Bob Zmuda (born December 12, 1949) is an American writer, comedian, producer and director best known as the sidekick, co-writer and friend of cult personality Andy Kaufman.

Bob Zmuda occasionally portrayed Kaufman's Tony Clifton character on stage and for television appearances. In a 2006 interview, Zmuda told the Opie and Anthony Show that it was him as Tony Clifton with David Letterman, and that Letterman did not find out until years after.

In 1986, Zmuda founded the American version of Comic Relief, an annual event that raises money to help the homeless in the United States. The event was televised on HBO, and was hosted by comedians Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg.

In 1999, Zmuda wrote a book about Kaufman's life, entitled Andy Kaufman Revealed!, which purported to unveil many tricks and hoaxes that the two pulled off in front of audiences and television cameras in the 1980s. One critic praised the book as "the ultimate insider's look at Kaufman's life,"^[1] while some of Kaufman's fans and members of Kaufman's family criticized it for inaccuracies about Kaufman.

Later that year, Miloš Forman directed Man on the Moon, the story of Kaufman's life. Zmuda created the "Tony Clifton" makeup for the film, and made a brief appearance portraying comedian Jack Burns, one of the producers, who gets into a brawl on stage during one of Kaufman's appearances on the 1980-82 ABC Fridays. Zmuda was also Man on the Moon's co-executive producer. On camera, the character of Bob Zmuda was played by Paul Giamatti. Stanley Kaufman, Andy's father, criticized Zmuda's influence on the film shortly after its release, writing in the form of Andy speaking from beyond the grave.^[2]

Filmography[link]

• Andy's Funhouse (1977) TV
• Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall (1979) video
• D.C. Cab (1983) film
• My Breakfast with Blassie (1983) film
• Comic Relief (1986) cable TV special
• Punchline (1988) film
• I'm from Hollywood (1992) TV special
• Man on the Moon (1999) film
• Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show (1999) TV special
• The Number 23 (2007) film

References[link]

External links[link]

• Zmuda's "Revealed"—Revealed Site documenting the inaccuracies in Zmuda's book.
• Zmuda Interview SPLICEDwire
• Bob Zmuda at the Internet Movie Database

Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman (January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself to be one.^[2] He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, referring to himself instead as a "song-and-dance man." Elaborate hoaxes and pranks were major elements of his career. His act maintains a cult following and he continues to be respected among comedians for his original material, performance style, and unflinching commitment to character.

Early life[link]

Kaufman was born in New York City, on January 17, 1949, the first son of Janice (née Bernstein) and Stanley Kaufman. He grew up in a middle-class Jewish family,^[3] in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, and began performing at age nine.^[4] He attended the now defunct two-year Grahm Junior College,^[5] in Boston, graduating in 1971. He then began performing stand-up comedy at various small clubs along the East Coast.

Career[link]

Foreign Man and Mighty Mouse[link]

Kaufman first caught major attention with a character known as Foreign Man, who claimed to be from Caspiar (a fictional island in the Caspian Sea) and would appear on the stage of comedy clubs to play a recording of the theme from the Mighty Mouse cartoon show and sing only the chorus.^[6] He would proceed to tell a few jokes and perform a number of impersonations such as television character Archie Bunker or President Richard Nixon. Some variations of this performance were broadcast in the first season of Saturday Night Live; the Mighty Mouse number was featured in the October 11, 1975 premiere, while the joke-telling and Bunker impression were included in the November 8 broadcast that same fall.^[7]

Foreign Man would often try to impersonate a whole series of different celebrities, with the comedy arising from Foreign Man's obvious ineptitude at impersonation. For example,^{[citation needed]} in his fake accent Kaufman would say to the audience, "I would like to imitate Meester Carter, de President of de United States", and then in the same voice, "Hello, I am Meester Carter, de President of de United States. T'ank you veddy much." At some point in the performance, usually when the audience were entirely used to Foreign Man's inability to perform a single convincing impression, Foreign Man would announce, "And now I would like to imitate the Elvis Presley," turn around, take off his jacket, slick his hair back, and launch into an unexpectedly credible Elvis Presley impersonation which Presley himself described as his favorite.^[8] Like Presley, he would take off his leather jacket and throw it into the audience, but Kaufman would then immediately ask for it back again. After, he would take a simple bow and say in his Foreign Man voice, "T'ank you veddy much!"

Latka[link]

Kaufman first used a version of the Foreign Man character as Andy the Robot in the pilot for the sitcom Stick Around in 1977.^{[citation needed]} The character was then changed into Latka Gravas for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC)'s Taxi sitcom, appearing in 79 of 114 episodes from 1978 to 1983.^[9] The producers of Taxi had seen Andy's Foreign Man act and, according to producer Ed Weinberger, "We weren't considering Andy for the show before we saw him. Then we wrote a part for him." Bob Zmuda confirms this: "They basically were buying Andy's Foreign Man character for the Taxi character Latka."^[10] Andy's long-time manager George Shapiro encouraged Andy to take the gig. "My feeling was that it would be a nice boost for his career...and he would be playing a character that he knew very well, the Foreign Man—this particular character speaks poor English in Taxi and his name is Latka Gravas."^[11] SNL creator Lorne Michaels said of the announcement: "When he agreed to a situation comedy, we were stunned. We couldn’t understand why in the world. Because he was Andy Kaufman. Going from being that far out of the mainstream to being ground zero of it. Not that Taxi isn’t a good show. But in the pure world of status, he was regarded as a genius. So for a genius to be the 4th lead in a situation comedy was not, at the time, seen to be an act of genius."

