Great Neck's Andy Kaufman to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame
Comedian Andy Kaufman wears a neck brace in June 1982 in New York after an apparent wrestling match injury. Credit: AP
The late Great Neck-raised comedian Andy Kaufman is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for his performance-art antics as the Intergender Wrestling Champion and his highly convincing faux feud with wrestling great Jerry "The King" Lawler.
After Variety reported Monday that Kaufman, who died of cancer in 1984 at age 35, would be honored by the professional wrestling organization, the WWE confirmed the news on its website. The induction ceremony, with the previously announced Rey Mysterio and The Great Muta, will stream March 31 on Peacock.
The pretend rivalry between Kaufman and WWE Hall of Famer Lawler "became national news leading to a legendary exchange on 'Late Night with David Letterman,' " said the WWE on its website. "The interaction would later be memorialized in the 1999 movie biopic 'Man on the Moon,' where Lawler appeared alongside Jim Carrey as Kaufman to recreate the iconic moment." Kaufman's "legacy remains an important part of wrestling history."
Comedian Andy Kaufman apparently sustained a neck injury on April 5, 1982, when professional wrestler Jerry Lawler used a "pile driver" move on him during a match at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tenn. Credit: AP
"Andy rocked the heel character like few ever did," read one admiring comment after the WWE's tweet about Kaufman's induction. "He understood the salesmanship and delivery of wrestling very well. He made up for what he couldn’t do in the ring on the mic." Another commenter noted Kaufman and Lawler "had one of the greatest wrestler-celebrity rivalries in the history of pro wrestling. The fact it happened before you were born only means he should have been inducted decades ago."
Kaufman, whose credits include playing Latka Gravas on the classic sitcom "Taxi" (ABC/NBC, 1978-1983) and performing on the debut episode of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975, took his childhood admiration for pro wrestler Buddy Rogers and from it crafted the persona of the Intergender Wrestling Champion, through which he wrestled women. "At the risk of alienating his fans and ruining his career, he placed his art above those considerations, being the heel to the anger and rejection of many," reads his official biography on the website maintained by his trust.
Lawler took on the role of knight errant, objecting to Kaufman wrestling women. While it eventually became known years later that the two were friends, they held a grudge match in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 5, 1982. Lawler used an illegal hold called a piledriver, resulting in Kaufman being taken away by ambulance and hospitalized for three days. Whether he was actually injured remains uncertain.
That July 28, appearing together on “Late Night,” Lawler slapped Kaufman, who was wearing a neck brace, to the floor, inflaming Kaufman into a profanity-laden tirade that even Letterman evidently took as real. The altercation became one of TV's most famous moments.
Kaufman is buried at Elmont's Beth David Cemetery.
