Jerry "The King" Lawler gave Andy "The Squid" Kauffman a Fill Open Palm Smash Mouth Slap that Shut his dumb stupid ass up. I always Respected Lawler for giving Kauffman the Double Pile Driver too. What a great day that was for Wrestling !!
@@jaysonb.6669 I just read about that. What an evening it turned out for him. I also read somewhere that talk of this episode went viral and put the Letterman show on the map.
@@martinocelotl8326nope, Letterman did NOT know a slap was coming or anything after that. The idea was for them to end the feud, as far as the show knew
Absolutely hysterical. What a genius. Those two sure came up with some good entertainment. To this day people still believe it was a real feud. Pure genius.
No kidding Rich,. You don't see story lines like this today. Probably the best one in wrestling history if you have people today believing it's still a real feud after all this time.
Lettermann was a big fan / supporter of Kaufman . Lettermann didn't know that lawler and kaufman were going to do this. They ignored the script that the show's writers wanted them to do, after they agreed to follow it ! Watch the video on youtube (audio only) of Lawler telling the whole behind the scenes story of all of this, it's great
The Acting was to real, so it was real, they change it later on, and said it was fake, but i think it was real from the beinging! nobody can act that good, not even Hollywood!!
@@animalmother5287 just because u saw it on the film doesn't mine it was fake, It was probably real then later on they made up and started saying that it was fake.
@@petermartinez4625 It was real. Lawler even wrote in his book it wasn't planned and he just did it off the fly, he actually did slap Andy and Andy knew he had a blank cheque to respond.
This was such a great work! Kauffman and Lawler played this all beautifully. So far ahead of it’s time. Andy cut some really amazing promos. He should be a honorary WWe/F hall of famer
I remember this so well. I have lived just south of Memphis for 45 years. We moved here in 76 when I was 8. Quickly discovered Memphis wrestling on channel 5 with Lance and Dave. This Kaufman/Lawler "fued" was something I remember perfectly. Kaufman was so over thetop and nasty, i was just hoping Lawler would beat the shit out of him . That " fued" was wrestling entertainment GOLD!! Also if you are a classic wrestling fan check out clips of Channel 5 Wrestling out of Memphis with Lance Russell and Dave Brown. This is some of the best wrestling with two of the best hosts in the business, 1975-86,87 was when I was a fan. I started working and of course I worked Saturdays and didn't see much of good old channel 5 wrestling after that. I enjoy watching these clips on RU-vid. I guarantee I remember alot of them.
Cause he UNDERSTOOD RHE BUSINESS AND WHAT ITMACTUALLY WAS ABOUT. Now they think it is a fuckin gymnastics show. Yeah that shit might play on the indie circuit. But it is not gonna fly on NATIONAL TV. FOR FUCK SAKE.
Letterman has some pretty fantastic segments though but yes this is among the best for sure... Farrah Fawcett Madonna Richard Simmons Joaquin Phoenix Drew Barrymore are all in the running
No. Im glad he wasn't alive to see the change. No one deserves that Edit: sorry I misunderstood, I see you put between 80'-90' but I was thinking how they are today
Jay Davenport yea I agree. Today wrestling is a joke. For me, the last good generation for wrestling was the late 90s early 2000s era. With stone cold Steve Austin, and the rock, and Goldberg and so on. To me, that was the last good wrestling generation
I was a kid in the ruthless agression era and boy my life was centered around wrestling. And in another universe i see myself training and joining the business. Going to WWE shows in my hometown and seeing Jeff Hardy brought tears to my 9 yr old eyes. And ill never forget that tragic day i watch raw with my dad on my parents bed and seeing that empty arena and vince announcing what had happened in the benoit household.
Brilliant that Lawler did the slow spin so that his back was facing camera before the hit. This allowed him to make eye contact with Andy so that he understood the hit was about to come. They had discussed the possibility of doing this beforehand, but Lawler had been against it until just before the stunt went down. This moment of eye contact also got Andy ready to play it up, as it were, spinning out of his chair to the floor as though the strike to his face was more forcible than it was.
Man, when I saw this on tv I truly thought it was real. Dave looked like he totally did not know what was going on and Lawler looked and acted like a suave bully and Andy looked very really enraged. It's hard to imagine nowadays but people just didn't swear like that on tv, even if it was bleeped out. People didn't do that back then. The next day at school everyone was talking about Andy Kaufman getting slapped by Jerry Lawler on Letterman. No-one said it was a put-on, we all believed it was real, even though we knew Kaufman was a crazy man, we still though this was something authentic. It was one of the most amazing things I'd seen on tv up until that time and probably since as well.
I watched this show live back then and I fell for it! Kaufman was brilliant and Lawler also played his part well....there will never be another Andy Kaufman.
Excellent timing from absolutely everyone involved in this. The escalation, Letterman cutting to commercial, the music starting as the slap happens, it was just flawless.
I remember this like it was last week. I was in my early 20's and while it was staged and fake, ONLY ANDY AND JERRY knew it was staged. Letterman, his crew, and NBC security truly thought this was a REAL altercation and it was epic.
