SCHEDULE
SF Sketchfest and Cobb’s Comedy Club Present
The Return of Tony Clifton
In the late 1970s, the late legendary comedian Andy Kaufman met and befriended Las
Vegas lounge act Tony Clifton– or so the story goes. Shortly after that, however, we
all learned that Andy was Tony… maybe. Either way, Tony’s back in the spotlight!
Tony Clifton is shrouded in mystery and rightfully so, as the late great comedian Andy
Kaufman wanted it that way.
According to Kaufman himself, he hitchhiked to Las Vegas in 1969 to see Elvis Presley.
After the show, Andy stumbled into a seedy lounge in the bad side of town and saw an
act that would change his life forever: Tony Clifton!
It wasn't long until Kaufman became popular (due to the TV series “Taxi”) and
demanded that Clifton appear on the show. The producers agreed, until Tony showed up
drunk with two hookers. He was fired and had to be bodily thrown off the Paramount lot.
Kaufman became obsessed with Clifton, instructing his manager to "find Tony work.”
Surprisingly, Clifton was able to appear on a number of mainstream TV shows in the late
70's and early 80's, performing duets with everyone from Dinah Shore to Miss Piggy.
He even appeared on the David Letterman Show and Letterman thought it was Andy
Kaufman in disguise. Meanwhile, Kaufman was watching the show back home in L.A.
and was rolling on the floor with laughter, knowing he pulled one over on the King of
Late Nite. After Kaufman's untimely end in 1984, there were those who believed that
Andy had faked his death and was, in fact, now performing as Clifton. The Milos Forman
film Man on the Moon, that starred Jim Carrey, further fueled these rumors. Fans were
further stunned when Tony made a rare appearance alongside Michael Stipe and R.E.M.
at the Hollywood Bowl.
After a brief appearance on "The Jimmy Kimmel Show" in 2004, followed by a sold
out performance at L.A.'s House of Blues, Tony had been in communicado. Then in
2008, everything changed when he was arrested in New Orleans for disorderly conduct.
The nationally recognized charitable organization, Comic Relief, came to his rescue,
persuading the judge to give him "community service" instead of jail time. Thus "Tony
Clifton and his Katrina Kiss-My-Ass Orchestra" was born (this is a continuation of
Comic Relief’s commitment to support artists affected by Hurricane Katrina). The
Orchestra went on tour and continues to take the country and critics by storm.
Though rumors still persist that Andy Kaufman himself will show up, Clifton is quick
to reply: "Andy's DEAD!!! lf you want to see Kaufman, get yourself a flashlight and a
shovel."
Thursday, October 28, 8pm
buy tickets
Friday, October 29, 8pm buy tickets
Saturday, October 30, 8pm buy tickets
Cobb’s Comedy Club
915 Columbus Ave (at Lombard)
San Francisco, CA 94133
SF Sketchfest and City Arts & Lectures Present
An Evening with Maya Rudolph
SF Sketchfest once again teams up with City Arts & Lectures to present one of our
favorite comedy performers. Maya Rudolph was a featured player on “Saturday Night
Live” for seven seasons where she performed such characters as Donatella Versace,
Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Condoleezza Rice, Oprah Winfrey, Paris Hilton and
Christina Aguilera. Films include Idiocracy (2006), A Prairie Home Companion (2006),
Shrek The Third (2007), Away We Go (2009) and Grown Ups (2010).
Tuesday, November 30, 8pm buy tickets
Herbst Theatre
401 Van Ness Ave (at McCallister)
San Francisco, CA 94102
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