Kaufman disliked sitcoms and was not thrilled with the idea of being in one.^{[citation needed]} In order to allow Kaufman to demonstrate some comedic range, his character was given multiple personality disorder, which allowed Kaufman to randomly portray other characters. In one episode of Taxi, Kaufman's character came down with a condition which made him act like Alex Reiger, the main character played by Judd Hirsch. Another such recurring character played by Kaufman was the womanizing Vic Ferrari. His role lead to two Golden Globe nominations, in 1979 and 1981.^[12]

Taxi was an award-winning show with a large audience and Kaufman was widely recognized as Latka. On some occasions, audiences would show up to one of Kaufman's stage performances expecting to see him perform as Latka, and heckling him with demands when he did not. Kaufman would punish these audiences with the announcement that he was going to read the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald to them. The audience would laugh at this, not realizing that he was serious, and Kaufman would proceed to read the book to them, continuing despite audience members' departure.^[6] At a certain point, he would ask the audience if they wanted him to keep reading, or play a record. When the audience chose to hear the record, the record he cued up was a recording of him continuing to read The Great Gatsby from where he had left off.

Tony Clifton[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Another well-known Kaufman character is Tony Clifton, an 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 his friend Bob 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 get famous.

As a requirement for Kaufman 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. After throwing a tantrum on the set, Clifton was fired and escorted off of the studio lot by security guards. Much to Kaufman's delight, this incident was reported in the local newspapers. Paramount Television and producers James L. Brooks and Stan Daniels later released a statement that said that although Clifton was "no longer welcome on the set", his friend Andy Kaufman would continue in his role as Latka, which he did until the show ended its run in 1983.

Carnegie Hall show[link]

At the beginning of an April 1979 performance at New York's Carnegie Hall, Kaufman invited his "grandmother" to watch the show from a chair he had placed at the side of the stage. At the end of the show, she stood up, took her mask off and revealed to the audience that she was actually comedian Robin Williams in disguise. Kaufman also had an elderly woman (named Eleanor Cody Gould) appear to have a heart attack and die on stage, at which point he reappeared on stage wearing a Native American headdress and performed a dance over her body, seeming to revive her.

The performance is most famous for Kaufman ending the show by actually taking the entire audience, in twenty-four buses, out for milk and cookies. He invited anyone interested to meet him on the Staten Island Ferry the next morning, where the show continued. This kind of performance art was a hallmark of Kaufman's career. This was depicted in the biopic Man on the Moon; however, in the movie, it takes place after Kaufman was diagnosed with cancer, when in reality, it took place nearly four years earlier.

[edit] Andy's Funhouse

The Taxi deal with ABC included giving Kaufman a television special/pilot. He came up with Andy's Funhouse, based on an old routine he had developed while in junior college. The special was taped in 1977 but did not air until August 1979, on ABC.^[13] It featured most of Andy's famous gags, including Foreign Man/Latka and his Elvis Presley impersonation, as well as a host of unique segments (including a special appearance by children's television character Howdy Doody and the "Has-been Corner"). There also was a segment that included fake television screen static as part of the gag, which ABC executives were not comfortable with, fearing that viewers would mistake the static for broadcast problems and would change the channel—which was the comic element Kaufman wanted to present. Andy's Funhouse was written by Kaufman, Zmuda, and Mel Sherer, with music by Kaufman.

In 1980 a very similar looking show to Funhouse would be filmed for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)'s SoundStage program, called the The Andy Kaufman Show. It would feature a peanut gallery like Funhouse and is often confused with Andy's Funhouse. The show opens right in the middle of an interview Kaufman is doing in which he is laughing hysterically, and then he proceeds to thank the audience for watching and the credits roll. After this, opening credits do come on and the show has its "proper" beginning. This show is easy to confuse with Andy's Funhouse as they both feature "The Has-Been Corner" and Kaufman wears his "I Love Grandma" shirt in both shows among other similarities.

[edit] The Fridays incident

In 1981, Kaufman made three appearances on Fridays, a variety show on ABC that was similar to Saturday Night Live.^[14] Kaufman's first appearance on the show proved to be memorable. During a sketch about four people out on a dinner date who excuse themselves to the restroom to smoke marijuana, Kaufman broke character and refused to say his lines.

In response, cast member Michael Richards walked off camera and returned with a set of cue cards and dumped them on the table in front of Kaufman. Andy responded by splashing Richards with water. Co-producer Jack Burns stormed onto the stage, leading to a brawl on camera before the show abruptly cut away to commercial.^[15] It was later revealed that this incident was a practical joke which was known to Richards, associate producer Burns and Kaufman but no one else on the cast or crew.^[16]

In continuation of the joke, Kaufman appeared the following week in a videotaped apology to the home viewers. Later that year, Kaufman returned to host Fridays. At one point in the show, he invited a Lawrence Welk Show gospel and standards singer, Kathie Sullivan, on stage to sing a few gospel songs with him and announced that the two were engaged to be married, then talked to the audience about his newfound faith in Jesus (Kaufman was Jewish). That was also a hoax. Later, following a sketch about a drug-abusing pharmacist, Kaufman was supposed to introduce the band The Pretenders. Instead of introducing the band, he delivered a nervous speech about the harmfulness of drugs while the band stood behind him ready to play. After his speech, he informed the audience that he had talked for too long and had to go to a commercial.

Professional wrestling[link]

Kaufman grew up admiring the world of professional wrestling.^{[citation needed]} Inspired by the theatricality of kayfabe, the staged nature of the sport, and his own tendency to form elaborate hoaxes, Kaufman began wrestling women during his act and was the self-proclaimed "Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World", taking on an aggressive and ridiculous personality based upon the characters invented by professional wrestlers. He offered a $1,000 prize to any woman who could pin him. He employed his friend, the performance artist Laurie Anderson as a stooge in this act for a while.

