‘Saturday Night Live’: Andy Kaufman Was Banned Over ‘Cheap’ Audience Call Line Vote
American entertainer Andy Kaufman had an intriguing run on Saturday Night Live in the early days of the late-night sketch comedy show. He didn’t necessarily consider himself a comedian, but he understood how to deliver a performance that captivated audiences. Unfortunately, Saturday Night Live banned Kaufman from the show when viewers ultimately took advantage of a “cheap” call line that allowed audiences to vote on his fate.
Andy Kaufman was invited onto ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1975
Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels invited Kaufman on to the comedy show to perform rather often, even though he had mixed reviews. He was known for his act called Foreign Man, who was from a fictional island with a thick accent. However, Kaufman almost always ended his act with a very impressive Elvis Presley impersonation.
“Women’s Wrestling Champion” was the infamous and controversial act that drew the most attention. He would bring female volunteers from the crowd up to wrestle with him. Kaufman almost always won and would call himself the “Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World.”
‘Saturday Night Live’ banned Andy Kaufman after a viewer call line
According to Far Out Magazine, Saturday Night Live executive producer Dick Ebersol put Kaufman’s fate in the hands of the show’s audience. He gave viewers the power to determine if he would remain on the show or never return to the comedy sketch show ever again. It initially appeared to be a joke, but Ebersol was entirely serious.
Saturday Night Live created two phone numbers for audiences to call in to vote. One number was to “Keep Andy,” and the other was to “Dump Andy.” The cast members appeared in between sketches to reiterate the phone numbers. Some of them tried to emphasize that they should keep him, with Eddie Murphy half-jokingly threatening the audience not to kick his co-star off the show.
The viewers decided to “Dump Andy” and the cast members expressed their disappointment. They even called out the executive producer for following through with the ban from a “cheap” phone line vote. Kaufman was desperate to get back on Saturday Night Live. Therefore, he decided to purchase airtime on several channels to plead his case. Nevertheless, he never made it back onto the television show ever again.
He died in 1984
Not long after his final appearance on Saturday Night Live, Kaufman died of lung cancer in 1984 at the young age of 35 years old. He frequently pulled elaborate pranks on people, so some folks came up with a conspiracy theory that he faked his death. As a result, his death was shrouded in mystery for a period of time. However, his cast members and family never fed into these rumors.
Kaufman evoked plenty of negative reactions from Saturday Night Live audiences for his controversial skits. However, he was also respected for his approach to performance comedy and the variety of characters that he brought to the world.
