Jerry Lawler on Andy Kaufman

[@bokehintheussr5033]

This brought a tear to my eyes. Such kind words from Mr Lawler about one of my comedy heroes Andy Kaufman

[@scottudell7202]

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.

[@arcade85_]

Quit bringing Tony Clifton into the conversation; he owed Kaufman nothing.

[@mthomas1973]

Thank you Jerry Lawler for setting things straight

[@werewolflover8636]

Andy never gets enough credit for what he did for wrestling. I really appreciate Jerry’s words here.

[@ToneeRhianRose]

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.

[@MatthewW713]

Lawler is so sincere, great interview.

[@analiysanchez9949]

Maybe cuz the feud didn’t draw

[@Bluepilled-c5t]

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.

[@werewolflover8636]

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.

[@MsStealYourDadAndMom]

@@werewolflover8636 oh, I watched reruns of taxi with my grandma, that was a great show 😂

[@briantaylor1391]

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...

[@richardharrington6118]

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

[@CosmicCircus1971]

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.

[@xzy89c]

Me too

[@brentirwin10]

@@CosmicCircus1971 I saw another interview with Lawler about the slap, and it was apparently completely unplanned, but it worked so well.

[@McBurnside6380]

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.

[@zeldamag8381]

Thank you so much for posting this interview. Andy and Jerry worked so well together. RIP Andy

[@BirdGang6]

Beautiful sentiments from Jerry! Andy was a legend and that feud still stands the test of time!

[@dmurph4861]

Great interview! Thank you, Jerry. You’re a good man.

[@dmlevitt]

that was a heartwarming post. cheers to you Mr. Lawler. Love to Andy. "here he comes to save the day. . . . "

[@spirit8296]

its a shame his commentary isn’t all there anymore, the king was goated :)

[@battlestarmarc]

Great feud. Kaufman was so funny. Kaufman did great promos.

[@gregpilgrim3750]

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…

[@Dhardy316]

I have always been captivated with Andy and Lawler story line, early forth wall shit

[@benpotaka5893]

I love Jerry, what a complete professional

[@OhJaniceWhyOhWhy]

Agreed.

[@clarity2115]

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.

[@bok3rnes425]

He and JR makes one of the greatest commentators pair 💖💖💖

[@sirianfelixbrightonesquire3247]

I dare say THE greatest

[@bok3rnes425]

@@sirianfelixbrightonesquire3247 I won't argue about it man. But Michael Cole and Taz also great 👍👍👍👍

[@benpotaka5893]

You notice how he redneck's his voice on commentary, sounds nothing like that in this interview, stereotypes 😏

[@brotherlittlefoot2216]

Probably the greatest storyline and acting ever in wrestling,both Lawler and Kaufman,of course.

[@sjf1981]

I agree. This was beyond a work. Pure art

[@brotherlittlefoot2216]

@@sjf1981 As well as a solid friendship very well disguised.

[@pedrorivera4564]

His slap was more real and entertaining than Will Smith's

[@bamgrok]

Totally!!!lol

[@SamCanada1]

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. :)

[@livemusicreportscustommusi4245]

So great to get this insight into Andy

[@benjamincasey6617]

Its so funny how they played off one another. Jerry legitimately loved Andy. What a legend. Both of them.

[@Proudathiest1]

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

[@johnjagodzimski2158]

That's awesome to know. Thanks Jerry the stuff you guys did was awesome

[@mikef7672]

It's sad Kaufman wasn't around long enough to become the Super Villain of Pro Wrestling but he got pretty close.

[@matthewmehegan3475]

A very touching interview.

[@dmackler58]

very cool interview. respect!!

[@krisscanlon4051]

Wow touching that Andy knew and predicted maybe impacted culture. Lawler well spoken and heart-felt.

[@efraingonzalez731]

Andy Kaufman was an amazing actor

[@neothegsd7292]

Seeing this warms my soul.

[@PatBrooks-u6w]

First saw Kaufman on "Van Dyke and Company" in 1976. Had never seen anyone like him.

[@KingHayabusa384]

The way Jerry talks about Kaufman tells you how much he still likes him.

[@megamania501]

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!

[@MartinLynch-b6i]

Nice breakdown by the King.

[@Elfo_Scuro]

I saw this story in Milos Forman's Man on the moon movie, King was in the movie.

[@Supermanohman]

Andy wanted to keep the feud going after he died, so Jerry promised to keep trash talking him. Thats friendship.

[@cardinalsfan8182]

Jerry and Andy-absolute legends!!!

[@marlonb.8243]

Jerry and Andy were brilliant on Letterman. And what a decent and kind human being Jerry Lawler is.

[@r.c.reasor4807]

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.

[@edwardquirk8393]

Wow what a great interview really thoughtful and ins

[@Happin3ess]

They were very good friends.

[@robertotorino8862]

Jerry is a legend, they are only a few Americans I like Jerry and Steve Austin

[@gp8229]

The King

[@dwtbrown]

Andy was maybe the best Heel ever. For my money he was. Bringing the heat with those bits about soap and toilet paper. Amazing.

