Was This Man a Genius?: Talks with Andy Kaufman [Hardcover]

Julie Hecht (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2001

Just as Andy Kaufman subverted traditional forms of comedy, so Julie Hecht, with her distinctive brand of wry humor, successfully subverts the traditional form of wry humor, successfully subverts the traditional form of the interview. During 1978 and 1979, Hecht negotiated and met with Kaufman, following him from an appearance at his old high school to his now-legendary Carnegie Hall performance. The author stood her ground in all kinds of ludicrous situations, waiting for the appearance of Kaufman’s real self, as it that self were some kind of Godot. Her determination and writing talent enabled her to uncover the truth behind many of the stories Kaufman made up for the press, and behind his sometimes poignant artistic aspirations. This is a book of bizarre meetings and often hilarious conversations between a great comedian (who hated to be called that) and his perfect foil — a writer of short stories who found the story of Andy Kaufman’s life to be stranger than fiction. It will entertain and enlighten the many fans of both the performer and the author, and through its surprising dialogue and surreal encounters it will shed light on the evolution of postmodern culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1978 and 1979, short story writer Hecht (Do the Windows Open?) conducted sporadic, often frustrating interviews with the comedian Andy Kaufman for an intended Harper's magazine profile. Harper's deemed the piece "too strange" to publish; 20 years later, those interviews now appear in this odd volume. In 1978, Kaufman was a regular performer on Saturday Night Live; in the next year, he would originate the role of Latka on the sitcom Taxi. Hecht's first encounter with Kaufman was not auspicious: driving Hecht and collaborator Bob Zmuda to Manhattan from his hometown of Great Neck, N.Y., Kaufman took his hands off the wheel and began clapping along to the music on the radio. After he refused to attend to the wheel, Hecht demanded that he stop the car and let her call a cab. Later exchanges were similar, with Kaufman unwilling to play anything straight. Most of Was This Man a Genius? consists of transcripts of Hecht and Kaufman's conversations, where Kaufman comes off by turns petulant and na‹ve, obsessed with meditating and taking vitamins and perpetually making passes at the married Hecht. Though this approach vividly renders Kaufman's personal strangeness, the bickering grows tedious, and Hecht's general lack of explication doesn't help she doesn't even attempt to answer the question posed in the book's title. (Apr.)Forecast: Advertising in the New Yorker, which has published many of Hecht's short stories, may yield a few sales. Still, coming so far behind Zmuda's Andy Kaufman Revealed and Bill Zehme's Lost in the Funhouse, and containing little new information, the publication of this tedious biography seems almost as puzzling as the performer himself.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Between 1978 and 1979, short story writer Hecht (Do the Windows Open?) conducted informal and often exasperating interviews with Andy Kaufman, the "comedian" he hated the term, much preferring "song-and-dance man" who was then next to unknown. The resulting150-page manuscript lay unpublished until Kaufman's posthumous reputation prompted Hecht to brush it off, polish it up, and submit it to Random House. Initially caught off guard by Kaufman's zaniness, Hecht becomes, in the course of the intermittent, year-long conversations, an increasingly wary interviewer who lets readers draw their own conclusions. From a performance at New York City's Town Hall to an appearance on Saturday Night Live to a performance at his high school in Great Neck, Long Island, to his famous show at Carnegie Hall, Hecht traces Kaufman's early progress. To some observers and fans, Kaufman may well be a comic innovator. To many who read this book, he may appear as he did in the recent movie Man on the Moon: a pathological liar with a cruel streak. Recommended only for libraries with large entertainment holdings. Charles C. Nash, Cottey Coll., Nevada, MO
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (April 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375504575
• ISBN-13: 978-0375504570
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,884,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insight into Man who was Strange, Totally Unique Comic, September 1, 2003

By 

Renee Thorpe (Karangasem, Bali) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Was This Man a Genius?: Talks with Andy Kaufman (Hardcover)

Julie Hecht followed Kaufman around sporadically over a couple of years, trying to nail down some facts about his inspiration, his life, for Harper's.

Kaufman did appear to have some affinity for Hecht, in contrast to her report of another press interview she witnessed, hanging around for her own time with the performer.

This stripped-down book is almost the word-for-word transcripts of those furtive interviews. Sitting down with Hecht at diners, grabbing a taxi together, Andy let down his guard just enough times to offer up interesting facets of who he was. The interview Julie has with Kaufman's mother is creepily illuminating. Many revelations for the careful reader.

I found it engrossing. Perhaps best enjoyed by readers willing to set aside everything else they've read, concluded about the man.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but short, wrong interviewer, and needs editing., August 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Was This Man a Genius?: Talks with Andy Kaufman (Hardcover)

This short book is worth reading if you want to "hear" Andy converse. Don't expect any analysis or insight from the author. The title is provocative, but not very germane to the book. It should have been edited for punctuation and spelling. Also, I don't think Kaufman needs to be spelled phonetically ("Kawfman") in dialog.

I came away somewhat disliking the interviewer. She did not appear to appreciate Andy's unique performances and talents; rather than displaying the enthusiasm and curiosity of a fan or a scientist, she displayed the boredom of a high school student doing an unwanted assignment. In addition to mundane questions, her various negative comments rubbed me the wrong way, including those against The Twilight Zone and Saturday Night Live, and referring to Andy as an ex-jerk.

That said, I enjoyed seeing a little behind the curtain, such as learning that he would be flattered if you called him an absurdist or surrealist. I do appreciate the author's persistence in trying to get an interview, and he didn't make it easy. We have to make-do with whatever was gathered now that Andy is gone. (I have Zmuda's and Zehme's much more complete books on Andy; I haven't read much in them yet, but they appear good. I also recommend the movie "Man on the Moon." I'm a fan of Jim Carrey, and he did a great impersonation, but Newsweek is wrong in saying that Carrey "may be a better Andy Kaufman than Andy Kaufman." If you compare performances, Jim was somewhat flat, lacking the color and energy of Andy's originals.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Context is everything here, August 8, 2005

By 

Francisco - See all my reviews

This review is from: Was This Man a Genius?: Talks with Andy Kaufman (Hardcover)

Look, those of us who have read "Do the Windows Open" and "The Unprofessionals" know that Julie Hecht is a fabulous talent whose wit and wisdom is both as ideosyncratic and as it is humane. Knowing her body of work helps a great deal here. What we get is vignettes of two very interesting people who bicker quite a bit--but have kinship--and a shared vision. In my opinion they both see the world as an absurd place--Andy Kaufman chose to make a big deal out of this--let everyone in on the secret. Hecht seems more inclined to let the readers come to her. Those readers who suggest that Kaufman did not like Hecht miss the point of the book--He got from her some one who wasn't in on the game--but had caring for him as a person.
Readers will enjoy the relationship, and the book for what it is--a passing of like visions in different personalities.