Kaufman initially approached the head of the World Wrestling Federation Vince McMahon Sr. about bringing his act to the New York wrestling territory. McMahon dismissed Kaufman's idea as the elder McMahon was not about to bring "show business" into his Pro Wrestling society. Kaufman had by then developed a friendship with Wrestling magazine reporter/photographer Bill Apter. After many discussions about Andy wanting to be in the Pro Wrestling business, Apter called Memphis' iconic Jerry Lawler and introduced him to Kaufman by telephone from Apter's apartment in Queens, New York. That put the key in the ignition and as they say -- "the rest is history." The battles between Kaufman and Lawler became legend and was really the first "sports entertainment" angle that became known worldwide and is being seen even today on TV stations such as Comedy Central.

Later, after a challenge from professional wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler, Kaufman would step into the ring (in the Memphis wrestling circuit) with a man—Lawler himself.^[6] Kaufman taunted the whole city of Memphis, sending "videos showing residents how to use soap" and proclaiming it to be "the nation's redneck capital."^[6] Their ongoing feud, often featuring Jimmy Hart and other heels in Kaufman's corner, included a broken neck for Kaufman as a result of Lawler's piledriver and a famous on-air fight on a 1982 episode of Late Night with David Letterman. For some time after that, Kaufman appeared wearing a neck brace,^[6] insisting that his injuries were worse than they were. Kaufman would continue 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.^{[citation needed]}

Kaufman and Lawler's famous feud and wrestling matches were later revealed to have been staged, or a "work", as the two were actually friends. The truth about its being a "work" 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. Coincidentally, Jim Carrey, the one who revealed the secret, later went on to play Kaufman in the 1999 film Man on the Moon. In a 1997 interview with the Memphis Flyer, Lawler claimed he had improvised during their first match and the Letterman incident. Although officials at St. Francis Hospital^{[disambiguation needed ]} 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 angle and kept it quiet. Even though Kaufman's injury was legitimate, the pair pretended that the injury was more severe than it was. He also said that Kaufman's explosion on Letterman was Kaufman's own idea, including when Lawler slapped Kaufman out of his chair.

Kaufman also appeared in the 1983 film My Breakfast with Blassie with professional wrestling personality "Classy" Freddie Blassie, a parody of the art film My Dinner With Andre. The film was directed by Johnny Legend, who employed his sister Lynne Margulies as one of the girls who appears in the film. Margulies met Kaufman for the first time on camera, and they later became a couple, living together until Kaufman's death.

Appearances[link]

Although Kaufman made a name for himself as a guest on NBC's Saturday Night Live, his first prime time appearances were several guest spots as the 'Foreign Man' on Dick Van Dyke's variety show in 1976. He also appeared four times on The Tonight Show^[17] from 1976–1978, three times on The Midnight Special in 1972, 1977 and 1981.^[18] In the 1977 episode, Kaufman performed a song called "I Trusted You" (which features only those three words, repeated over and over, as lyrics), while in 1981 he is shown sitting in the audience during Tony Clifton's act (although it was obvious Kaufman was not in the audience during the sketch).

His SNL appearances started with the inaugural October 11, 1975 show; he made 16 SNL appearances in all,^[19] although his last two appearances were pre-taped.^{[citation needed]} He would do routines from his comedy act, such as the Mighty Mouse sing-along, Foreign Man character, the Elvis impersonation, etc. After he angered the audience with his female wrestling routine, in January 1983 Kaufman did make a pre-taped appearance (his 16th) on the show, where he asked the audience if he should ever appear on the show again, and said that he would honor the audience's decision and stay off the show if the vote was negative. SNL ran a phone vote, and close to 195,544 people voted to "Dump Andy" and approximately 169,186 people voted to "Keep Andy",^[20] so Kaufman did not appear "live" but Saturday Night Live did air a tape of him thanking the 169,186 people who had voted "yes" for him to appear again.

Though it was never made clear whether this was a gag, Kaufman did not appear on the show again. During the SNL episode with the Keep Andy/Dump Andy phone poll, many of the cast stated their admiration for Andy's work and read the "Keep Andy" number more clearly than the "Dump Andy" number.^[21] After Eddie Murphy read both numbers, he said, "Now Andy Kaufman is a friend of mine. Keep that in mind when you call. I don't want to have to punch nobody in America in the face." Mary Gross read the "Dump Andy" number at a rate so fast that audiences were unable to catch it.^[21] The final tally was read by Gary Kroeger to a cheering audience. As the credits rolled, announcer Don Pardo said, "This is Don Pardo saying, 'I voted for Andy Kaufman.'"

Kaufman made a number of appearances on the daytime The David Letterman Show in 1980, and eleven appearances on Late Night with David Letterman in 1982-1983,^[22] including one where he claimed to be homeless and begged the audience for money and one where he talked about his adopted children, who turned out to be three fully-grown black men.^{[citation needed]}

He appeared twice on The Merv Griffin Show (1979–1980),^[23] and once, in 1978 as a participant, on The Dating Game^[24] under a presumed name and as a supposedly real contestant. He also made numerous guest spots on other television programs hosted by or starring celebrities like Johnny Cash (1979 Christmas special), Dick Van Dyke, Dinah Shore, Rodney Dangerfield, Cher, Dean Martin, Redd Foxx, Mike Douglas, Dick Clark, and Joe Franklin.^[25]

He appeared in his first theatrical film God Told Me To in 1976, where he portrayed a murderous policeman. He also appeared in several others, including as a televangelist in the 1980 film In God We Tru$t.

Laurie Anderson worked alongside Andy Kaufman for a time in 1970s, acting as a sort of straight woman in a number of his Manhattan and Coney Island performances. One of these performances included getting on a ride that people stand in and get spun around. After everyone was strapped in Kaufman would start saying how he did not want to be on the ride in a panicked tone and eventually cry. Anderson later described these performances in her 1995 album The Ugly One with the Jewels.

