Andy Kaufman isn’t in the WWE Hall of Fame, and it’s a travesty.
The history of wrestling and Hollywood is a long and colorful one. From Hulk Hogan’s appearance in Rocky III to the Fabulous Freebirds strutting through the opening scene of Highlander to Drew Carey entering the WWE Royal Rumble, Hollywood and wrestling have long flirted with each other. Today, perhaps the biggest star in the world, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is a wrestler. Once upon a time, however, wrestling was not so mainstream, and not so Hollywood cool. There was a man, however, who saw the beauty of its art, and sought to play a role in it. His name was Andy Kaufman.
Most people know Andy Kaufman as a comedian. His role on the TV show Taxi and appearances on Saturday Night Live brought him national recognition. His strange characters and voices were ahead of their time. Kaufman, who blurred the lines between reality and performance, was perpetually misunderstood.
Kaufman was so committed to his characters that he’d appear for interviews as them. For years some remained unsure whether his lounge singer character Tony Clifton was real or not. It was this commitment to the suspension of disbelief that drew Kaufman to wrestling.
Wrestlers were committed to a code known as Kayfabe. Kayfabe meant that if you played a villain in the ring, you were a villain in public as well. A wrestler who was a heel (villainous) character couldn’t be seen dining out at a restaurant with a wrestler who was a face (heroic) character. Wrestlers took this code seriously, and Kaufman loved that.
Kaufman began to wrestle women as part of his comedy act, proclaiming himself the “inter-gender wrestling champion” of the world. He took on a heelish persona and began offering prize money to any woman who could defeat him. His challengers were often plants, like his friend Laurie Anderson, the noted avant-garde performance artist. Many people thought Kaufman was serious and found the act offensive.
Kaufman approached the head of the then-WWF, Vince McMahon Sr., about making an appearance with the promotion, but McMahon wasn’t keen on bringing Hollywood into wrestling, which was ironic considering that his son would do more to merge Hollywood and wrestling than anyone. So Kaufman ended up hooking up with Jerry “The King” Lawler, the biggest star in the Memphis wrestling circuit.
Lawler was convinced of Kaufman’s sincerity by Bill Apter, one of the most respected wrestling magazine writers, and agreed to work with him. Kaufman played the heel, the arrogant, Hollywood outsider to Lawler’s hometown hero. The two memorably feuded in the ring, with Lawler “breaking” Kaufman’s neck with a pile driver.
Kaufman was so dedicated to the work that he wore a neck brace in public for weeks. The two went on the David Letterman show in 1982, and in a now-famous incident, Lawler assaulted Kaufman on air. It was one of the greatest kayfabe moments in the history of wrestling. For years people believed it was real. Even the New York Times reported on it as if it were real, its headline blaring “ANDY KAUFMAN IN NEW FRAY WITH WRESTLER ON TV SHOW.”
Kaufman would go on to make more wrestling appearances, including in the film My Breakfast with Blassie, a wrestling spoof on My Dinner with Andre, starring “Classy” Freddie Blassie.
Sadly, Kaufman would contract cancer, and die in 1984. His wrestling appearances, along with the rest of his life, would be dramatized in the 1999 film Man on the Moon starring Jim Carrey. Jerry Lawler played himself in the movie.
There are few in Hollywood who did more for wrestling, or cared more about it than Andy Kaufman. While many stars were attracted to appear on wrestling shows for a large payday, or to plug a project, Kaufman did it out of love. He never cashed his checks from Memphis promoter Jerry Jarrett, but rather had them framed and put on his wall at home. He didn’t care about the money, he cared about the business.
All this goes to say that it is a travesty that Andy Kaufman is not in the WWE Hall of Fame. The WWE Hall of Fame has a wing dedicated specifically to celebrities. It includes people like Pete Rose, Drew Carey, and Snoop Dogg, who didn’t do half as much for the business as Kaufman.
True, Kaufman never wrestled in the WWE, but neither did WWE Hall of Famers like Stu Hart, Verne Gagne, or Eddie Graham. They’re in there because of what they did for the business as a whole, and when it comes to celebrities and contribution to the business, Kaufman is hanging out right by the top of that list.
WWE shouldn’t put Kaufman in because it will get the most eyeballs tuned in, or garner them the most press; they should put Kaufman in because it’s the right thing to do. They should put Kaufman in because he cared, and because he was a pioneer. And they should put Kaufman in because we all know Jerry “The King” Lawler would give him a hell of an induction speech.
