Bob Zmuda (born December 12, 1949) is an American writer, comedian, producer, and director best known for his friendship with comedian

Andy Kaufman Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes b ...

Biography

Bob Zmuda occasionally portrayed Kaufman's

Tony Clifton 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 audie ...

character on stage and for television appearances. In a 2006 interview, Zmuda told the ''

Opie and Anthony Show ''Opie and Anthony'' was an American radio show hosted by Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show originated in 1994 when Cumia took part in ...

'' that he was masquerading as Tony Clifton with David Letterman, and that Letterman did not find out until years later. In 1986, Zmuda founded the American version of ''

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

'', 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 Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

and

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

. In 1999, Zmuda wrote a book about Kaufman's life, titled '' 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," 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 John Francis Burns (November 15, 1933 – January 27, 2020) was an American comedian, actor, voice actor, writer, and producer. During the 1960s, he was part of two comedy partnerships, first with George Carlin and later with Avery Schreiber. ...

, one of the producers, who gets into a brawl on stage during one of Kaufman's appearances on the 1980–82 ABC late night comedy show, '' Fridays''. Zmuda was also ''Man on the Moons co-executive producer. On camera, the character of Bob Zmuda was played by

Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...

. 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.

Sam Simon Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist and philanthropist, who co-developed the television series ''The Simpsons''. While at Stanford University, Simon w ...

, executive producer on ''Taxi'', revealed in a 2013 interview with Marc Maron for the WTF Podcast that the portrayal of Andy on the show was "a complete fiction" largely created by Bob Zmuda, who he maintained has a "vested interest" in creating stories about Kaufman. In the interview Simon stated that Kaufman was "completely professional" and that he "told you Tony Clifton was he", but conceded that Kaufman would have "loved" Zmuda's version of events. In 2014, Zmuda co-authored another book with new anecdotes about Kaufman's desire to fake his death entitled ''Andy Kaufman: The Truth, Finally'', which states that Kaufman's death was indeed a prank. Zmuda says that Kaufman is still alive and that Kaufman would soon be revealing himself as his upper limit on the prank was thirty years. Zmuda now states that Kaufman offered to leave him money since Zmuda's career was largely dependent on Kaufman performing but he turned it down because he believed it would implicate him in a crime. The terms of the book deal were not disclosed. On November 7, 2014, Bob Zmuda appeared as a guest on

Greg Fitzsimmons Gregory Sebastian Fitzsimmons (born April 5, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, producer and radio host. He hosted ''The Greg Fitzsimmons Show'' on Howard 101 until December 2018. Life and early career Fitzsimmons was born in New ...

' podcast, ''Fitzdog Radio''. During the interview, Zmuda claimed to have invested $50,000 in the new book. He stormed off the podcast after Fitzsimmons doubted Zmuda's intentions regarding claims of Kaufman's staged death. On November 16, 2014, a post on the Tony Clifton Facebook page claimed that Bob Zmuda had died at the Moonlite BunnyRanch, sourcing the information to a

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

article. The same day, the BunnyRanch tweeted that they had been asked by Zmuda's management not to comment, with a link to the hoax Facebook story. Two days later, comedy news website The Interrobang posted a story with photos, verifying that Zmuda was not dead. Later that day, UPI posted a story, confirming the hoax. In 2019 Zmuda was arrested for DUI in Lake Tahoe.

Filmography

*'' Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond'' (2017) documentary film *'' Saint Bernard'' (2013) horror film *''

The Number 23 ''The Number 23'' is a 2007 American thriller film written by Fernley Phillips and directed by Joel Schumacher. Jim Carrey stars as a man who becomes obsessed with the 23 enigma once he reads about it in a strange book that seemingly mirrors his ...

'' (2007) film *'' Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show'' (1999) TV special *'' Man on the Moon'' (1999) film *''

Batman Forever ''Batman Forever'' (on-screen title is simply ''Forever'') is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The third installment o ...

'' (1995) film *'' I'm from Hollywood'' (1989) TV special *''

'' (1986) cable TV special *''

D.C. Cab ''D.C. Cab'' (also known as ''Street Fleet'') is a 1983 American comedy film written and directed by Joel Schumacher, based on a story by Topper Carew and Schumacher, and starring Max Gail, Adam Baldwin, Mr. T, Charlie Barnett, Gary Busey, Mar ...

'' (1983) film *'' My Breakfast with Blassie'' (1983) film *'' Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall'' (1979) video *'' Andy's Funhouse'' (1977) TV

References

External links

* Site documenting the inaccuracies in Zmuda's book
Zmuda Interview
SPLICEDwire - link broken * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zmuda, Bob American male comedians 21st-century American comedians American male film actors American television producers American film directors 1949 births American people of Polish descent Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Andy Kaufman