Editing Andy Kaufman (section)

==Professional wrestling==
[[File:Debbie Harry places Andy Kaufman in the "Mexican surfboard" hold, 1983.jpg|thumb|Kaufman wrestling with [[Debbie Harry]] and [[Caitlin Clarke]] in 1983]]
Inspired by the theatricality of ''[[kayfabe]]'', the staged nature of the sport of [[professional wrestling]], and his own tendency to form elaborate hoaxes, Kaufman began [[Intergender wrestling|wrestling women]] during his act and proclaimed himself "Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World", taking on an aggressive and ridiculous personality based on the characters invented by professional wrestlers. He offered a $1,000 prize to any woman who could pin him.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 21, 1979|last=Rosenberg|first=Howard|title=Corpus Christi Cosmetician Among Competitors: Woman-Wrestling Comic May Meet Match |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19791221&id=bsJRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6937,5869625&hl=en|newspaper=The Victoria Advocate|access-date=August 3, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=December 26, 1979|title=Ms. Peckham eyes rematch with Kaufman|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19791226&id=HRBbAAAAIBAJ&pg=3846,4000677&hl=en|newspaper=Bangor Daily News|access-date=August 3, 2016}}</ref> He employed performance artist [[Laurie Anderson]], a friend of his, in this act for a while.<ref>Laurie Anderson, ''Stories from the Nerve Bible'' (Perennial 1993)<!-- ISSN/ISBN, page(s) needed --></ref>

Kaufman initially approached the head of the [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation]] (WWF, later WWE) [[Vince McMahon Sr.]], about bringing his act to the northeast [[List of National Wrestling Alliance territories|wrestling territory]].<ref name="apter">{{cite web|date=October 21, 2015|last=Johnson|first=Vaughn|title=Bill Apter recounts legendary career in new book|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-squared-circle/Bill-Apter-recounts-legendary-career-in-new-book.html|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=July 30, 2016}}</ref> McMahon dismissed Kaufman's idea, as the elder McMahon was not about to bring "show business" into his pro wrestling promotion.<ref name="apter"/> Kaufman had by then developed a friendship with wrestling reporter/photographer [[Bill Apter]].<ref name="apter"/> After many discussions about Kaufman's desire to be in the pro wrestling business, Apter called Memphis wrestling icon [[Jerry Lawler|Jerry "The King" Lawler]] and introduced him to Kaufman by telephone.<ref name="apter"/>

Kaufman finally stepped into the ring (in the [[Continental Wrestling Association|Memphis wrestling circuit]]) with a man—Lawler himself.<ref name="cnn2012">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/07/us/kaufman-lawler-wrestling-match/|title=The Great Ruse: The comedic genius who rocked wrestling |first=Wayne |last=Drash |publisher=CNN|date=April 7, 2012|access-date=April 9, 2012}}</ref> Kaufman taunted the residents of Memphis by playing "videos showing residents how to use soap" and proclaiming the city to be "the nation's [[redneck]] capital".<ref name="cnn2012"/> The ongoing Lawler–Kaufman [[feud (professional wrestling)|feud]], which often featured [[Jimmy Hart]] and other [[heel (professional wrestling)|heels]] in Kaufman's corner, included a number of staged "[[List of professional wrestling terms#W|works]]", such as a broken neck for Kaufman as a result of Lawler's [[piledriver (professional wrestling)|piledriver]] and a famous on-air fight on a 1982 episode of ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmHCx8lCl8Y| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/PmHCx8lCl8Y| archive-date=October 31, 2021 | url-status=live|title=kaufman-lawler|publisher=YouTube|date=March 24, 2012|access-date=January 22, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=July 30, 1982|title=Andy Kaufman in New Fray with Wrestler on TV Show|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/30/arts/andy-kaufman-in-new-fray-with-wrestler-on-tv-show.html|website=The New York Times|access-date=July 17, 2016}}</ref>

