Andy Kaufman

For the first time ever, the two people who knew Andy Kaufman best open up about the most enigmatic artist of our generation.

Comedian and Taxi star Andy Kaufman, known for his crazy antics on screen and off-stage, was the ultimate prankster and impersonator, delighting audiences with his Elvis impressions and the appearance of his alter ego, Tony Clifton, until 1984-when some say he died and others say he performed the ultimate vanishing act.

At last, in Andy Kaufman: The Truth, Finally, Bob Zmuda, Andy's writer and best friend, and Lynn Margulies, the love of Andy's life, talk about the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death with chillingly morbid candor. They also reveal the secret that Andy made Lynne and Bob promise never to tell until both of his parents had died. A secret that will change everything you ever thought you knew about Andy Kaufman.

With both hilarity and poignancy, this book separates fact from fiction, looking at the Milos Forman film Man on the Moon, which starred Jim Carrey as Andy, Paul Giamatti as Zmuda, and Courtney Love as Margulies, and Danny DeVito as Andy's manager, George Shapiro. Zmuda and Margulies reveal what was truthful and what wasn't and share their behind-the-scenes Kaufmanesque antics they concocted with actor Jim Carrey to keep him in character, at times, much to the chagrin of studio chiefs. Andy Kaufman also exposes intrigues of some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Finally, the book is a farewell to the much-loved performer and includes an emotional appeal to the Kaufman family to allow an exhumation of Andy's crypt to prove once and for all if he faked his death-the answer to which Bob and Lynne already know and are more than eager to share.