Lawler said he even had doubts at one point. When Andy came out and started cussing at him, he thought he had really made him mad! He went looking for Andy after the show to apologize to him. He finally found him. He said when Andy saw him coming, he immediately broke into a wide grin and said, "Well, what'd you think?"
The best 10 minutes in television history and I was there watching it live on tape. Hypnotized. Andy, glad to hear you're still out there laffing at our petty, trivial existences.
I remember this show when it aired. I don't think i've ever seen a harder slap. I definitely remember the sound of that slap was a lot louder than presented here.
Don't know if it's mention previously in comments, but at 13:16 Andy coughs a little. Jerry said Andy later apologized to him for coughing during his segment, but explained that he had been diagnosed with cancer recently...the beginning of the end...
I just commented about that very thing, he looked completely wrung out then when he coughed it reminded me of my father before he died, I guess I got my answer.
Absolute magic that will never be recreated or bested because that period of time is over and is sadly never coming back. Thank you Jerry Lawler for being one of the best ever and thank you Andy Kaufman for GETTING IT.
I know 7 year old comment, but I read apparently Letterman actually was unaware that the feud was staged, and he was indeed quite fearful after the slap.
I miss Andy.....we have lost too many comedians earlier than their time. His clips are still some of the most hilarious and brilliant ever written and performed since the 1st time I saw him 18 years ago
EDIT for the Dunning-Krugers: I'm not saying this was real. It was staged. The point is that it wasn't written down on paper and handed to them, kids. You don't know as much as you think you do. Modern wrestling, take note: this is how you create real emotion. No writers, NO SCRIPT, no wink and nod to the audience from the wrestlers ... everyone taking it very seriously even though most people knew wrestling was fixed. Just two talented people who actually knew how to improvise and work an audience getting an audience invested in what they were doing. That's how wrestling used to work. That's when it was great.
Man Kaufman actually did very well in the ring taking the suplex bump and then selling the elbow from the second rope. These guys were pretty smart when it came to creating publicity for both of them. I'm surprised that nobody else in wrestling has ever attempted a similar angle. RIP Andy.
When Man on the Moon first came out, I thought Jim Carrey did an amazing job. But the more old Andy clips I watch, I find his impression a little too over the top and campy. I wonder if that was intentional to make Andy more likable. His “schtick” was believable because he played it straight. He did ridiculous things, but he did them in a way that made you believe he believed in what he was doing, so when he was being a troll or an asshole, you kinda had to believe he really was one.
he was method acting in the movie apparently to the point he came dressed in either character to the set. Im assuming he thought he had to add more to the character to make the movie more interesting.
@@sese6227 You three also saw that internet doco on the making of that movie right? I ask cause I saw it not long after watching the movie with my ex and I looked at Andy's work afterwards and loved his work and although I felt like Jim Carrey did overact in the movie I think that maybe people have taken their judgements about the quality of his acting in the film and shifted them onto his personality and behaviour on set which although was clearly uncalled for it's far from the worst things people have done to method act and Jim still clearly did a fairly wonderful job. Could someone have done better? Sure but I don't think we should get that question confused with 'Was Jim Carrey a total asshole during the filming?'. Feuds between actors and directors happen all the time and you have to wonder why a director would continue to have him in the film if he really was as horrible as he was portrayed in the Doco by someone who didn't actually work on set. If that is the case then didn't the director allow Jim Carrey to be that big of an asshole all because of money? Like you can say "Oh but he went into debt to film it" yea but you don't just happen to go into debt filming something overnight and if you do then you shouldn't be trusted to make films with that much money. It's like if Tommy Wiseau made 'The Room' but instead of playing a character he had his best mate from highschool play it and just let him get away with being as big of an asshole as possible. Then after the film comes out all the actors complain about it when it's not like they didn't get paid and couldn't walk out at any time. It wasn't like it was a low budget film, maybe it was just the perfect environment to bring out the worst in Jim Carrey but how much of backstage footage did we actually get to see and how much was trimmed down to create that depiction of what happened? We often forget to ask these things when we look to documentaries for answers. What I'm saying tho isn't really in defence of the actions he is accused of at all but that I've simply just wondered about this a lot over the past couple years and I went from jumping to the conclusion the documentary maker asserts to realising I don't actually have any idea if Jim Carrey was actually an asshole based on what I saw. A good documentary covers all sides to a story, a good movie sells a story, so I'm just asking what exactly did we all see when watching the documentary? A well-crafted movie or a well-told documentary?
I personally HATED Man on the Moon because Carrey not only overacted, he was WAY over the top and was never like the genius Andy. Andy had a subtle way of approaching being a troll where he partially garnered sympathy as in his foreign man act. Carrey acted like a blatant asshole which Andy never was.
