What is with the end of man on the moon? Are the writers of the movie trying to say Andy Kaufman faked his death or was there a real Tony Clifton or WHAT? I don’t get it.
I think they were saying that somewhere, somehow, Andy still lives. Read this link to learn more:
I believe the factual basis for the ending was that Andy’s writing/creative partner, whose name suddenly escapes me, actually took over the Tony Clifton character after Andy’s death. So, Clifton, this supposed other entity, actually survived after Kaufman was gone.
No, elvis that guy( andy’s partner ) was sitting in the audience while Tony Clifton was performing at the end. It couldn’t have been him.
FTR, Andy’s friend and partner was named Bob Zmuda. He regularly did the Tony Clifton character while Andy was still alive. In interviews and whatnot, people would think they were watching Andy Kaufman, but Andy would be at home, laughing because he fooled everyone. I don’t remember the movie, so I can’t help you there. (I’m sorry about that.)
The ending was supposed to be a mystery, because there are many theories that Andy is still alive somewhere. So they put that into the movie. It’s not really known, but Andy’s younger brother, Michael, also did Clifton impersinations. In his book about knowing Andy, Andy Kaufman: Revealed!, Bob Zmuda says that after Andy’s death he would do shows with Michael as Tony and Bob would get on stage. So if you want an explanation, that would be the best bet.
I think it was supposed to hint that Kaufman was still alive and playing Clifton. The point of Kaufman’s humor (and the movie understood this quite well), was to make the audience think “Is he joking or not?” Faking his death would be the ultimate Kaufman gag.