Jerry Lawler, the prolific pro wrestler better know as Jerry “The King” Lawler, weighed in on the current debate which has the internet ablaze; namely, is Andy Kaufman still alive?
Kaufman is supposed to have died in 1984, but a recent incident bought to light the fact that he may still be alive. Kaufman’s brother Michael, who is a comedian (making it even harder to distinguish between fact and fiction) told a comedy club audience in New York that he had received a letter from his brother 15 years after he died.
Michael Kaufman told the audience that he had received a letter telling him to go to a specific restaurant on Christmas Eve, 1999. When he arrived there, he said, a parking attendant gave him a letter, apparently from his dead brother:
“It was too much pressure to be Andy Kaufman. I just wanted to be Andy. I think that’s why I got sick. I had to change completely and quickly. I’m extremely very happily married with the most wonderful wife in the whole wide world and with the two greatest kids: a 10-year-old daughter and a son who is 8 ,” he read.
For his part, Jerry Lawler wrested Andy Kaufman on a couple of occasions as well as appearing with him on “Late Night with David Letterman.” He spoke to CNN by phone on Thursday about the Andy Kaufman death hoax:
“I would like nothing better than to know that Andy was still alive and been with us all this time. But like anybody else, I really don’t know any more than what I’ve heard. It could be a great hoax in his honor, dreamed up by his friend Bob Zmuda and his brother, Michael. That would be something that would be in keeping with Andy’s tradition, but who’s to say. It could really be legit,” he said.
What do you think about the Andy Kaufman death hoax ? Do you think he’s still alive or do agree with Jerry Lawler that it’s probably a prank? Let us know your thoughts in the comment feed below.