[@johnanewquist]

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.

[@FerretJohn]

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.

[@kylemcgill2966]

Andy was a great heel

[@Fallingtower969]

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.

[@nyobunknown6983]

How well I remember when Andy started wrestling women. The whole thing was so well planned and played out.

[@eddiebrown8549]

Andy and Jerry are legendary.

[@FozzQuaker]

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...

[@bitter37]

Much respect to Mr. Lawler for saying this.

[@tonyvincent9753]

Very well spoken!

[@desisdosis473]

Maybe the greatest talker in wrestling history. You should check out his heel stuff. It's brutal.

[@gentlemanscorner269]

Epic interview thanks for the Awesome video I'm a New Subscriber 😝

[@chrisbarnhart4075]

That was Andy he just good actor

[@anthonychobotdoespopcultur7762]

The king

[@steveparker5406]

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.

[@tylerlittle499]

I cant believe this is the guy who said “ahhh puppies!!!”

[@yo_its_rabbid]

“They just released all the miners; yeah, Jerry Lawler finally unlocked his front door.” ~ Eugene

[@Kennerad0]

This was probably when Lawler quit WWE in early 2001

[@I_dont_like_anime]

Indeed it was

[@adamjohn2795]

@@I_dont_like_anime no it was 1999

[@TheBlueprintsOrlando]

Great interview

[@keithfenwick5502]

Andy must have been so frustrated working on Taxi thank god he met you 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🍀👍🙏🇺🇸

[@ARedMotorcycle]

Hey, you're lookin' good. 😆

[@RandySWilson]

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.

[@justjosie8963]

Thank you for this.

[@harrychalcraft9711]

im sure they both respected each other a lot

[@alex-internetlubber]

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

[@jehovahuponyou]

GOOD INTERVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@nolanmarmolejo7018]

This is great

[@darrylskylar8757]

Rest In Peace 🙏🤍🕊

[@Ljosi]

He just had his second heart attack like a month ago 😥

[@JewandGreek]

What I want to know is how much they practiced that piledriver? Andy clearly knew how to do it without getting hurt.

[@jeffdawson2786]

Andy and King were hilarious together.

[@zygmundzygmundowski]

Jerry is the king👍

[@warshipsatin8764]

lol i always loved andy kaufman cause i grew up admiring heel wrestlers too. being the bad guy is just too much fun

[@thedeadspacefan4585]

Where are all these coming from? These interviews look so old

[@pheenmachine]

Probably around 20 years ago maybe a little less

[@crystalwater505]

99-00.

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

Jim Carey should have been nominated for an Oscar.

[@edwardhicklin9223]

Brilliant

[@Zombie-is6wk]

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.

[@steveshot81]

The guy was a genius

[@Tracy81258]

I still remember when Andy would break out an old copy of’The Great Gatsby’ and start reading. Most of the audience would get up and leave, but there would always be a few die hards who would make him read the whole book and stay there all night long. Then Andy would take the remnants out for cookies and milk.

[@dommirra5429]

These ads on KZbin are just out of hand anymore

[@angg3986]

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

[@williamsullivan4222]

I did not now Andy was really acting. I thought he was acting but it seemed real

[@harrylazard805]

Good interview with Jerry telling the truth about Andy and his wrestling....

[@glitchsister]

well this isn't controversial at all, its quite hopeful and wholesome, would you look at that

[@mike04574]

what year

[@crystalwater505]

Probably 1999, he mentioned "17 years ago" when talking about the Andy Kaufman incident, which was in 1982 at that time.

[@L_Train]

Going back and watching that interview, Kaufman doesn't cough at all. Maybe he was before or after. Lawler tends to 'misremember' events

[@thewintergardener2873]

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...

[@barbarahutto5135]

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[@johnblake6496]

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[@jamesbegay1512]

Wow I' m just shock someone mentioned expert Mrs Olivia thought I' m the only one trading with her

[@jamesbegay1512]

She helped me recover what I lost trying to trade my self

[@michaellampe8216]

My first investment with Mrs Olivia gave me profit of over $24,000 us dollars and ever since then she has never failed to deliver and I can even say she's the most sincere broker I have known

[@Marguerite_Johnson]

Mrs Olivia is obviously the best, I invested $3,000 and she made profit of $28,000 for me just in 15 days

[@kingofqueens777]

Andy beat a lot of women he should’ve fought the fabulous moolah.

[@24sgabriel]

Didn't he beat sweet Georgia brown?

[@golds04]

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.

[@nick56677]

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.

[@andrewblanchard2398]

👍👍

[@echopathy]

[@AnnettaWills]

Barry Hamlet look yeehaw

[@hawkinshawkins-se1dl]

WWE HALL OF FAME FOR ANDY. NO BRAINER!

[@MitchMasterMusic]

Ya mon

[@james8583]

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!!✝️✝️✝️

[@thewkovacs316]

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

[@joesephkroll2056]

Lawler was a pawn, maybe a friend. Totally a pawn for andy though.