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the most famous person in drum corps


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Am I the only one who didn't laugh? Not bad drumming though.

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:doh:

That guy is great! Very clever... and awesome drumming. Looks like his "gut" got in the way a few times... obviously a pillow.

:doh:

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thanks for posting, it was just what I needed!

after a grueling day in the trenches of drumming and program coordinating,

I justified wasting time online by finding this much needed comic relief,

thanks again!

a tenor drummer

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Tony Clifton is a fictional character created and often played by comedian Andy Kaufman in the late 1970s. Kaufman saw Clifton as the antithesis of the sweet, gentle "Foreign Man" character he was best known for (which was later adapted into Latka Gravas, Kaufman's character on Taxi). Clifton was a staggeringly untalented lounge singer with a nasal, deliberately annoying singing voice. Clifton epitomized the washed-up showbiz casualty, a "star" too lazy to even bother to remember the lyrics to his songs. Clifton would often attempt to improvise comical lyrics that were intentionally unfunny before giving up entirely without seeming to care. Clifton also tended to randomly insult patrons, passing off the abuse as the "comedy" portion of his act. Many people misunderstood Kaufman's intent, focusing on the character's foul language and prima donna antics while failing to appreciate the fact that Clifton was meant to be the comic antithesis of the typical lounge singer, a bland, genial entertainer designed to add a touch of class to a hotel and make guests feel welcome.

For a brief time, it was unclear to some that Clifton was not a real person. News programs interviewed Clifton as Kaufman's opening act, but the interviews invariably would turn ugly whenever Kaufman's name came up. Clifton claimed Kaufman was "using his good name" to get rich. (The Clifton/Kaufman "relationship" charade may be a parody of the Don Rickles/Frank Sinatra real life friendship.) Actually, in many cases, Andy Kaufman played Clifton. Promoters who thought they had caught on to the joke would hire Clifton because he was cheaper than booking Kaufman. However, Kaufman had the last laugh, enlisting his brother Michael or his showbiz partner Bob Zmuda to play the role, with Kaufman making unannounced appearances onstage during Clifton's act.

TonyCliftonMoon.jpgTony-Clifton-Cliftonettes.jpg

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