Editing Tony Clifton

{{short description|Character created by Andy Kaufman}}
[[File:Tony-clifton-web-rev (cropped).JPG|thumb|Cartoon of the Clifton character]]
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'''Tony Clifton''' is a character created by comedian and performance artist [[Andy Kaufman]] in the late 1970s. An absurdly foul-mouthed and domineering [[lounge singer]] claiming to hail from [[Las Vegas]], the [[tuxedo]]-clad Clifton often led unsuspecting audiences through awkward yet elaborate lounge singer performances. Kaufman appeared as Clifton on stage and on television programs ranging from ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'' to ''[[The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show]]''. 

The character has also been performed on stage by longtime Kaufman friend [[Bob Zmuda]]. Clifton was portrayed by actor [[Jim Carrey]] (who also portrayed Kaufman) in the 1999 film ''[[Man on the Moon (film) | Man on the Moon]]'' and in the documentary ''[[Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond]]''.<ref name="ANDY KAUFMAN: TONY CLIFTON APPEARANCES">{{cite news| title= Tony Clifton| website= paleycenter.org| publisher= Paley Center for Media |url= https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?item=B:5832|access-date=2021-04-24}}</ref>

==Origin==
Kaufman would sometimes claim that Tony Clifton was a real lounge singer whom Kaufman encountered<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mullen |first1=Michael |last2=EDT |date=July 6, 2012 |title=Andy Kaufman is dead, but Tony Clifton still wants your applause |url=https://ew.com/article/2012/07/06/andy-kaufman-tony-clifton-comedy-store/ |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref> at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in 1969.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2012-12-16 |title=Tony Clifton lives! At least, he does at midnight at the Wranglers game - Las Vegas Weekly |url=https://lasvegasweekly.com/blogs/kats-report/2012/dec/16/tony-clifton-lives-least-he-does-midnight-wrangler/ |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=lasvegasweekly.com}}</ref> He said he was waiting for [[Elvis Presley]] to arrive so he could meet him.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zehme|first=Bill|title=Lost In The Funhouse: The Life And Mind Of Andy Kaufman|year=1999|publisher=4th Estate| location=London|pages=108}}</ref> Kaufman may have seen Clifton as the antithesis of the sweet, gentle "Foreign Man" character he was best known for (which was later adapted into [[Latka Gravas]], Kaufman's character on ''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]'').<ref>{{Cite web |title=On the Road with Tony Clifton |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/on-the-road-with-tony-clifton/ |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=Vice.com |date=16 May 2013 |language=en}}</ref>

Clifton would often attempt to improvise comical lyrics that were [[anti-humor|intentionally unfunny]] before giving up entirely without seeming to care. Clifton also tended to randomly insult patrons, passing off the abuse as the "comedy" portion of his act.<ref name=":0" /> Adding to Clifton's annoying and unappealing presence was his tendency to rhyme various words at random in the middle of conversations. Clifton was often introduced as having "sold more records than Elvis and [[The Beatles]] combined."

For a brief time, it was unclear to some whether Clifton was a real person. News programs interviewed Clifton as Kaufman's opening act, but the interviews invariably would turn ugly whenever Kaufman's name came up. Clifton claimed Kaufman was using his name "to go places." Promoters who thought they had caught on to the joke would hire Clifton because he was cheaper than booking Kaufman. However, Kaufman had the last laugh, enlisting his brother Michael or his showbiz partner [[Bob Zmuda]] to play the role,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blanco |first=Jodee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGqCDwAAQBAJ&dq=tony+clifton+origin&pg=PT202 |title=The Complete Guide to Book Publicity: Second Edition |date=2004-05-01 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-58115-996-7 |language=en}}</ref> with Kaufman making unannounced appearances on stage during Clifton's act.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keller |first=Florian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ww6UFWJ03WQC&dq=tony+clifton+origin&pg=PA84 |title=Andy Kaufman: Wrestling With the American Dream |publisher=U of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-1-4529-0739-0 |pages=80–85 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Rodney Dangerfield]] was a big fan of Andy Kaufman, and he hired Clifton to open for him for three shows at San Francisco’s [[Fillmore West|Warfield Theater]]. After a disastrous first show, where Clifton took the stage with [[Tony Bennett]]'s famous "[[I Left My Heart in San Francisco]]" and was summarily booed, he reappeared on the second night in [[riot gear]] amid a shower of rotten vegetables and other detritus.