@@hunterburk jim Carrey is an asshole. And he's not funny. Fire Marshall bill .... Made me laugh. Everything Jim Carrey does......is fire Marshall bill on loop.
it wasn't faked. Outliving Kaufman, Lawler was about the only one who knew if it was or wasn't, so he didn't care if Man On The Moon wanted to imply it was staged. Hollywood does this, implies situations weren't real, to elevate their celebrity image.
According to Jerry Lawler, Letterman didn't know. He and Kaufman decided at the last minute to start fighting again. In fact, Kaufman's outbursts were so convincing that Lawler thought he had genuinely made him mad!
@@citizenken7069 ::: Yo, Citizen ! Were there network/FCC fines for the “F” bombs, “MF’s”, dropped by Kaufman when he unleashed his tirade at Lawler ?. Just curious..
@@codeblue2532 The networks bleeped all the "F bombs" in the original broadcast. If Letterman knew about it in advance, you'd think there would have been some penalties. If he didn't know about it, then it's doubtful he could have been held responsible.
Andy was two of a kind, and I miss him to this day. I remember the first moment I saw him on telly and I knew I had never seen this kind of comic genius ever before.
I didn't watch David Letterman a hole lot growing up. 1982 i was 15 yrs old and a sophomore in high school i do remember watching this!. This was when watching TV was the Absolute Best. I miss the 1980's!!!
The united States also look leases Guantanamo bay from Cuba. And they never cash theirs. Not saying Kaufman was a communist dictator. I just always going that interesting.
I was 17 when I saw this that night in 1982. Best thing about it is how Lawlor, Kaufman, and even Letterman presented it as being real. So, even though all watching suspected yeah it has gotta be fake, a put on, you could never be sure. Made everything much more fun to watch. Lawler was impressive. Quick wit A good entertainer.
@@lainefrajberg955 It looks like he really smacked him hard. It certainly does. lol Kaufman was probably shaken and hurt. Those 2 did a great job. The best thing wrestlers can do is make you have to guess whether or not what they are doing is real. If it is blatantly obvious it is not real, a lot of the fun watching is gone. The real good characters in pro wrestling act like what they say and do is absolutely real.
The insult at 2:18 and the smirk from Andy at 2:25 really shows how much Andy enjoyed this level of commitment he had to provoking a reaction from audiences. Andy *loved* that line from Lawler, because it got an “ooooh” from the audience. Andy really was an entertainer. I think his whole goal in life was to provoke every kind of reaction from people. Laughter, confusion, joy, anger, sadness, sympathy, hatred, horror, embarrassment, I really believe he would have a specific, different reaction in mind that he wanted to extract from each performance. Sometimes great comedians can do drama very well - Williams, Carey, etc. Sometimes great actors can be funny. But rarely can one man provoke such a wide range of responses from the audience. He was the master.
Politically Incorrect TV and I Love it. Classic TV. Maybe It was Scripted, But it was Still Awesome. That Ahole Kaufman; Got what was Coming to Him. Thank You Mr. Lawler. 🙏
Wtf, this is my first time seeing this, I know it's all setup, and yet I can feel incredible tension with their argument. That's damned well done on their parts.
Mr Kaufman totally could have been a great wrestling character. People are always going to look back at this as one of the most important and classic television moments ever. !ndividuals are gonna look back at this comment and say "Man that C0mmenter 1 really knows what he's talking about"
This, to me, was what really made pro wrestling mainstream in the 1980s, not what Vince McMahon claims "he did". The greatest work of kayfabe of all time. Andy Kaufman sacrificed his entire legit acting career to sell this story line, and that puts most of the so called "talent" in both comedy and pro wrestling to shame!!!
Whether or not Dave knew it was staged he would’ve handled it the same way. That’s what’s really classic about it. And that’s why Dave is a class act.👍👍👍👍👍
I love the story Lawler tells about the ambulance. Andy insisted on it and Jerry kept saying no it costs $300, so Andy told the ref he would pay for it
@@googoogjoob5174 $300 in 1975 was worth about $1520 today, so it's gone up, but not by as much as people think. In 1975 dollars, that would be an increase of $300 to $400.
Andy was so far beyond his time people are only just now in the past few years starting to realize his genius. Not to mention The King Jerry Lawler ( this is still when most people thought wrestling was real ) This was one of if not the best played out feuds between a wrestler and anyone.
I saw this original broadcast. I wasn't sure whether to believe it or not at the time, but I definitely thought it could be real. This was long before the days when everyone had a VCR or recorder to review it right away, and instead had to rely on remembering what they saw. It was talked about for quite some time afterwards, and may be the first episode of "David Letterman" to become an instant classic.
You can actually see The King slap his own hand and then straight after whip it away sharpish. This fued was more believable than any fued in Wrestling. Kauffman was an absolute genius.
Finally watched it. The infamous video, i just loved how it got such a reaction from the crowd. This is going into the favourites list. Thank you Jerry and Andy. And you sir for putting the video up.
@@2410-s9l That's because... It was "Rastlin' Lotta stuff is thought to be real.. but back then.. it seemed more real.. the WWF/WWE really makes it look so blatant these days. But I was a lot younger back in those days...
