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Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman [Paperback]

Bill Zehme
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Jan 9 2001
From Bill Zehme, renowned journalist and author of the New York Times bestseller The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin', comes this masterful biography of the late comic genius Andy Kaufman.

Based on six years of research, Andy's own unpublished, never-before-seen writings, and hundreds of interviews with family members, friends, and colleagues, Lost in the Funhouse takes us through the maze of Kaufman's mind to see, firsthand, the fanciful landscape that was his life.

Andy Kaufman was often a mystery even to his closest friends. Remote, aloof, impossible to know, his internal world was a kaleidoscope of characters fighting for time on the outside. He was as much Andy Kaufman as he was Foreign Man (tenk you veddy much), who became the lovably dithering Latka on the hit TV series Taxi. He was a contradiction, a paradox on every level, an artist in every sense of the word.

In Lost in the Funhouse, Bill Zehme sorts through a life of misinformation put forth by a master of deception to uncover the man behind the legend. Magically entertaining, it is a singular biography matched only by its singular subject.

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From Amazon

Bill Zehme's biography of comic actor/performance artist Andy Kaufman (subject of the feature film Man in the Moon) is a meticulously researched, eminently readable, and very strange book--this last being perhaps no surprise given its subject. Written over a six-year period, Lost in the Funhouse is crammed with details gleaned from interviews with the actor's family, friends, teachers, coworkers, and unwitting participants in Kaufman's pranks. In particular, the book provides great insight into Kaufman's early life in Great Neck, NY, his relationship with transcendental meditation, and his first forays into nightclubs in the early '70s. Zehme, author of The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin', weaves together multiple narratives from varying perspectives, including passages in which the author appears to have entered his subject's brain. Zehme did have access to unpublished letters and manuscripts (which fans would certainly like to see published on their own one day), but the only person who could legitimately verify the accuracy of these passages is no longer with us.

At its best, the book approaches that apex of artful celebrity bi-fiction, Nick Tosches's Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams. The transitions from one perspective to the next are a bit jarring at first, but once the reader gives in to Zehmes's collage of multiple personalities, one is considerably closer to understanding the book's subject. Kaufman was nothing if not a collection of various intense personalities: the young boy continually mourning his grandfather's death; the likable and naive Foreign Man; the talentless and irascible lounge singer Tony Clifton; the bliss-seeking student of TM; the devoted and loving son who never had anything to do with his own child; and world champion of inter-gender wrestling. Lost in the Funhouse is the one Kaufman tome that will please neophytes as well as those with their own Andy Kaufman Web sites. --Mike McGonigal --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Already the subject of Bob Zmuda's recent memoir, Andy Kaufman Revealed, the avant-garde comedian receives more straightforward treatment at the hands of journalist Zehme (The Way You Wear Your Hat). Yet while Kaufman's life may be open to scrutiny, cracking the weird intricacies of his personality and motives is another matter. Growing up in Great Neck, N.Y., the young Andy honed his performance skills by hosting children's birthday parties before striking gold on the New York comedy scene with his creation of Foreign Man, a sweet, bumbling immigrant who would bomb with a series of unfunny jokes ("Tenk you veddy much"), only to veer into an uncanny impersonation of Elvis Presley. The character landed Kaufman a recurring guest spot on Saturday Night Live and a benchmark role as Latka Gravas on the sitcom Taxi. Eventually, his obnoxious alter ego, lounge singer Tony Clifton, and Kaufman's obsession with taunting and wrestling women audience members spurred Saturday Night Live viewers to vote by a wide margin to kick Kaufman off the show in 1982. A year and a half later, he was dead at the age of 35, the victim of lung cancer. Through the entertaining recollections of numerous friends, colleagues and family members, Kaufman comes across as either a genius or a lunatic, most likely a bit of both. Unfortunately, Zehme's mannered writing style (on Kaufman's part-time busboy job: "Plus, he could do funny things in the course of a shift not to be funny no really") detracts considerably from what is otherwise a balanced portrayal of his tumultuous career. 36 b&w photos not seen by PW. Agent, Chris Calhoun, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Andy Kaufman a "Stand Up Guy" April 20 2004
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
What a great comedian and "thespian" A man of many faces moods and contrasts. I never will forget his "Saturday Night Live" debut. Great book I highly recommend.
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4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent look at Andy Kaufman Oct 18 2003
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Better than Zemuda's book. I would recommend this book even if you are not a fan of Kaufman. The story of a very unique man, gain insight as to just what was going on in his mind as he managed to confuse most everyone who saw him.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Kaufman defined Jan 16 2003
Format:Paperback
Zehme is given a seemingly impossible task: get into the mind of Andy Kaufman and interpret his life in a popular biography. The approach here--switching narrative styles and stream of consiousness in a standard celebrity profile format--may alienate some readers but stick with it. Given the dada nature of Kaufman's work and the multifaceted world that was Andy Kaufman Zehme's take on the material is right on the money. While he never quite gets under Kaufman's skin (and who could?) Zehme tells a compelling story of a man who lived life to extremes. Kaufman's genius comes through, as does his ying-yang nature, his childlike qualities, and his savvy assault on show biz cliches.

This book is well worth the ride. Zmuda's book is a fun read, but Lost in the Funhouse comes much closer to answering the question: "who was Andy Kaufman?"

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Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Bill Zehme: America's Worst Living Writer
Wow. I read a lot of books, from a lot of different sources. So I don't feel as though anything has gone over my head here. Read more
Published on Sep 21 2002 by M
5.0 out of 5 stars Deserved Pulitzer Nomination
Strike that, it deserved to win the Pulitzer.
Published on Aug 22 2002 by "stenchcraft"
5.0 out of 5 stars A complete study of Andy Kaufman
Zehme does an amazing job of describing what Andy Kaufman and his friends & family went through on his long climb to stardom and his deliberate shattering of it all. Read more
Published on Feb 5 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars What a book, what a guy, what a mongoose.
This book bounces around a whole lot, which isn't a bad thing at all. It's actually more entertaining than Bob Zmuda's "Andy Kaufman Revealed!". Read more
Published on July 26 2001 by Diabetoboy
5.0 out of 5 stars What a book, what a guy, what a mongoose.
This book bounces around a whole lot, which isn't a bad thing at all. It's actually more entertaining than Bob Zmuda's "Andy Kaufman Revealed!". Read more
Published on July 26 2001 by Diabetoboy
4.0 out of 5 stars Best Read on Kaufman, Beats "Revealed" by Far
Between, Lost in the Funhouse, and, Andy Kaufman Revealed, this is by far the superior book. It has far more info about Andy. Read more
Published on July 5 2001 by "vinces"
1.0 out of 5 stars ... on paper
This book seems like it was written from newspaper clippings.

It is a terrible biography. After I finished I felt so cheated I had to destroy the book. I ripped it to shreds!!! Read more

Published on July 4 2001 by W. D. Peacock
5.0 out of 5 stars You've got to give it chance!
The book is written in a very unique way. It works because of the subject matter. It is a narrative, but is written using the sentence structure Andy used on stage. Read more
Published on Mar 15 2001 by Matthew R. Sottong
2.0 out of 5 stars Be wary of excellent review ratings
I loved the film and expected the book to be much better. Instead you will find that this is a story of a great guy written very badly. Read more
Published on Feb 16 2001 by stamina@joshunix.co.uk
5.0 out of 5 stars Andy Kaufman was a genius.
This isn't so much a review of the book "Lost in the Funhouse" as of Andy Kaufman. Andy wanted to live so bad that (when he found out he had a life-threatening disease) he traveled... Read more
Published on Nov 29 2000 by Peter Beamer
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