At Park West Theatre in Chicago on March 26, 1982, Kaufman performed stage hypnosis where he induced local DJ Steve Dahl to urinate while sitting in a large box. Other staged inductions included Bob Zmuda's childhood friend Joe Troiani mimicking the behavior of a pig and long-time friend Bill Karmia dressed as a police officer arresting Kaufman for inducing public nudity with a woman he had hypnotized.

Personal life[link]

Kaufman never married. He was survived by his father^[26] and daughter, Maria Colonna, who was born in 1969 out of wedlock with a high-school girlfriend of Kaufman's, but later placed for adoption. Colonna learned in 1992 that she was the daughter of Andy Kaufman when she traced her biological roots.^[27]

On December 5, 1969, while in college, Kaufman learned Transcendental Meditation.^[28] According to a BBC article, Kaufman used Transcendental Meditation to build confidence and take his act to comedy clubs. For the rest of his life Kaufman meditated and performed yoga three hours a day.^[29] He trained as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation in Majorca, Spain from February to June, 1971.^[28]

Illness and death[link]

At Thanksgiving dinner with his family on Long Island, New York in November 1983, several family members grew concerned over Kaufman's persistent coughing during the dinner, and openly expressed worry about it. Kaufman claimed to them that he had the cough for nearly a month, but also claimed that an initial visit to his doctor told him that nothing was wrong. After returning to Los Angeles, Kaufman consulted a physician where he checked himself into Cedars-Sinai Hospital for a series of medical tests and a few days later, he was diagnosed with a rare type of lung cancer. Despite his doctor's prognosis that there was no hope for recovery, Kaufman fought the disease until his death.

After audiences were shocked by his gaunt appearance during his performances in January 1984, Kaufman acknowledged having an unspecified illness, which he hoped to cure with "natural medicine" including an all-fruit-and-vegetables diet, among other measures. Kaufman received palliative radiotherapy, but by then the cancer had rapidly spread from his lungs to his brain. His last resort was "psychic surgery", a pseudo-procedure performed in Baguio, Philippines, in March 1984. Kaufman died in a hospital in Los Angeles on May 16, 1984^[30] of kidney failure, caused by metastasized large cell carcinoma, and was interred in the Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York (Long Island). He was 35 years old. Because he kept the true nature of his illness a secret—almost until the day he died—fans have, over the years, doubted Kaufman's death, thinking that he staged it as the ultimate Andy Kaufman stunt.

Kaufman allegedly told many people—including Bob Zmuda—that he wished to fake his own death prior to his actual death. This has caused some fans to believe Kaufman is still alive.^[31] Kaufman himself purportedly claimed that if he were to fake his death, he would return 20 years later, which would have been in 2004.^[32]

The 1999 Jim Carrey film Man on the Moon leaves the question open-ended. "Tony Clifton" performed a year after Kaufman's death at The Comedy Store benefit in Kaufman's honor, with members of his entourage in attendance. Bob Zmuda has acknowledged "death hoax" rumors over the years quite tongue-in-cheek, admitting that Kaufman and he had discussed faking his death at times and that he seemed "obsessed with the idea", but he maintains the opinion that Kaufman truly did die and his death was not faked. Bob Zmuda claims he does not think he would be cruel enough to go this long without making contact with his family if he was still alive. His official website states that his death was not a hoax.^[33]

During 1990s, "Tony Clifton" made several appearances at LA nightclubs, prompting speculation that perhaps Kaufman was still alive and working under the makeup. Jim Carrey stated on the NBC special Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman that the Clifton character had been passed on by Kaufman to Bob Zmuda while he was still alive. Kaufman's death certificate is on file with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and is also available on the website The Smoking Gun.^[26]

Filmography[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Acting[link]

Writing[link]

• The Andy Kaufman Special aka Andy's Funhouse (Filmed 1977 as Pilot, Aired on ABC in 1979) (TV)
• The Andy Kaufman Show (filmed in 1980 for PBS's Soundstage) (TV)
• Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall (1980) (V)
• I'm From Hollywood (1989) (uncredited)
• GOD...and other plays (1999)
• The Huey Williams Story (1999)
• Poetry and Stories (2000)

Composing[link]

• Man on the Moon (1999) (song "Oh, The Cow Goes Moo")

Producing[link]

• The Andy Kaufman Special (1979) (TV) (producer)

Notable TV guest appearances[link]

Legacy[link]

Jim Carrey portrayed Kaufman in the 1999 biopic film Man on the Moon, directed by Miloš Forman. The film took its title from the band R.E.M. song of the same name, which also mentions Kaufman's name. Comedian Richard Lewis in A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman said of him: "No one has ever done what Andy did, and did it as well, and no one will ever. Because he did it first. So did Buster Keaton, so did Andy.".^[34] Carl Reiner recalled his distinction in the comedy world: "Did Andy influence comedy? No. Because nobody's doing what he did. Jim Carrey was influenced—not do what Andy did, but to follow his own drummer. I think Andy did that for a lot of people. Follow your own drumbeat. You didn't have to go up there and say 'take my wife, please.' You could do anything that struck you as entertaining. It gave people freedom to be themselves."

