ANDY KAUFMAN SPECIAL, THE {ANDY'S FUNHOUSE} (TV)
Summary
This comedy special, hosted by Andy Kaufman, satirizes
the conventions of the variety show, the late-night talk
show, and 1950s children's television, while showcasing
Kaufman's comic characters. After an opening in which
Kaufman expels extraneous audience members after
apologizing for spending his budget on a vacation and
revealing he has none left to do a show, he rewards the
remaining viewers with the actual show. Kaufman then
performs the standard host monologue as "Foreign Man,"
offering some lame "take my wife" jokes before
launching into an impression of Elvis Presley in full
costume. Other segments include the following: in
"off-air" moments the "real" Kaufman is revealed to be
an overbearing louse with an unpleasant New York
accent; portraying an incompetent talk-show host,
Kaufman chats with his guest, actress Cindy Williams,
whom he unskillfully interviews and then forces into an
under-rehearsed singing debut performing "Mack the
Knife"; Kaufman presents a home movie from his
childhood; in a brief sketch called "The Luncheonette"
Williams plays a waitress and Kaufman portrays a
patron; Kaufman sings "It's a Small World" with the
unlikely support of The B Street Conga Band; Kaufman
leads the audience in a midnight snack which
prominently features his own product, "Uncle Andy's
Choco Marsh"; in "The Has Been Corner," Kaufman insults
former child actress Gail Slobodkin -- said to have
performed in "The Sound of Music" at age ten -- who then
sings "The Lonely Goat Herd" from the musical; Kaufman
next interviews Howdy Doody, and succeeds in making
even a wooden marionette uncomfortable; and in closing,
Kaufman leads the cast in a song called, "This Friendly
World." Includes commercials and promos.
(Note: This program was taped in 1977 and first aired on
August 28, 1979 in a 90-minute format. This is an
edited, repeat telecast.)
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: February 29, 1980 Friday 9:50 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:44
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:39396
- GENRE: Comedy/Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Variety
- SERIES RUN: ABC -TV, 1980
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "All That Jazz" (feature film)
- TV - Commercials - Children's Tylenol
- TV - Commercials - Cover Girl Clean make-up
- TV - Commercials - Diet Pepsi soft drink
- TV - Commercials - Excedrin pain reliever
- TV - Commercials - Johnson & Johnson o.b. tampons
- TV - Commercials - L'Oreal Accents Collection cosmetics
- TV - Commercials - Pine Sol cleanser
- TV - Commercials - Ragu spaghetti sauce
- TV - Commercials - Sears men's suits
- TV - Commercials - Sears tires
- TV - Commercials - The U.S. Army
- TV - Promos - "ABC Wide World of Sports"
- TV - Promos - "Tenspeed and Brown Shoe"
- TV - Promos - "That's Incredible!" (premiere)
CREDITS
- George Shapiro … Executive Producer
- Howard West … Executive Producer
- Lee Miller … Producer
- Tom Trbovich … Director
- Chris Darley … Direction (Misc.), Associate Director
- Andy Kaufman … Writer
- Mel Sherer … Writer
- Bob Zmuda … Writer
- K.L. Darby … Composer, For "This Friendly World"
- Eddie Karam … Musical Director
- B Street Conga Band, The … Music Group
- Andy Kaufman … Host
- Cindy Williams … Performer, Guest, Singer
- Bob Zmuda … Cast, the Stage Manager
- Mel Sherer … Cast, a Luncheonette Patron
- George Shapiro … Cast, a Luncheonette Patron
- Cheryl Tiegs … Talent, Cover Girl commercial
- Howdy Doody
- Gail Slobodkin