Editing Andy Kaufman (section)

===Tony Clifton===
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2017}}
{{Main|Tony Clifton}}
Another well-known Kaufman character is Tony Clifton, an absurd, audience-abusing [[lounge singer]] who began opening for Kaufman at comedy clubs and eventually even performed concerts on his own around the country. Sometimes it was Kaufman performing as Clifton, sometimes it was his brother Michael or Zmuda. For a brief time, it was unclear to some that Clifton was not a real person. News programs interviewed Clifton as Kaufman's opening act, with the mood turning ugly whenever Kaufman's name came up. Kaufman, Clifton insisted, was attempting to ruin Clifton's "good name" in order to make money and become famous.

As a requirement for Kaufman's accepting the offer to star on ''Taxi'', he insisted that Clifton be hired for a guest role on the show as if he were a real person, not a character.<ref name="clifton"/> After throwing a tantrum on the set, Clifton was fired and escorted from the studio lot by security guards. Much to Kaufman's delight, this incident was reported in the local newspapers.<ref name="standup">{{cite book|date=2009|last=Knoedelseder|first=William|title=I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-up Comedy's Golden Era|isbn=9781586483173|publisher=PublicAffairs|url=https://archive.org/details/imdyingupherehea00knoe}}</ref>