References[link]

This article's references may not meet Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources. Please help by checking whether the references meet the criteria for reliable sources. (April 2012)

Further reading[link]

• Zehme, Bill (2001), Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman, Delta Books. ISBN 0-385-33372-2
• Zmuda, Bob (2001), Andy Kaufman Revealed!: Best Friend Tells All, Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-316-61098-4
• Hecht, Julie (2001), Was This Man a Genius? Talks with Andy Kaufman, Vintage Books. ISBN 0-375-50457-5

External links[link]

• The Tony Clifton Story the "lost" Kaufman screenplay

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Tony Clifton is a fictitious character created and often played by stand up comedian Andy Kaufman in the late 1970s. Characteristic of the many elaborate hoaxes and practical jokes Kaufman concocted, Clifton was not exclusively played by Kaufman—others, mainly Bob Zmuda, stepped into the role on occasion—enabling Kaufman and his accomplices to create an air of confusion as to whether Clifton was a real person or not.

Origin[link]

Tony Clifton was a real lounge singer whom Kaufman encountered in the International Hotel in Las Vegas. He was waiting for Elvis Presley to arrive so he could meet him.^[1] Kaufman saw 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).

Performance[link]

Clifton was a staggeringly untalented lounge singer with a nasal, deliberately annoying singing voice. Clifton epitomized the washed-up showbiz casualty, a "star" too lazy to even bother to remember the lyrics to his songs. Clifton would often attempt to improvise comical lyrics that were 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. Adding to Clifton's annoying and unappealing presence was his tendency to rhyme various words at random in the middle of conversations. Many people misunderstood Kaufman's intent, focusing on the character's foul language and prima donna antics while failing to appreciate the fact that Clifton was meant to be the comic antithesis of the typical lounge singer, a bland, genial entertainer designed to add a touch of class to a hotel and make guests feel welcome.

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, but the interviews invariably would turn ugly whenever Kaufman's name came up. Clifton claimed Kaufman was using his name "to go places." Actually, in many cases, Andy Kaufman played Clifton. 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, with Kaufman making unannounced appearances onstage during Clifton's act.

Rodney Dangerfield was a big fan of Andy Kaufman's, and hired Clifton to open for him for two shows at Bill Graham's famed Fillmore West. 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 departure, would present "The Return of Tony Clifton", with his Katrina Kiss My Ass Orchestra. The national tour kicked off June 27, 2008 at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia and will benefit Gulf Coast musicians, dancers, and singers affected by Hurricane Katrina. Clifton fronted the Katrina Orchestra along with the Cliftonettes. Later dates included August 15 at Chicago's Chopin Theatre.^[2] In 2011, Tony and his orchestra were featured headliners as part of the annual Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 21.^[3] Later that month he began hosting the Tony Clifton Revue at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. He was interviewed on the 284th (May 31, 2012) episode of Marc Maron's WTF podcast as promotion.^[4]

Television[link]

Taxi[link]

Clifton was hired to appear on an early episode of ABC's Taxi. However, Clifton appeared for rehearsals late, drunk, and with two prostitutes in tow. Clifton disrupted the rehearsal with his antics, leading Judd Hirsch to call his agent and Jeff Conaway to storm out in anger. The decision was made to fire Clifton, and Kaufman insisted it be done publicly, with security guards removing him from the soundstage by force. This incident is depicted in the biographical film Man on the Moon.

Other appearances[link]

Clifton (possibly 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 remained skeptical of Clifton's talent.

Perhaps most infamous is Clifton's appearance on Dinah Shore's daytime talk show Dinah & Friends. Clifton arrived for the taping 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. Although Shore attempted to avoid the duet on air, politely declining Clifton's request, he persisted, accusing Shore of being unprofessional. Then, during a cooking segment with Shore and Charles Nelson Reilly, Clifton dumped a pan of eggs over Shore's head. This happened live on the air and the show's producers quickly cut to a commercial as Clifton was escorted out of the studio. The tape of the incident was destroyed, although the moments leading up to it can be seen in the documentary Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show.

Recently, Clifton appeared on The Opie & Anthony Show to promote a performance at Santo's Party House in New York City.^{[citation needed]}

Movie[link]

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 Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from cancer. Five years later, Kaufman died at the same hospital from lung cancer. Some conspiracy-minded fans say that Kaufman was — with this screenplay — setting up what would be his greatest prank ever: faking his own death.

Influence[link]

Kaufman's Tony Clifton character has influenced other "anti-comedy" acts, notably stand-up comedian Neil Hamburger, singer/comedian Unknown Hinson, and Canadian singer/comedian Corey Mystyshyn. (Like Tony Clifton, these are both reportedly stage names.)

References[link]

External links[link]

• TonyClifton.net
• Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show on IMDB

Norman Wexler (6 August 1926–23 August 1999) was a screenwriter whose work included such films as Saturday Night Fever, Serpico and Joe, for which he received an Oscar nomination in 1971. A Detroit native and 1944 Central High School graduate, Wexler attended Harvard University before moving to New York in 1951.^[1]

Career[link]

Wexler penned the screenplays for several hit films, most notably Joe, Serpico, Mandingo and Saturday Night Fever. He received Oscar nominations for both Joe and Serpico.

He wrote Saturday Night Fever, which generated earnings in excess of $1.2B in today's dollars when both movie and record album sales are counted, more than double U.S. sales of top box office hit Titanic — which had a huge budget and costly special effects.

According to Bob Zmuda, Saturday Night Fever made Wexler a wealthy man. He was a much sought-after script doctor, reworking the scripts for Lipstick and The Fan.

Wexler was a sometime playwright. His play The Rope was produced at Cafe La MaMa (NY) in 1965.

Health, personal life, and character inspirations[link]

He was reported to have suffered from severe mental illness, reportedly bipolar disorder, and was arrested in 1972 for threatening to shoot President Richard Nixon.