For some time after that first match, Kaufman appeared wearing a neck brace,<ref name="cnn2012"/> insisting that his injuries were much worse than they really were. Kaufman continued to defend the Inter-Gender Championship in the [[Mid-South Coliseum]] and offered an extra prize, other than the $1,000: that if he were pinned, the woman who pinned him would get to marry him and that Kaufman would also shave his head.<ref name="klfeud2">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p5KMZe8n0o| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211031/6p5KMZe8n0o| archive-date=October 31, 2021 | url-status=live|title=The Kaufman Lawler Feud: Chapter 2&nbsp;– The Fourth One| website=YouTube|date=January 13, 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Eventually it was revealed that the feud and wrestling matches were staged works,<ref>Collins, Scott (November 15, 2013). [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-jerry-lawler-why-his-andy-kaufman-wrestling-match-resonated-20131115-story.html "Jerry Lawler: Why his Andy Kaufman wrestling match still resonates"]. ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref> and that Kaufman and Lawler were friends. This was not disclosed until more than 10 years after Kaufman's death, when the Emmy-nominated documentary ''A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman'' aired on [[NBC]] in 1995. [[Jim Carrey]], who revealed the secret, later went on to play Kaufman in the 1999 film ''[[Man on the Moon (film)|Man on the Moon]].'' In a 1997 interview with the ''Memphis Flyer'', Lawler said he had improvised during their first match and the ''Letterman'' incident.

Although officials at St. Francis Hospital stated that Kaufman's neck injuries were real, in his 2002 biography ''It's Good to Be the King ... Sometimes'', Lawler detailed how they came up with the [[List of professional wrestling terms#A|angle]] and kept it quiet. Even though Kaufman's injury was legitimate, the pair exaggerated it. He also said that Kaufman's furious tirade and performance on ''Letterman'' was Kaufman's own idea, including when Lawler slapped Kaufman out of his chair. Promoter [[Jerry Jarrett]] later recalled that for two years he mailed Kaufman payments comparable to what other main-event wrestlers were getting at the time, but Kaufman never deposited the checks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/27559-sept-24-2012-observer-newsletter-huge-story-on-history-of-jerry-lawler-in-memphis-biggest-matches-and-angles-plus-all-the-news-from-the-past-week-night-of-champions-and-more|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616193621/http://www.f4wonline.com/index.php?option=com_user&view=login&return=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5mNHdvbmxpbmUuY29tL2NvbXBvbmVudC9jb250ZW50L2FydGljbGUvMjc1NTktc2VwdC0yNC0yMDEyLW9ic2VydmVyLW5ld3NsZXR0ZXItaHVnZS1zdG9yeS1vbi1oaXN0b3J5LW9mLWplcnJ5LWxhd2xlci1pbi1tZW1waGlzLWJpZ2dlc3QtbWF0Y2hlcy1hbmQtYW5nbGVzLXBsdXMtYWxsLXRoZS1uZXdzLWZyb20tdGhlLXBhc3Qtd2Vlay1uaWdodC1vZi1jaGFtcGlvbnMtYW5kLW1vcmU=|title=(Title unknown)|publisher=Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online|archive-date=June 16, 2013|access-date=January 28, 2017|url-status=live}}{{registration required}}</ref>

Kaufman appeared in the 1983 film ''[[My Breakfast with Blassie]]'' with professional wrestling personality [[Freddie Blassie|"Classy" Freddie Blassie]]. The film was a parody of the art film ''[[My Dinner with Andre]].'' Lynne Margulies, sister of the film's director, [[Johnny Legend]], appears in it, and became romantically involved with Kaufman.

In 2002, Kaufman became a playable unlockable character in the video game ''[[Legends of Wrestling II]]'' and a standard character in 2004's ''[[Showdown: Legends of Wrestling]]''. In 2008, [[Jakks Pacific]] produced for their WWE Classic Superstars toy line an action figure two-pack of Kaufman and Lawler, as well as a separate figure release with a royal blue robe.

On March 20, 2023, Kaufman was announced as the third inductee into the [[WWE Hall of Fame (2023)|2023 WWE Hall of Fame]]. He was inducted by Jimmy Hart.<ref name="WWEHOF">{{Cite web |last=Otterson |first=Joe |date=2023-03-20 |title=Andy Kaufman to Be Inducted Into WWE Hall of Fame |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/andy-kaufman-wwe-hall-of-fame-1235559341/ |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>