Tony Clifton still makes occasional appearances, most notably in the days leading up to May 16, 2004, the twentieth anniversary of Kaufman's death. It was announced on May 16, 2008, that [[Comic Relief]], in recognition of the 24th anniversary of Andy Kaufman's death, would present "The Return of Tony Clifton", with his "Katrina Kiss My Ass Orchestra". The national tour kicked off on June 27, 2008, at the [[Georgia Theatre]] in [[Athens, Georgia]], to benefit Gulf Coast musicians, dancers, and singers affected by [[Hurricane Katrina]]. Clifton fronted the Katrina Orchestra along with the Cliftonettes. On August 15 they were at Chicago's [[Chopin Theatre]].<ref name="AVClub">{{cite news |url= http://www.avclub.com/content/blog/tony_clifton_is_alive_and_well_and|title=Tony Clifton is Alive and Well and Kicking Ass in Chicago|last=Rabin|first=Nathan|date=2008-08-18|work=[[The A.V. Club]] |publisher= The Onion|access-date=2008-08-19}}</ref> In May 2011, they were featured headliners as part of the annual Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama.<ref name="Hangout Music Festival 2011">{{cite news|title=Tony Clifton|website=Hangout Music Festival|url=http://hangoutmusicfest.com/tony-clifton/| access-date=2011-04-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427162239/http://hangoutmusicfest.com/tony-clifton/|archive-date=April 27, 2011}}</ref> Later that month he began hosting the ''Tony Clifton Revue'' at [[The Comedy Store]] in Los Angeles. He was interviewed on May 31, 2012, at the 284th episode  of [[Marc Maron]]'s podcast ''[[WTF with Marc Maron]]''.<ref>{{cite podcast|url=http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_284_-_craig_finn_tony_clifton |title= Episode 284 - Craig Finn / Tony Clifton |publisher= Marc Maron| work= WTF with Marc Maron |host= Maron, Marc |date=May 31, 2012 |time=6:30 |access-date=May 31, 2012 }}</ref>

==Television==

===''Taxi''===
Clifton was hired to appear on an early episode of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]''.  In 1977, the producers of ''Taxi'' saw Kaufman's Foreign Man act at [[The Comedy Store]] and offered him a role in their show based on the character.<ref name=oral>{{cite web| url= http://www.bluedonut.com/ak.htm |title= Andy Kaufman Oral History |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061206215413/http://www.bluedonut.com/ak.htm |archivedate= 2006-12-06 |interviewer= Don Steinberg| work= [[GQ Magazine]]| date= December 1999| publisher= republished online at bluedonut.com}}</ref> Kaufman was not a fan of sitcoms, but his manager, [[George Shapiro]], convinced him that this would propel him to stardom, where he would make a lot of money, which he could then put into his act, which became ''Andy's Funhouse''.<ref name="oral"/> Kaufman agreed to appear as [[Latka Gravas]] in 14 episodes per season, approximately half of the entire series if Tony Clifton was also allowed to guest star in the series.  The producers were well aware that "Clifton" was an alter ego of Kaufman but went along with the fiction that Clifton was a separate actor. They signed Clifton to a separate contract and announced to the cast that Clifton was being hired to portray the brother<ref name=DeVito/><ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZWDB5rUWEg | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629205423/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZWDB5rUWEg| archive-date=2014-06-29 | url-status=dead|title= Tony Danza Discusses Andy Kaufman| first= Tony| last= Danza| interviewer= | date= | access-date= | via= YouTube}}</ref> of [[Danny DeVito]]'s character Louie De Palma in the series 13th episode.

However, after the first day of rehearsal, the producers felt Kaufman as Clifton was not up to the acting challenge of playing the offered role. Informed of this, Kaufman asked that "Clifton" be fired in public, ostensibly for coming to rehearsal late.<ref name=DeVito>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/7wDL8Q_nqSY Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20121101122759/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wDL8Q_nqSY&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wDL8Q_nqSY |title= Danny DeVito Archive of American Television Interview| first= Danny |last= DeVito | interviewer= | date= | access-date= | via= YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>  Clifton reappeared on set for the next day of filming and was demanding, boorish and obnoxious. The producers not only fired Clifton in front of the press and network executives (who had gathered on set to witness the promised spectacle) but threw him off the set after he caused havoc and enraged series stars [[Judd Hirsch]] and [[Jeff Conaway]]. The role was hurriedly recast, and when Kaufman (as himself) returned to work for the following episode, he acted as if nothing had happened.

[[Sam Simon]], a season 5 writer and [[showrunner]] for ''Taxi'', said in a 2013 interview with Marc Maron for the ''[[WTF with Marc Maron]]'' podcast that the story of Kaufman (as opposed to "Tony Clifton") having generally been disruptive on the show was "a complete fiction" created mainly by Bob Zmuda. Simon maintained that Zmuda has a "vested interest" in promoting an out-of-control image of Kaufman. In the interview, Simon stated that Kaufman was "completely professional" and that he "told you Tony Clifton was him", but he also conceded that Kaufman would have "loved" Zmuda's version of events.<ref>{{cite podcast| url= http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_389_-_sam_simon |work= WTF with Marc Maron| first= Sam| last= Simon| title= Sam Simon interview| interviewer= Marc Maron | publisher= Marc Maron | date= | access-date= | via= wtfpod.com}}</ref> However, while many ''Taxi'' staffers have corroborated the story that Clifton was a disruptive presence during his brief time on set in the first season, Simon himself had no association with ''Taxi'' until its third season, so he did not witness this specific event.

