In the last original era of American comedy, the 1970s, a handful of young comedians looked away from the last vestiges of vaudeville to create a new form of the art. Working situations instead of bits, characters instead of jokes, these young funnymen would draw laughter in ways the entertainment industry had never imagined. At the forefront of this movement was Andy Kaufman. From his debut on television`s Saturday Night Live, where he stood nervously next to a scratchy record playing the Mighty Mouse theme, lip-synching Mighty Mouse`s cry of Here I come to save the day! to his mainstream breakthrough as the lovable Latka Gravas on the sitcom Taxi, Andy Kaufman was breaking new ground, and hiding a vastly darker side....Here, unfettered by sentiment, is one journalist`s probing look into the short life and untimely death of a comedic genius. With the full cooperation of Kaufman`s family, friends, and colleagues, Bill Zehme takes readers on a ride never before experienced, and not soon to be forgotten.