Andy Kaufman/Tony Clifton with muppets!

Tony Clifton doing a turn on the Miss Piggy Show!

[@wannabeanimator1997]

It somehow makes sense that Piggy would like Tony Clifton

[@DrRestezi]

This is brilliant on so many levels it almost defies description. I had no idea when I was a kid watching The Muppets that the show was so sophisticated and quietly subversive. Andy Kaufman, Jim Henson and Frank Oz must have busted a gut when this skit was finished. Amazing that network suits found this to be acceptable for a kids show.

[@pauldawson6138]

When you are in Las Vegas, go to a 4th rate casino, and a Tony Clifton will be singing in the lounge.

[@bobjohnson3528]

I saw one at the riviera which they tore down, maybe cause of this guy, he was singing to the old ladies playing slots, the riviera was the best, oldest school of old school, they should have kept it

[@buddette3308]

I appreciate this entertainment more than ever now. Andy gave us all of him.

[@mellotronage3266]

Tony Clifton once stepped on my mom's toe & didn't apologize for it. Then called my sister trash & when my brother in law stepped up, Tony threw a drink in his face. What an honor it was to be near talent like that, though... And who the hell is Andy Kaufman anyway ? His name keeps appearing in all the great Clifton vids I watch. So weird: Clifton was Clifton. Signed, Vic Ferrari

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

so funny

[@enamandela9562]

😂❤️

[@drwisdomtx]

One of the best pranks of all time. Andy was a true genius

[@fool1shmortal]

This character is my favorite of his. This is an old slang, but this character was a spaz! It's too funny! Thanks for posting it!

[@ottoskidoo]

how awesome this was on the muppet show!

[@AskAlice24]

I think Tony Clifton should go on American Idol! I'd vote for him, lol!

[@Shanethefilmmaker]

This is an achievement, an entire Tony Clifton segment where he doesn't swear or trash the set. Clifton must have really liked Jim Henson.

[@glenesis]

Yeah, this is maybe the only time he didn't get tossed out. Kinda disappointing, but, Finally some respect for this amazing talent!

[@chrisridenhour]

Love the tap dancing and the guy bringing out the chair for him to sit on for 5 seconds in the middle of the dance routine 😂

[@Neptuneman07]

I remember watching this clearly in the early 90s on the Disney Channel. Man, this was just zany as a kid; now its genious and hillarious!

[@TimJackson-eq6iy]

Andy truly was one of a kind. Not to everyone's taste, but he was a comic genius.

[@ssimon64]

There are some other clips on youtube of Bob playing Tony, but I say this one is definately Andy. His voice, his energy, and his movements all say Andy. And he looks like he's having so much fun!

[@jessiejames7492]

its amazing how he could change completely to another person.!

[@jessiejames7492]

***** we will never know ...for sure.

[@LetsGoMetsGo33]

a similar modern performer is Sasha Baron "Borat/Ali G" Cohen.

[@NoNHeiNouSMuSic]

GET IT RIGHT. THEY BOTH PLAYED CLIFTON...

[@danhermon4922]

This is Andy. You can tell by how he moves. And he usually played him, sometimes it was Zmuda to confuse people or other reasons. At least once it was Andy’s brother too.

[@clarkgun]

One of the many legends that are slowly getting buried by the pop/techno/fashionable generations of today. And I'm 21. I'm already seeing why old people complain about kids.

[@TheJhemming]

That is very funny. Good find. The Muppets in the 70's were awesome

[@A2Z83]

Lol he said ho. Then he's like its the muppets for kids so like santa clause hohoho

[@diarykeeper]

If we're talking about Carrey doing Cliffton: YES ! You are soo right.

[@mseh76]

wow now that is the best! Loved it and thanks for posting this!

[@frankensteinmoneymac]

I have so much more respect for Miss Piggy now that I know she was a Tony Clifton fan.

[@Bagfullofcrabs1]

I always have some bittersweet feelings while watching him performing. He's funny, obviously, and all, but the thought of him not being able to perform once more pops up in my head every time :(

[@MaryAnneRosato]

"Song, long, King Kong..."

[@OverlordJake]

Wow, I haven't seen that clip in ages. Kaufman was certainly one of a kind.

[@teenagehomo]

The Tony Clifton marque on the set in this clip is currently over the main room cover booth at The Wordl Famous Comedy Store (for Tony's return to the stage next week at the club...and one of the four nights Tony will be played by Jim Carey).