In the book Andy Kaufman Revealed, Bob Zmuda, Kaufman's friend and writer, relates his experiences working as an assistant for an extremely eccentric, Academy Award winning screenwriter, prone to pulling stunts that ranged from the bizarre to the profane. Zmuda refers to the man by the alias Mr X. Mr X's wild antics and boorish behavior are said to have been a major influence in creating Andy Kaufman's iconic alter-ego, the obnoxious lounge lizard Tony Clifton. Though Zmuda does not confirm Mr. X's identity in the book, he did confirm long-standing rumor that it was Wexler on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast.^[2]

His last manic episode November 1998-February 1999 took a toll on his health. Early in the morning of August 23, 1999, Wexler died of a heart attack at age 73.

Screenplays[link]

• Joe (1969)
• Serpico (with Waldo Salt) (1973)
• Mandingo (1975)
• Drum (1976)
• Saturday Night Fever (1977)
• Staying Alive (with Sylvester Stallone) (1983)
• Raw Deal (with Gary DeVore) (1986)

References[link]

1. ^ Independent.co.uk
2. ^ Marc Maron (26 April 2012). "Episode 274 - Bob Zmuda" (Podcast). Event occurs at 0:38:00. http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_274_-_bob_zmuda. Retrieved 26 April 2012. 

External links[link]

• Norman Wexler at the Internet Movie Database
• Norman Wexler at AllRovi

See also[link]

• Michigan Jewish History, periodic publication
• Detroit-Central High School

Jim Carrey
Carrey at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival
Born	James Eugene Carrey (1962-01-17) January 17, 1962 (age 50) Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor, comedian, producer
Years active	1979–present
Height	6' 2"
Spouse	Melissa Womer (1987–1995) Lauren Holly (1996–1997)
Partner	Jenny McCarthy (2005–2010) Anastasia Vitkina (2011–present)
Children	1
Website
JimCarrey.com

James Eugene "Jim" Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and producer. Carrey has received four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning two. Known for his highly energetic, slapstick performances, he has been described as one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood.^[1]

Carrey first gained recognition in 1990 after landing a recurring role in the sketch comedy In Living Color. His first leading roles in major productions came with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994), The Mask (1994), and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995). In 1997, he gave a critically acclaimed performance in Liar Liar, which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor. He then starred in the critically acclaimed hits The Truman Show (1998) and Man on the Moon (1999), both garnering him two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor.

In 2000, he gained further recognition for his portrayal of the The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Three years later, Carrey starred in the major blockbuster film Bruce Almighty (2003). The following year he starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), for which he received another Golden Globe nomination in addition to a BAFTA Award nomination. He then starred in popular productions Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Yes Man (2008), A Christmas Carol (2009), and Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011).

He is set to star in Burt Wonderstone in 2013 as Steve Gray, in addition to reprising his role as Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber 2 in 2014. He is also set to star as Mr. Applegate in a film adaption of the broadway musical Damn Yankees.

Early life[link]

Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario, the son of Kathleen (née Oram), a homemaker, and Percy Carrey, a musician and accountant.^[2][3] He has three older siblings, John, Patricia, and Rita. He was raised Roman Catholic.^[4][5] His mother was of French,  Irish,  and Scottish descent^[6] and his father was of French Canadian ancestry (the family's original surname was Carré).^[7][8] After his family moved to Scarborough, Ontario, when Carrey was 14 years old, he attended Blessed Trinity Catholic School, in North York, for two years, enrolled at Agincourt Collegiate Institute for another year, then briefly attended Northview Heights Secondary School for the remainder of his high school career (all together, he spent three years in Grade 10).

Carrey lived in Burlington, Ontario, for eight years and attended Aldershot High School, where he once opened for 1980s new wave band Spoons. In a Hamilton Spectator interview (February 2007), Carrey remarked, "If my career in show business hadn't panned out I would probably be working today in Hamilton, Ontario at the Dofasco steel mill." When looking across the Burlington Bay toward Hamilton, he could see the mills and thought, "Those were where the great jobs were."^[9] At this point, he already had experience working in a science testing facility in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Career[link]

Early work[link]

While struggling to obtain work and making a name for himself, Carrey's father decided to help the young comedian put together a stage act, driving him to Toronto to debut at comedy club Yuk Yuk's.^[10] Unfortunately, Carrey's impersonations bombed and this gave him doubts about his capability as a professional entertainer. His family, at the time, were struggling financially meaning it was difficult for them to support Carrey's ambitions. Eventually, the family's financial problems were soon dealt with and they moved into a new home.^[10] With a now more domestic stability, Carrey worked up the nerve to return to the stage with a more polished act. In a short period of time, Carrey went from open mic nights to regular paid shows; a growing reputation building in the process. One reviewer in the Toronto Star raved that Carrey was "a genuine star coming to life."^[11] Carrey was soon noticed by comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who signed the young comedian to open Dangerfield's tour performances.^[12] He eventually brought Carrey to Las Vegas, after which he decided to move to Hollywood. Carrey began performing at The Comedy Store and in 1982, appeared on the televised stand-up show An Evening at the Improv.^[13] The following year, he debuted his act on The Tonight Show.^[14]

Despite his increasing popularity as a stand-up comedian, Carrey turned his attention to the film and television industries, auditioning to be a cast member for the 1980–1981 season of NBC's Saturday Night Live. Carrey was not selected for the position (although he did host the show in May 1996, and again in January 2011^[15] ). He was, after a period of time, cast in seveal low-budget films: Rubberface (1981) playing a struggling young comic, and Copper Mountain (1983) playing a sex-starved teen, the latter including his impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. Since the film had a less than one hour runtime consisting largely of musical performances by Rita Coolidge and Ronnie Hawkins, it was not considered a full-length feature film.