===Other appearances===
Clifton (played by Zmuda) appeared once on ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'', where he was interviewed and sang a medley with the band. In 1982, Clifton also appeared on ''[[The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show]]'' as the host's "new discovery," although the other [[Muppets]] and host [[George Hamilton (actor)|George Hamilton]] remained skeptical of Clifton's talent.

Perhaps the biggest myth surrounding Tony Clifton's TV appearances comes from [[Dinah Shore]]'s daytime talk show ''[[Dinah!|Dinah & Friends]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ANDY KAUFMAN: TONY CLIFTON APPEARANCES {MERV GRIFFIN, DINAH SHORE, DAVID LETTERMAN, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL} (TV) |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=Annie+Get+Your+Gun&p=1&item=B:58326 |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=www.paleycenter.org |via=Archives of the Paley Center for Media}}</ref> According to legend, Clifton arrived for the taping [[inebriation|drunk]] and then pressured Shore in front of the studio audience to sing a duet with him although he had been previously told that she had a sore throat. This was a prearranged [[bit (comedy)|bit]] which featured messages from the producers telling the viewers at home that this was a "put on".<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wRoyA8qj94 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203234127/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wRoyA8qj94| archive-date=2013-12-03 | url-status=dead|title= Tony Clifton aka Andy Kaufman on The Dinah Shore Show| date= | publisher= | via= YouTube}}</ref> The myth continues that, after dumping eggs on Shore's head, the show's producers quickly cut to a commercial as Clifton was escorted out of the studio, and the videotape of the incident was "destroyed". In reality, the footage has been lost, and the entire event was staged, as with all of Kaufman's appearances.

Clifton was also a heckler on ''[[The Green Room with Paul Provenza]]'' and was escorted out of the room.

In 2009, Clifton appeared on ''[[Opie and Anthony|The Opie & Anthony Show]]'' to promote a performance at [[Santos Party House]] in New York City.<ref name="Opie">Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/xfn179KFr1Y Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20201111080229/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfn179KFr1Y Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfn179KFr1Y| title= Opie & Anthony: Tony Clifton In-Studio | date= 12 April 2014 |via= YouTube |access-date=2014-12-29}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==In other media==
===Films===
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2018}}

====Tony Clifton biopic====
Kaufman and Zmuda wrote a screenplay for a Tony Clifton [[biography]]. However, the plan was sidelined after the box office failure of Kaufman's first major motion picture ''[[Heartbeeps]]'', in which he co-starred with [[Bernadette Peters]] as a robot who falls in love. In the screenplay Clifton dies at [[Cedars-Sinai Medical Center]] in Los Angeles from cancer. Five years later, Kaufman died at the same hospital from lung cancer.

====''Man on the Moon''====
Clifton is portrayed in the Kaufman biographical film ''[[Man on the Moon (film)|Man on the Moon]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Travers | first=Peter | title=Travers on Milos Forman's Warmth and Mischief | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=April 14, 2018 | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/travers-on-milos-formans-warmth-and-mischief-w519139 | access-date=April 23, 2018}}</ref> credited as "Himself".

==Influence==
Kaufman's Tony Clifton character has influenced other "[[anti-humor|anti-comedy]]" acts, notably standup comedian [[Neil Hamburger]] and singer/comedian [[Unknown Hinson]]. [[Maren Ade|Maren Ade's]] Toni Erdmann, the protagonist in the 2016 Oscar-nominated [[Toni Erdmann|German movie of the same title]], was influenced by Kaufman concerning appearance, humor and first name.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collider.com/toni-erdmann-maren-ade-interview/|title='Toni Erdmann': Maren Ade Talks Andy Kaufman and 'My Father the Hero' Parallels |first=Formo |last=Brian |website= Collider.com |date=December 26, 2016 |access-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305219/ Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show] on [[Internet Movie Database|IMDb]]
*[https://www.avclub.com/tony-clifton-1798218811 Tony Clifton interview by Nathan Rabin 1/20/10]
{{Andy Kaufman}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton, Tony}}
[[Category:Comedy theatre characters]]
[[Category:Comedy television characters]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from Las Vegas]]
[[Category:Male characters in theatre]]
[[Category:American male characters in television]]
[[Category:Theatre characters introduced in 1978]]
[[Category:Andy Kaufman]]
[[Category:Fictional musicians]]
[[Category:Nonexistent people used in jokes]]