[@maxxrand4888]

George Hamilton and Andy Kaufman what a pair

[@CCSTEADMAN]

one of the best comics you will ever see...

[@5thcorps]

A GIFTED ENTERTAINER TO SAY THE LEAST!

[@whutbrush]

Way ahead of his time. Mr. Kaufman was a genius above (and especially) today's standards of comedy.

[@Onanation]

The stool is brilliant

[@ljcteehee]

Watching this version of Andy doing Tony, I find it kind of hilarious that he often thought no one could tell that he was Tony Clifton. Tony Clifton sounds exactly like Andy Kaufman here. lol.

[@andrewlondon007]

Andy came at a weird time where people didnt get his humor. Still, today, some people don't get it. Genius

[@JazzKeyboardist1]

why do people love Andy's Pranks but hate Yoko Ono's Pranks? threatened that a woman is more talented than them I guess

[@andrewlondon007]

I never said anything about that.

[@wel_leb9254]

+JazzKeyboardist1 because she split up the greatest band in the history of music

[@TS-qq7vr]

Everybody knew the schtick. We got it, but after seeing a guy on TV all the time just trying to suck, well that just gets boring. It became overkill and we grew tired of it.

[@asurlybarber3620]

Andy Kaufman was crazy like a fox. He knew what he was doing, most people couldn't figure it out.

[@Shanethefilmmaker]

Ok I can see how he got Michael Richards, Jerry Lawler and even Letterman, but how did he get Henson in on his acts of mayhem.

[@Vorxnyx]

this is probably the greatest video which has ever been recorded

[@ollieox9181]

That dance he does at 1:25 always makes me laugh.

[@cynicalMusic21]

You win the thread, sir. Excellent work.

[@nazmoking3171]

Tony Clifton in my opinion was Andy's greatest invention - one of a kind!

[@jushayward]

Well I'm from England and I love Clifton. Clifton reminds me of some of my father's friends in the seventies. Love him, Carey and some of that great U.S. stuff they produce as well as the excellent stuff from the U.K. Broaden your minds, it makes life better.

[@Batman83]

He's alive and with Tupac, and Elvis in Louisiana.

[@diskochimp]

"What a discovery, hmm?"

[@DillonRichard]

golden.

[@spudw2k]

I believe the original SNL series featured Kaufman and Muppets too.

[@Dahmerxx]

Thanks for exactly saying what I just thought ;)

[@otherstar1]

Tony Clifton was a character either played by the late Andy Kaufman, or Bob Zmuda. When Man on the Moon came out, Zmuda reprised the character in a bit with Jim Carrey that was pulled off in a very Kaufman-like manner in which you didn't know if it was real or not.

[@spacepeanut5723]

until he pulled his dick out.lol

[@MisterWhirlyDude]

Oh, and by the way, check out the original pilot for the Muppets show. It was definitely not intended to be a kids show at all. It was supposed to be more like a Saturday Night Live with puppets. I think Jim Henson probably loved Kaufman and he certainly liked to push the boundries for a "kids" show.

[@Lobodude91]

Thank God they had Jim Carrey play Andy/Tony lol

[@kentroberts7211]

keep in mind too -- this is a comment made by another person about me. i don't think of myself as "the new andy kaufman" -- i appreciate what he was doing and i know it was different.

[@darksideka]

love his voice on the big finish,4.04 to 4.08

[@mikearan30]

Great Andy stuff what a looney he was so talented

[@SavikDan]

That's entertainment! :)

[@ritahirani4016]

Genius

[@the.mystery]

Sinatra...you've got some competition lol

[@sawyeral]

Great video. And this is Kaufman. I saw a video with Zmuda doing Clifton at Harrah's and you can tell the difference.

[@VolatileChemical]

Heh, the Muppets' are reacting to Tony the same way real network execs reacted to Andy.

[@teddygrammm]

there was at least one other person who would play tony clifton.

[@LeSquiji]

3:42 the fact that they planned and choreographed a staff member to run in and place a stool for him during the performance to rest from his 'energetic' dancing is fucking stellar. I'm sure it wasn't planned by andy kaufman but by tony clifton, because that's how possessed this man really was.

[@Autopsy76]

Andy was a thief. He stole emotions, didn't matter if it was levity, happyness, anger or dissappointment. If he wanted you to show a particular emotion, there was nothing you could do. Only learned about kaufman in the last few years, but he truly was an artist. Brought his own, improved what was done in past, and gave it his all. I highly recommend watching "Man in the Moon" I know alota ppl don't like Jim Carrey, but he did an awesome job in that film. Also agree with BMJ, nice job.

