role to another level. Soon After, Vince McMahon told the New Jersey Gaming Commission that wrestling was entertainment, not a sport. 30 years later, Wrestling is a dominant player on cable TV.
I saw the Letterman show and I saw Kaufman doing the inter-gender wrestling. Anyone who got to see him wrestle the King in Memphis is so lucky.
Wow what a great interview really thoughtful and ins
Jerry is a legend, they are only a few Americans I like Jerry and Steve Austin
That was Andy he just good actor
I cant believe this is the guy who said “ahhh puppies!!!”
Nice breakdown by the King.
Epic interview thanks for the Awesome video I'm a New Subscriber 😝
Great interview
Thank you for this.
Andy and Jerry are legendary.
In 1985 Jerry Lawler and his wife came into my piano store in a mall in Clarksville Indiana. He was very nice but my step brother happened to be there at the too and he started in on Lawler not being a champion at all and how fake it was. The whole deal, insulting him the entire time he was there. He had just came in to buy a song book and was treated so badly. I tried to apologize to him and he acted like it was all ok. But I really felt lousy that he was treated that way in my store .
He never lost his cool he just took it. A true gentleman. I kinda wish he could have gotten back at him somehow.
The king
Kaufman was so innovative and different as the “anti-comic” - a wild performer who just wanted to rile the crowd and keep everyone guessing. Nobody did what he did before or since. True, unique performance artist.
To think Vince Sr turned Kaufman away, the old man didn't think it would go down well in front of the New York Audience...
After Andy's passing his wife went through his office and found every check Lawler and Jerrett gave Andy for all his performances, his fair cut of all the shows he was on, were all still there, Andy never cashed a single one.
This was probably when Lawler quit WWE in early 2001
Indeed it was
@@I_dont_like_anime no it was 1999
How well I remember when Andy started wrestling women. The whole thing was so well planned and played out.
Andy must have been so frustrated working on Taxi thank god he met you 🏴🍀👍🙏🇺🇸
Hey, you're lookin' good. 😆
This is great
im sure they both respected each other a lot
Very well spoken!
Maybe the greatest talker in wrestling history. You should check out his heel stuff. It's brutal.
So glad that Jerry was honest about how it was an entertainment stunt. Behind the scenes as showed in the film it was all an act. They were friends because it helped promote the wrestling business. Jerry was told not to give it away and Andy would have wanted people to believe it was Real when it was an act.
Rest In Peace
🙏🤍🕊
“They just released all the miners; yeah, Jerry Lawler finally unlocked his front door.” ~ Eugene
He just had his second heart attack like a month ago 😥
Brilliant
I remember all of this when it was happening. It was quite a spectacle! Andy, already famous from Taxi, would be on late night talk shows, and he'd taunt women in general about being weak, and dare any woman from the audience to wrestle him. He'd eventually pin her and he'd then taunt some more. That seemed to be his schtick for a while but Lawler came into the picture. It was getting national attention that an actor and a professional wrestler had an ongoing beef. Then they wrestled, or more accurately Lawler mauled Andy, and the footage of it also made its rounds on entertainment news shows and late night talk shows because a professional wrestler did that to a famous actor. I remember the first time I saw the clip, I thought Lawler broke Andy's neck; it looked brutal! The aftermath was, was Lawler going to be in legal trouble? What's going to happen? Then the David Letterman thing happened. I remember tuning in because I was expecting them to bury the hatchet and all. After all, they had a big beef that played out in public that resulted in a bad injury for Andy, so this should be it, right? When they both sat next to each other on set, Lawler looked like a monster compared to Andy. Then the slap happened. Wow, that was one of the most shocking things I've seen happen on TV! National TV talk shows never lose control of their guests, but everyone just witnessed a real physical assault from a big professional wrestler to a guy half his size - it was crazy! I remember thinking, well Andy kinda had that coming lol. Then more chaos ensued with Andy being hysterical. Then that was it. Or so I thought. Fast forward almost 20 years and Man on The Moon came out and the scene came on that revealed that Andy and Lawler were in cahoots that whole time! Absolutely brilliant! You got us, Andy. You got us good!
