Iain Lee on Andy Kaufman

Great Lives

There were so many hoaxes in Andy Kaufman's brief career that for years his fans believed that he wasn't really dead.

Kaufman's best known as Latka Gravas in the American TV sitcom Taxi, and his life was undoubtedly weird. Performance artist, Elvis impersonator, wrestler - he's difficult to pin down.

Nominator Iain Lee believes he was a genius, while Olly Double of the University of Kent school of arts reckons Kaufman didn't really care if his audience laughed or not.

Presenter Matthew Parris draws his own conclusions about Kaufman's extraordinary life, later turned into a film starring Jim Carrey called Man on the Moon.

Produced at BBC Bristol by Miles Warde.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2017.