Andy Kaufman’s brother thinks he was misquoted, his brother really is dead

Andy Kaufman is not alive. The late comedian’s brother had sparked a rumor that Kaufman might be alive, but he has now said that he thinks he’s been misquoted.

Michael Kaufman sparked an Internet firestorm by suggesting that his brother - who died in 1984 from lung cancer - was still alive at the Andy Kaufman Awards in New York Monday. As previously reported, Michael said that he found a letter in 1999 written by Andy and went to a restaurant where he received another letter. This one suggested that his brother was not dead and had gone into hiding.

Then, a 24-year-old woman took the stage, claiming that she was Andy’s daughter (which would sound strange, since Andy died 29 years ago). The Smoking Gun reported that the woman is actually Alexandra Tatarsky, a New York actress.

So, Michael spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, completely surprised by the media attention. “This is so, like, out of my league what's going on here,” he told THR over the phone.

“I think I've been misquoted, OK?" Michael said. “I never came out with, 'He's alive.' I'm as skeptical as anybody else.”

Andy Kaufman was a beloved comedian who starred on the show Taxi. He was only 35 when he died.

Here’s the TMZ video that sparked the rumors:

image: Amazon