Editing Andy Kaufman (section)

==Illness and death==
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2017}}
At a [[Thanksgiving]] dinner on [[Long Island]] in November 1983, several family members openly expressed worry about Kaufman's persistent coughing. He claimed that he had been coughing for nearly a month, visited his doctor, and was told that nothing was wrong. When he returned to Los Angeles, he consulted another physician and then underwent a series of tests at [[Cedars-Sinai Medical Center]]. A few days later, he was diagnosed with [[Large-cell lung carcinoma|large-cell carcinoma of the lung]], typically associated with smoking.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Muscat JE, Stellman SD, Zhang ZF, Neugut AI, Wynder EL | title = Cigarette smoking and large cell carcinoma of the lung | journal = Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention | volume = 6 | issue = 7 | pages = 477–480 | date = July 1997 | pmid = 9232332 }}</ref>

After audiences were shocked by his gaunt appearance during January 1984 performances, Kaufman acknowledged that he had an unspecified illness that he hoped to cure with [[Naturopathy|natural medicine]], including a diet of all fruits and vegetables. He received [[palliative]] [[radiotherapy]], but by then the cancer had spread from his lungs to his brain. His final public appearance was at the premiere of ''My Breakfast with Blassie'' in March 1984, where he appeared thin and with a [[Mohawk hairstyle|mohawk]] hair style (radiation treatments had caused the loss of his hair).<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 4, 1984 |last=Wolmuth |first=Roger |title=Andy Kaufman 1949–1984 (Wayback Machine Archives) |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20087990,00.html |magazine=People |access-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123111626/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20087990,00.html |archive-date=November 23, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The next day, Kaufman and Margulies flew to [[Baguio]], Philippines, where, as a last resort, he received treatments of a [[List of topics characterized as pseudoscience#Paranormal and ufology|pseudoscientific procedure]] called [[psychic surgery]] (now recognized as explicitly deceptive [[Quackery|medical fraud]]).

Afterward, Kaufman initially said that he felt better and returned to the U.S., but he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 16, 1984, aged 35. He is buried in [[Beth David Cemetery]] in [[Elmont, New York]].<ref name="nytimesobituary"/><ref name="clifton"/><ref>{{cite news|date=May 16, 2004|last=Carpenter|first=Les|title=Squiggy is in the house: 'Laverne and Shirley' star now M's scout|url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/sports/2001930270_squiggy16.html|newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]]|access-date=July 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918074900/http://old.seattletimes.com/html/sports/2001930270_squiggy16.html|archive-date=September 18, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Death-hoax rumors===
[[File:AndyKaufmanDeathCertificate.gif|thumb|upright|Kaufman's death certificate]]
Kaufman often spoke of [[Faked death|faking his own death]] as a hoax. After his death, rumors persisted that he was still alive, often fueled by sporadic appearances of his character Tony Clifton at comedy clubs.<ref name=CNNdeathhoax>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/14/showbiz/andy-kaufman-alive-or-not/index.html|title=Andy Kaufman's brother says he is victim of hoax|first=Wayne|last=Drash|publisher=CNN|date=November 15, 2013|access-date=June 23, 2016}}</ref> Kaufman's website calls the faked death story an "[[urban legend]]" and includes a picture of his death certificate.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

"Clifton" performed a year after Kaufman's death at [[The Comedy Store]] benefit in Kaufman's honor, with members of his entourage in attendance, and during the 1990s made several appearances at Los Angeles nightclubs. On the NBC special ''Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman'', [[Jim Carrey]], who portrayed Kaufman in ''Man on the Moon'', said that Bob Zmuda had been performing as Clifton.

In 2013, responding to rumors that Kaufman was still alive and following the appearance of an actress who claimed to be Kaufman's daughter, the [[Los Angeles County Coroner|Los Angeles County coroner]]'s office rereleased Kaufman's death certificate to confirm that he was indeed dead and had been interred at [[Beth David Cemetery]].<ref name="TSGDeathCert"/><ref name=CNNdeathhoax/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.autopsyfiles.org/reports/deathcert/kaufman,%20andy_dc.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005080254/http://www.autopsyfiles.org/reports/deathcert/kaufman,%20andy_dc.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-05 |url-status=live|title=Certificate of Death: Andrew G. Kaufman|website=Autopsyfiles.org|access-date=January 22, 2017}}</ref><ref name=smokinggun>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/actress-in-andy-kaufman-hoax-675432|title=Shocker: Andy Kaufman's "Daughter" Is Actually A New York Actress Whose Real Dad Is A Doctor|publisher=TheSmokingGun.com|date=November 14, 2013|access-date=June 23, 2016}}</ref><ref name="LA-times-hoax">{{cite web|last1=Blake|first1=Meredith|title=Andy Kaufman's brother now claims he was the victim of a hoax|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-andy-kaufman-hoax-brother-michael-alexandra-tatarsky-20131115-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=November 15, 2013|access-date=February 9, 2016}}</ref>

In 2014, Zmuda and Margulies coauthored ''Andy Kaufman: The Truth, Finally'', a book claiming that Kaufman's death was indeed a prank, and that he would soon reveal himself, as his upper limit on the "prank" was 30 years. Kaufman did not reappear.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2014/09/28/why-andy-kaufman-might-still-be-alive|title=Friend: Andy Kaufman is still alive|access-date=October 5, 2014|author=Getlen, Larry|work=New York Post}}</ref>