In 1984, Carrey was soon cast, surprisingly, as the lead in the NBC sitcom The Duck Factory, in which he played a quirky young artist alongside Jay Tarses. However, the show was unceremoniously cancelled during its first season. Despite the sudden cancellation, Carrey landed supporting roles in several low-budget films: Once Bitten (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), and The Dead Pool (1988). When Carrey returned to stand-up, he retired his old act vowing that he didn't want to be famous for imitating other people; "Some nights it was a melee, literally, where I'd be standing trying to defend myself for what I was doing. People would be screaming at me to do my old act, and getting actually violent and angry at me,".^[14] While many thought he was "crazy" for retiring his old act, others were increasingly interested in what Carrey was attempting to do, Judd Apatow in particular. The pair struck up a friendship and soon began writing material together.

Carrey continued to land small roles in film and television productions, which led to a friendship with fellow comedian Damon Wayans, who co-starred with Carrey as an extraterrestrial in 1989's Earth Girls Are Easy. Damon soon introduced Carrey to his brother Keenen, who at the time, was creating a sketch comedy show known as In Living Color, for the new Fox network. Carrey eventually landed a recurring role in the show which first aired on April 15, 1990. By the third season, Carrey was one of the few remaining original cast members and was ready to move onto bigger things, after agreeing to take on his first lead role in a Hollywood blockbuster film.

Rise to fame[link]

Carrey did not experience true stardom until landing the lead role in the slapstick comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), which premiered only months before In Living Color ended. Despite agreeing to play the title character, Carrey would only take the role if he was allowed to rewrite the script, mostly to suit his over-the-top visions. The film, while dismissed by most critics, was an international hit, and transformed Carrey into a bankable box-office star overnight. In that same year, he landed two lead roles in The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, respectively. The Mask garnered him his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor nomination, with Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praising him for his "joyful performance".^[16] Well-received by critics, Dumb and Dumber was a commercial success, grossing over $270 million worldwide,^[17] and again boosting Carrey's fanbase.

Carrey in Madrid, Spain on December 13, 2008.

In 1995, Carrey starred in the Joel Schumacher-directed superhero film Batman Forever, in which Batman tries to stop Two-Face and the Riddler (played by Carrey) in their villainous scheme to drain information from all the brains in Gotham City. The feature received reasonable reviews upon release with most criticism aimed towards the movie's "blatant commercialism", as stated by Peter Travers.^[18] In that same year, Carrey reprised his role as Ace Ventura in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Like the original film, it was well-received by the public but heavily criticised by critics. However, it was a huge box-office success, earning $212 million worldwide in addition to breaking records, with a $40 million opening weekend.^[19] Carrey earned $20 million for his next film, The Cable Guy (1996). Directed by Ben Stiller, Carrey played a lonely, slightly menacing cable TV installer who infiltrates the life of one of his customers (played by Matthew Broderick). The film tested Carrey's boundaries of his tried and true "hapless, hyper, overconfident" characters that he is known for regularly playing. However, it did not fare well with critics, many reacting towards Carrey's change of tone to previous films.^[20] Despite the reviews, The Cable Guy grossed $102 million worldwide.^[21]

He soon bounced back in 1997 with the critically acclaimed comedy Liar Liar, playing Fletcher Reede, an incredibly successful lawyer who has built his career on lying, regularly breaking promises that he makes to his son Max. Max soon makes a birthday wish that for just one day, his dad can't tell a lie. Carrey was praised for his performance, earning a second Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor. Janet Maslin of The New York Times said, "Well into his tumultuous career, Mr. Carrey finally turns up in a straightforward comic vehicle, and the results are much wilder and funnier than this mundane material should have allowed."^[22]

Critical acclaim[link]

The following year he decided to take a pay cut to play the serious role of Truman Burbank in the satirical comedy-drama film The Truman Show (1998).^[23] The film was highly praised and brought Carrey further international acclaim, leading many to believe he would be nominated for an Oscar.^[24] However, he did pick up his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. The Truman Show was a commercial success also, earning $264 million worldwide against a budget of $60 million.^[25][26] According to a Film4 critic, the film, "...allows Carrey to edge away from broad comedy." but nonetheless called it "A hilarious and breathtakingly conceived satire..."^[27] That same year, Carrey appeared as a fictionalized version of himself on the final episode of Garry Shandling's The Larry Sanders Show, in which he deliberately ripped into Shandling's character. In 1999, Carrey had the lead role in Man on the Moon. He portrayed comedian Andy Kaufman to critical acclaim,^[28] with many believing that Carrey would finally be nominated for Best Actor. He again received his second Golden Globe Award for the second consecutive year. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times commented on Carrey's performance stating, "A brilliant, almost terrifying impersonation."

In 2000, Carrey reteamed with the Farrelly Brothers, who had directed him in Dumb and Dumber, in the comedy classic, Me, Myself & Irene, a film that received mixed reviews^[29] but enjoyed box office success. Carrey played the role of state trooper Charlie Baileygates, who has multiple personalities and romances a woman portrayed by Renée Zellweger. That same year, Carrey starred in the second highest grossing Christmas film of all time, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, playing the title character, for which he received praise and criticism.^[30] The film garnered him his third Golden Globe Award nomination in addition to countless other nominations and several wins.

