American comedian Andy Kaufman was well-known for his distinctive and frequently contentious performances. From 1949 to 1984, he produced a legacy of avant-garde comedy that still has an impact on contemporary artists.

Kaufman discussed in one of his interviews how, as a child, he would occasionally use the justification of performing to get out and play. This story reveals his distinct personality and sense of humor in addition to his early interest in performing.

Kaufman's humor frequently made it difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction. He would develop characters that defied the expectations of the audience, like Tony Macho, a strange professional wrestler, or a character who read The Great Gatsby from beginning to end while performing. Rather than following conventional stand-up routines, his performances resembled social interaction experiments.

Kaufman's approach to comedy can be compared to an artist using unusual materials to create their paintings. Kaufman used commonplace events and surprising encounters to create his artwork, much like an experimental painter might use mud and twigs rather than brushes and paints. He hinted at his future career as someone who constantly found original ways to express himself creatively by using the pretext of putting together a show when he was younger.

Kaufman gently alludes to his lifelong commitment to pushing the limits of traditional entertainment with this lighthearted allusion to childhood mischief. He pushed both audiences and other comedians to think critically about what comedy is and how it should be delivered.