A review by robertrivasplata
Is This Guy for Real?: The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman by Box Brown

challenging dark funny informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.25

Graphic biography in Box Brown's trademark style. Before reading this, I knew next to nothing about Andy Kaufman. I don't think I've even seen a video of Kaufman, not that any of his performances are particularly telling, going off what Brown writes. In a way, even his biography reveals little. The title question would remain no matter how much any biographer could write about this oddball. I guess the answer that Brown seems to go with is that Kaufman was always presenting/performing some combination of sincerity & put-on. Similarly, Kaufman seemed to always be both attempting to please & to alienate his audiences. Brown builds the case that wrestling was a major formative influence on Kaufman, informing the ways that he performed & stayed in character outside of what was recognized as performances. Wild that even the people who worked with him on Taxi thought his illness & death were stunts, & so missed his funeral.