Andy and King were hilarious together.
It's really sad Andy had to die when he did. And, yes, I think he really did die. It would of course be the ultimate joke to fake his death but it really did happen
Jerry is the king👍
I've been watching all your videos for the last couple days I and I was wondering why you haven't done a video of wrestlers who put over other wrestlers. For example when Andre the Giant put over hulk Hogan when he let him body slam him. Another example is when razor Ramon lets the 123 kid pin him.
The guy was a genius
Where are all these coming from? These interviews look so old
Probably around 20 years ago maybe a little less
99-00.
lol i always loved andy kaufman cause i grew up admiring heel wrestlers too. being the bad guy is just too much fun
What I want to know is how much they practiced that piledriver? Andy clearly knew how to do it without getting hurt.
👍👍
what year
Probably 1999, he mentioned "17 years ago" when talking about the Andy Kaufman incident, which was in 1982 at that time.
Vince McMahon sr turned down Andy Kaufman for the act Andy wanted to do because he felt it would make more people believe wrestling was fake by bringing in an actor. He was about kayfabe. Vince McMahon jr capitalized on the acting and encouraged it just look at the first wrestlemania. Andy and Lawler did something before their time. What they did and spread was genius for the wrestling world
Good interview with Jerry telling the truth about Andy and his wrestling....
These ads on UA-cam are just out of hand anymore
I did not now Andy was really acting. I thought he was acting but it seemed real
well this isn't controversial at all, its quite hopeful and wholesome, would you look at that
Ya mon
Barry Hamlet look yeehaw
Muhammad Ali adopted the same strategy of self-promotion in his career, creating the persona of the guy you love to hate... Ali said he wanted to provoke as many people as possible into paying money to come see him lose...
Andy beat a lot of women he should’ve fought the fabulous moolah.
Didn't he beat sweet Georgia brown?
Not to get political- but some have written that Trump fashioned his whole presentation , branding, fanfare, hostilities etc -based on - this stuff. Not sure , but i can see it. And gee- what an irony if Trump was mimicking Andy.
Trump definitely is using Wrestling Heel tactics. It's no coincidence during his 2016 Campaign that Vince McMahon endorsed his campaign and when Trump won Vince's wife was given a spot in Trumps cabinet. Vinny Mac taught Trump how to perfect wrestling promos.
Classic comedy....wrestling had a country reputation. The Country Club set was not going to wrestling nor are they going to encourage their publicity friends to glorify it. Too bad, it's a great comedy athletic and real guts show alot.
WWE HALL OF FAME FOR ANDY. NO BRAINER!
Going back and watching that interview, Kaufman doesn't cough at all. Maybe he was before or after. Lawler tends to 'misremember' events
Heck, so that Letterman scene was just an act.
If you read and listen to what happened to Kauffman after wrestling he did get tossed from Saturday night live and he was lucky to finish out taxi and then he died. This is the problem with wrestling or the "fake" "scripted" wrestlers is that they will never (rarely) knock wrestling. Lawler didn't tell the truth about the movie or Kauffmans career (pertaining to what wrestling did to Kauffumans career). Thatsbecause they earn lots of money scripting a "sport." Image getting a director and producer and you and you fellow athletes (that couldn't play pro sports) and athletic friends (and I played at high levels) and know exactly, like a movie who wins, who loses and the like and get paid lots of money. That is what wrestling is at the pro level.
Personally, I think once taxi was cancelled Andy may have did a few things but nothing major, more writing and production end than the talent end, because he didn't have any talent.
God Bless brothers and sisters!!✝️✝️✝️
i think andy got snl vote before the lawler feud...i could be wrong
andy was doing the wrestling of women on snl
people didnt get it...because this was before wrestling went mainstream....which andy helped to happen
the things that hurt andy's career were the bad movies he was put in
hollywood didnt get him...till after his death
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Lawler was a pawn, maybe a friend. Totally a pawn for andy though.
Jerry lawler is a joke ziggler gave him a heart attack
How come you didn’t ask him about his relationship with the underage girl???
My heartbreaking
nice comment
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