[@darling_danke_schoen]

JAJAJAHAHAHA HE WAS GONNA SAY "KING KONG'S DONG" JAJAJA

[@TomGallagherSuperboyBeyond]

he played it long before. He just continued it. Andy's brother also played the role on occasion

[@garvam]

jim and andy has always been my motivation. and i hav put some of my video.just tryin to b like them. respect.

[@tedcantu1]

The greatest thing that ever happened to entertainment.

[@LilSirAxolotl]

lol XD Tony Clifton really cracks me up. "let's dance!" *taptaptap*

[@ElijahsImpact]

I remember reading that this was the last time Andy played Tony before his death.

[@poltaotata]

A legend and inventor of provocatory comics

[@xXGhilliedxSamuraiXx]

If anyone else had played Andy, Man on the Moon would've been a disgrace to him rather than an honoring.

[@cha5]

I would have thought Andy would have been wrestling Miss Piggy.

[@klawdd]

This is so great1!

[@clearasvodka]

Ahhahahahaha!!!!!!! Ho ho ho ho!

[@JasonL77]

They did trade off the "Tony Clifton" character alot. That's why Tony made one final apperance about a year after Andy died.

[@Sadiecatlady]

God ain't it the truth. The fact that people are STILL questioning... It's what Andy wanted

[@ServeTheBeaver]

whoever it was, it was spot on all the time

[@baroque9103]

The kids had must have fallen asleep during this part of the Muppets..

[@marek1911]

that's what I call an intelligent reply

[@louiewiley1691]

I've been a muppet fan for years. Also I thought Tony Clifton and Andy Kaufan made an excellent pair on The Miss Piggy 🐷 🐖 Show.

[@hairypolack]

Im confused, is this from the classic cbs muppets show from the 70s? or some special? one of the attempted muppets resurrections?

[@DillonRichard]

I love it, bada bing

[@Mintsauce27]

Silicon & Satan are a potent mix

[@hallodepprofllol]

he simply was a genius

[@eschuurm]

Tony Clifton is Bob Zmuda, Andy's writing partner.

[@CalebWaleb]

I love Andy Kaufman!!

[@Dariandelahoya]

Legend, Friend-man

[@cha5]

So when will someone upload that Muppets bit Jim Henson did on the very earliest Saturday Night Lives called 'Dregs And Vestiges'? I always loved it.

[@browsertab]

lol. Leisure Suit Larry was based on one of Al Lowe's co-workers.

[@numbskull20]

he died of lung cancer in '84. People thought it was a prank and some still do i think

[@GiveEmHellMCR]

Best part about his trolling is that he never broke the troll character. So people still felt ambiguous about whether they liked him or not. It's easy to look back and see now though.

[@Mike1614b]

that Tony had a lot of talent, a real performer, a professional

[@blahblahghost]

What year is this?

[@syxx573]

hillarious

[@667mumble]

So Tony Clifton wasn't a real person, he was a character of Andy Kaufman

[@marek1911]

Those Russian soldiers who fought the Germans were driving American-made trucks, shooting American-made bullets and eating American canned food. From the beginning of the Lend-Lease act the Americans sent: Aircraft 14,795; Tanks 7,056; Jeeps 51,503; Trucks 375,883.

[@GeoR91na]

I'm watching Man On The Moon only now, and what I just realised is in Russia we have an identical action from a guy who successfully participated in a humoristic show but the next season he invented a strange man instead of himself (as the guy didn't appear in the show though logically he was obliged to do it ). He was doing on stage like Tony Clifton in the movie (and, probably, in life) ! He stole this idea and in our country nobody guessed it )))

[@jjhunsucker8539]

actually this was Zmuda. you can tell by his movements and his lip twitches.

[@Paraprax]

I dunno, Edward Norton would've been a pretty good second choice.

[@leleara]

great

[@StomachMafia]

This is clearly Kauffman.

[@ZeroManZX]

Andy Kaufman is a laugh and a billion halves =P (and for those who dont understand that, TONY CLIFTON IS ANDY KAUFMAN! thank you)

[@Peacehipie]

Long Live Andy Kaufman/Tony Clifton!!!!

[@isaaccd79]

That’s not Andy Kaufman. That’s his agent.

[@jacov127]

that is Andy !