For his next feature film, Carrey starred opposite Jennifer Aniston and Morgan Freeman in Tom Shadyac's international hit comedy Bruce Almighty (2003). Carrey played a TV newsman who unexpectedly receives God's omnipotent abilities when the deity decides to take a break. The film received mixed reviews upon release^[31] but despite this was a financial success, earning over $484 million worldwide, and going on to become the seventeenth highest-grossing live action comedy of all time. The film has since gained a cult following.^[19][32] In 2004, Carrey starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film received overwhelming acclaim upon release; Carrey was highly praised for his portrayal of Joel Barish, in addition to his co-star Kate Winslet, who received an Oscar nomination. According to CNN's reviewer Paul Clinton, Carrey's performance was "the best, most mature and sharply focused performance ever."^[33] He received his fourth Golden Globe Award nomination, and was also nominated for his first BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Carrey at the Yes Man premiere in 2008

Carrey's next appearance was in the 2004 black comedy drama film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which was based on the popular children's novels of the same name. The film received a positive reception, with Desson Thomson from The Washington Post commenting on Carrey's approach to the character of Count Olaf, stating "Olaf is a humorless villain in the book. He's not amusing like Carrey at all. To which I would counter: If you can't let Carrey be Carrey, put someone boring and less expensive in the role. In his various disguises he's rubbery, inventive and improvisationally inspired. I particularly liked his passing imitation of a dinosaur."^[34][35] That same year, Carrey was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame.^[36] In 2005, Carrey starred in a remake of Fun with Dick and Jane, playing Dick, a husband who becomes a bank robber after he loses his job. The film was dismissed by most critics but did manage to become a box office hit.

Continued success[link]

In 2007, Carrey reunited with Joel Schumacher, director of Batman Forever, for The Number 23, a psychological thriller co-starring Virginia Madsen and Danny Huston. In the film, Carrey plays a man who becomes obsessed with the number 23, after finding a book about a man with the same obsession. The film was lauded by critics and did not fare well at the box office. The following year Carrey provided his voice for Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008). Carrey voiced the beloved elephant for the CGI-animated feature, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews and delivered family crowds en masse. The film was also a box office success raking in over $290 million worldwide.^[37] Later in the year, Carrey returned to live action comedy, starring opposite Zooey Deschanel and Bradley Cooper in Yes Man (2008). Carrey played down-and-out man, Carl Allen, who had gone nowhere in life, thanks to always saying no to everything, until he signs up for a self-help program that teaches him the power of saying yes. Despite reviews being mixed, Rene Rodriquez of The Miami Herald stated, "Yes Man is fine as far as Jim Carrey comedies go, but it's even better as a love story that just happens to make you laugh."^[38] The film had a decent performance at the box office, earning $225 million worldwide.

Since 2009, Carrey's work has included a leading role in Glenn Ficarra and John Requa's I Love You Phillip Morris, premiering in January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival before receiving a wide release in February 2010. Carrey portrayed Steven Jay Russell, a con artist, imposter and multiple prison escapee who falls in love with his fellow inmate, Phillip Morris (played by Ewan McGregor). The film received largely positive reviews with Damon Wise of The Times giving the film four stars out of five, stating, "I Love You Phillip Morris" is an extraordinary film that serves as a reminder of just how good Carrey can be when he's not tied into a generic Hollywood crowd-pleaser. His comic timing remains as exquisite as ever."^[39]

For the first time in his career, Carrey portrayed multiple characters in Disney's 3D animated take on the classic Charles Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol (2009), voicing Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film also starred Robin Wright Penn, Bob Hoskins, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman and Cary Elwes. The film received reasonable reviews and was a financial success. In 2011, Carrey landed the lead role in Mr. Popper's Penguins, playing Thomas "Tom" Popper Jr. a realtor who becomes the caretaker of a family of penguins. The film received a mixed reception upon release.^[40] He is set to star alongside former co-star Steve Carell in the Don Scardino-directed comedy film Burt Wonderstone (2013). Carrey will play Steve Gray, a dangerous street magician who overshadows Burt Wonderstone (played by Carell), a formerly successful magician whos partnership with another magician ends; Gray must convince Burts old partner to return to the act. Carrey entered negotiations for the role in October 2011. Principal photography began on January 10, 2012 and concluded on March 13. The film is currently in post-production.

On April 1, 2012 it was confirmed that Carrey, along with Jeff Daniels, would return for Dumb and Dumber 2. Bobby and Peter Farrelly are scheduled to direct and write the script, with the movie going into production in September 2012.^[41]

As of April 2012, Carrey's films have grossed over $4.6 billion worldwide, unadjusted for inflation.^[42]

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

Carrey with his family at the Horton Hears a Who! premiere in 2008.

Carrey has been married twice. His first marriage was to former actress and Comedy Store waitress Melissa Womer, whom he married on March 28, 1987. The two divorced in 1995. A year later Carrey married his Dumb and Dumber co-star Lauren Holly, on September 23, 1996; the marriage lasted less than a year.^[43] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Carrey was involved in a series of relationships, including Laurie Holden, January Jones, and Anine Bing. In addition, Carrey had a much-publicized yet short-lived romance with his Me, Myself and Irene co-star Renée Zellweger, whom he dated, and at one point engaged, from 1999 to 2000.^[44]

Carrey met model and actress Jenny McCarthy in 2005 and made their relationship public in June 2006. In April 2010, the two ended their near five-year relationship.^[45] Despite the split and media circulations, McCarthy stated in October 2010 that, "Jim and I are still good friends".^[46]

Family[link]

Carrey has one child, a daughter named Jane Erin Carrey (born September 6, 1987 in Los Angeles County) from his first marriage.^[47] Carrey announced via his Twitter account on February 27, 2010, in Los Angeles^[48] that his daughter had given birth to her first child with musician husband Alex Santana. He announced that his grandson's name was Jackson Riley Santana.

Citizenship[link]

Carrey received U.S. citizenship in October 2004 and remains a dual citizen of both the United States and his native Canada.^[49]

Beliefs[link]

Carrey has been a critic of the scientific consensus that no evidence links the childhood MMR vaccination to the development of autism, and wrote an article questioning the merits of vaccination and vaccine research for the Huffington Post.^[50] With former partner Jenny McCarthy, Carrey led a "Green Our Vaccines" march in Washington, D.C., to advocate for the removal of toxins from children's vaccines, out of a belief that children had received "too many vaccines, too soon, many of which are toxic".^[51]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]