Andy Kaufman was an entertainer.
Andy Kaufman . After working in small comedy clubs in the early 1970s , Kaufman first came to the attention of a wider audience in 1975 , when he was invited to perform portions of his act on the first season of Saturday Night Live . During this time , he continued to tour comedy clubs and theaters in a series of unique performance art / comedy shows , sometimes appearing as himself and sometimes as obnoxiously rude lounge singer Tony Clifton . In 1982 , Kaufman brought his professional wrestling villain act to Letterman 's show with a staged encounter with Jerry `` The King '' Lawler of the Continental Wrestling Association ( although the fact that the altercation was planned in advance was not publicly disclosed for over a decade ) .