Editing Man on the Moon (film) (section)

==Plot==
[[Andy Kaufman]] is a struggling performer whose act fails in nightclubs because, while the audience wants comedy, he sings the [[Mighty Mouse]] theme song and refuses to tell conventional jokes. As the audience begins to believe that Kaufman may have no talent, his previously timid "foreign man" character puts on a [[rhinestone]] jacket and does a dead-on [[Elvis impersonation]]. The audience bursts into thunderous applause, realizing Kaufman had tricked them.

Soon after fooling the audience in ''Saturday Night Live'', Kaufman catches the eye of talent agent [[George Shapiro]], who signs him as a client and lands him a television series, ''Taxi'', much to Kaufman's dismay, as he does not like [[sitcom]]s. Because of the money, visibility, and a promise that he can do his own television special, Kaufman accepts the role, turning his foreign man into a mechanic named Latka Gravas. Secretly, he hates doing the show and wants to quit.

Invited to catch a different act at a nightclub, Shapiro witnesses a performance by lounge singer [[Tony Clifton]], whom Kaufman wants to guest-star on ''Taxi''. Backstage, when he meets Shapiro in person, Clifton takes off his sunglasses and reveals that he is actually Kaufman. Clifton is a "villain character" created by Kaufman and his creative partner, [[Bob Zmuda]]. Once again, the gag is on the audience.

Kaufman's profile increases with appearances on ''Saturday Night Live'', but he has problems with his newfound fame. When performing live, audiences dislike his unusual [[antihumor]] and demand that he perform as Latka. At one show, he deliberately antagonizes attendees by reading ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' aloud from start to finish. Kaufman shows up on the ''Taxi'' set as Clifton and proceeds to cause chaos until he is removed from the set. He relates to Shapiro that he never knows exactly how to entertain an audience "short of faking my own death or setting the theater on fire."

Kaufman decides to become a [[Professional wrestling|professional wrestler]] — but to emphasize the "villain" angle, he will wrestle only women (hired actresses) and then berate them after winning, declaring himself "Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion". He becomes smitten with one woman he wrestles, Lynne Margulies, and they start dating. His professional issues are deepened, when during an appearance on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s live television comedy show ''Fridays'', Kaufman refuses to speak his lines.

Kaufman feuds publicly with [[Jerry Lawler]], a professional wrestler who challenges him to a "real wrestling match", which Kaufman accepts. Lawler overpowers and appears to seriously injure Kaufman. Lawler and an injured Kaufman (wearing a neck brace) appear on [[NBC]]'s ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'', ostensibly to call a truce, but instead, the feud escalates and they trade insults before getting into another fight. Kaufman pays the price when he is kicked off ''SNL'' following a vote by audience members, weary and bored of his wrestling antics. Shapiro advises Kaufman and Lawler, who are actually best friends and have staged their feud as a joke, that he thinks they should never work together again. Shapiro later calls Kaufman to inform him that ''Taxi'' has been canceled, though Kaufman is not at all bothered.

After performing at a comedy club, Kaufman calls Lynne, Zmuda, and Shapiro to disclose that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of [[lung cancer]] and may die soon. Initially, they are not sure whether to believe this, thinking it could be another Kaufman stunt, with Zmuda actually believing a fake death would be a fantastic [[practical joke|prank]]. With little time to live, Kaufman arranges a booking at [[Carnegie Hall]], his dream venue. The performance is a success, culminating with Kaufman inviting the entire audience out for milk and cookies. As his health deteriorates, a desperate Kaufman heads to the [[Philippines]] to seek a medical miracle through [[psychic surgery]], only to find it a hoax, laughing at the irony. He dies soon after. At Kaufman's funeral, his loved ones sing along to "[[This Friendly World]]" with a video of Kaufman.

One year later, in 1985, Tony Clifton appears at Kaufman's tribute at [[The Comedy Store]]'s main stage, performing "[[I Will Survive]]", while Zmuda (who would often perform as Clifton in routines where Kaufman appeared as himself) watches in the audience.