Andy thought sitcoms were the lowest form of entertainment, plus he got sick of doing Foreign Man. If Andy hated sitcoms, he would have flipped shit if he saw the crap Nickelodeon puts on.
According to a Marilu Henner interview he never showed any signs of Really hating the show... Maybe the rumor of hating the show was just another part of Andy's humor.
'Alter my lifestyle to fit the fast lane,' is one of the phrases that pops n2 my head - IN LATKA'S VOICE - every so often, for no apparent reason. Taxi was a really good show. And its still way better than most of the modern tv shows running today. Instead of all the reboots, just put classics like these back on. Id watch more tv then lol.
They were....... Most people have NO idea how much Andy Kaufman was improvising, during these show.....! ;-) He had a script but ignored most of it. It was one of the reasons why he slowly disappeared, during the seasons. The script writers just wanted to see their work performed as written and the actors also wanted to do a good job. You will notice that in some episodes he had very little air time, if at all. Andy was an unguided missile, and nobody knew where or when it would go off........... A very famous - but very good ! - improvisation is where he tells everybody what they need in life. A girlfriend. Thats all. And a big house, a car, a swimming pool, more friends, etc... Just great.
Look up some of the cast talking about this. Andy Kaufman legit stayed in the Tony Clifton character for weeks and told everyone working on the show that Andy Kaufman was on tour.
Thank You for posting this - 30 years it make me laugh hardcore. Kaufman and De Vito are classic on clip. Kaufman did this split personality episode to a hilarious core funny that still stands!
He was unbelivable....I know I watched that show all the time...not realizing what a genius he was at the time...now I'm still a major fan of andy....there will never be another like him......
@@ralphthewonderllama4923 reminds me of my mentor in high school, he had the same kind of comedy style so I’m guessing he must have been inspired by Kaufman
Why is this video flagged as inappropriate? This aired on network cable in the early 80s. RU-vid has officially gotten more uptight about content then television was 38 years ago...
Brilliant! Way ahead of his time in every way. And the writing is fantastic. I wonder what the writing process was like...? How much input did he have and give to the writers about this scene? Looking at this, I'm just thinking how genius he was... and did they realize it at the time?
I'm currently watching Taxi on dvd. I notice a bit of tension and weariness from the other cast members anytime Andy becomes Vic Ferrari, and other characters that were not Latka. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing Andy often went off script and improvised which might have pissed off the others a little. I wonder if cast members didn't know what to expect from Andy each day. Taxi is an awesome show!!! That and WKRP in Cincinnati.
I'm here cause Howard Stern said Andy could have played Kramer on Seinfeld. And Jerry said "Now that you mention it hes the only person I ever could picture playing Kramer." SO TRUE! & In this bit especially!
Seinfeld borrowed a lot from Taxi. Both had an Elaine. Both shows had a weirdo. Latka and Kramer. And both shows had one sensible character that everyone went to with their problems. Alex and Jerry. And both shows were set in NYC but actually filmed in LA on a set.
I loved when he would transform into Vic. Everything was an opportunity to push boundaries with Andy. Jim Carrey was a clown in that movie and I don't think he really had a clue as to what Andy was about.
Actually, as of this episode Latka did not yet suffer from multiple personality disorder because he was still aware that he was Latka playing Vic Ferrari. He hints at it at the end of the episode when Alex Reiger helps Latka drop the Vic speech pattern and mannerisms and then supposedly joking turns to Alex and says, "Allll right" in Vic's voice and then says, "I just kidding" in Latka's voice bur then looks ambiguously at Alex as to whether Latka has the mannerisms under control. It's on a later episode with Simka that it's revealed that Vic Ferrari has taken over Latka. Later he adopts other personalities like Harlow the cowboy, and takes over Alex's Reiger's personality much to Alex's frustration.
The episode where Simka returns is when Vic goes away for good because she tells him she wants Latka. the episode where he sees a psychologist who diagnoses him comes before that
It was said that Kaufman could not wait to be a "has been". Perhaps the only person in the history of entertainment to have such a desire. The dude was one of a kind!
I can’t believe the hype or wonder on him, he knew what the fuck he was doing, played his cards perfectly, blows my mind that someone thinking outside the box and basically “ bull shitting” you has you all stumped. He was clever and it worked. Wake up.
People forget how much good work Kaufman did in a structured environment on Taxi, and get distracted by the performance art and Jerry Lawler and the Letterman bits and the Jim Carrey movie.
Andy didn't like being Andy, so he created European Guy....European Guy became Latka, and Andy didn't like being Latka so he created this guy, Vic. And sandwiched between all of these people was the King of Id, Tony Clifton, who hated everybody, including Andy....
PS as seen in Man on the moon, they wrote a few scripts with Tony Clifton, must have stuffed it up quite a bit, that He ruined it, but yes he was a comic Genius,
