Where did Jerry Lawler slap Andy Kaufman? Details behind the biggest moment in Memphis Wrestling history
Legendary comedian Andy Kaufman will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next month. The former Taxi star had a huge impact in bringing professional wrestling to a mainstream audience in the early 1980s.
Andy Kaufman's live act was unlike most stand-up comedy performances - it still is, really. Not wanting to be pigeon-holed as only a "comedian" (he would often refer to himself as a "song-and-dance man" instead), Andy would regularly do stunts like lip-synching to the "Mighty Mouse" theme song (but only one line) or performing as a nervous foreign man (which would be the basis for his character on Taxi).
(The clip above is actually Jim Carrey as Andy in Man on the Moon)
Why did Jerry Lawler slap Andy Kaufman... and where?
Part of Andy's act involved professional wrestling. Kaufman was fascinated with the theatrical aspect of wrestling and wanted to incorporate it into his shows. Thus, the "Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World" was born. Kaufman would challenge women in the audience to wrestle him, even offering a $1,000 prize to any female who could pin him.
Most of these challengers were plants, of course.
Eventually, Andy Kaufman brought this act to the actual world of professional wrestling - in this case Mid-Southern Wrestling, aka the Memphis territory. Andy would repeatedly insult the crowd like any good heel would (such as educating them as to what soap was). Eventually, he drew the ire of Memphis wrestling legend Jerry "The King" Lawler.
When Kaufman and Lawler finally met in the ring, The King won easily, dispatching the comedian with a piledriver. Kaufman then claimed a major neck injury from this and threatened to sue Lawler and his promotion.
In an attempt to resolve the situation, the two men appeared together on an episode of NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. The pair spent most of the interview insulting each other, until Kaufman eventually went too far.
In reality, this stunt was just that - a stunt. Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman were actually good friends in real life and planned the entire segment. Unfortunately, they failed to inform Letterman, whose look of shock and surprise was indeed genuine.
Even after his passing due to lung cancer in 1984, the truth about the incident remained a secret for over a decade. On an NBC special honoring the late Kaufman, actor Jim Carrey was the first to reveal the truth. Carrey would go on to portray Andy in the biopic Man on the Moon.