In The Spotlight with Florence Carmela; Sports Broadcaster & Galvanize Founder Laura Okmin

EMPOWER    TEACH    CREATE
(Written by Florence Carmela 7/25/19)

You know I am always looking for good causes, companies & foundations that support and nurture women to write about on my website and share with all of you. Well on Monday, July 22nd I had the pleasure of interviewing TV Sports Broadcaster Laura Okmin about her wonderful company GALvanize that she founded over 10 years ago, and I find to be one of the most amazing companies out there that fully support women and their future endeavours. 

Through her company Laura offers coaching, bootcamps & workshops for women to elevate them to the next level both personally and professionally. GALvanize offers women (of all ages) 2 day bootcamps that prepare them for an exciting career in Broadcasting, either in front of the camera or behind the scenes.
 
Day 1 is all about the woman, as an individual…knowing her own story. As Laura shared with me “Its all about learning your own story before you can tell anyone else’s!” Which is an integral part of this bootcamp. Self discovery, confidence building and team work are the main focus on Day 1 of the bootcamp. These women, also create intimate bonds with one another, some that continue to be mentoring relationships and true friendships that last way beyond these bootcamps.

Day 2 is all about the NFL teams they partner with. On the second day, the ladies get to work with NFL players, some in front of the camera exercising their interview skills and learning the tools that they will need to succeed in this very competitive business Laura has been a part of, successfully, for over 25 years. She explains it as “the women getting to work in front of the camera, after we have worked with them and prepared them for this, rather than just throwing them out there.”

I think its truly wonderful that someone like Laura Okmin, who knows this business and has experienced the hurdles, knows how much hard work and persistence it takes to succeed can offer this to women and assist them in making their dreams a reality!!

If you would like more information on Laura Okmin and GALvanize please visit:

You can also follow her on Twitter @LauraOkmin and @GALvanizeLife and on Instagram at lauraokmin.

“Remembering Penny Marshall; The Simplest of Things”

Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams

The simplest of things.

In the 70’s and 80’s television was the opposite of television of today in so many ways. In today’s world we love bad people, violence, sex in any form, and reality shows that aren’t real. Tastes are as shallow as a puddle in the Mohave dessert. It wasn’t always that way though.

When it was announced that iconic actress and director Penny Marshall had passed away at the age of 75 due to complications from diabetes, there was a true sadness felt around the world. A simple tom boy, who grew up to be a giant giving us entertainment that the whole family could enjoy.

Garry & Penny Marshall

Her hit show with Cindy Williams was of course Laverne & Shirley. It took television by storm with their quirky friends and honest friendship with many bumps along the way. It was innocent, fun, and made you feel good to watch it. It usually was on right after another iconic show, Happy Days. Through the innocence of the time and the overall love and compassion the characters had for one another, it allowed people to escape into a world that had a lot of craziness, but in the end was about togetherness and a feeling of belonging. From Little House on the Prairie to the Walton’s, the shows of the time made us feel good. They made us cry, laugh, and remember our own issues with friends, family and siblings. In the end though, the characters are cared about and loved.

With Marshall’s character Laverne, we all could relate to her and most of us had a friend like her. A tomboy, a little vulgar and un-lady like, who was honest and raw.   It was impossible to not fall in love with her. With Cindy Williams playing the prissy and prude Shirley, they were a television team made in heaven.

The cast of Laverne & Shirley

Penny Marshall was far from done when Laverne & Shirley ended. With the support of her uber talented brother Garry, she directed and produced such movies as Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Big, A League of Their Own, Cinderella Man, Renaissance Man, and Awakenings. Big became the first 100 million dollar film that was directed by a woman. Each film in their own way an inspiration into the heart of people while bringing out the best in them.

Time is a cruel mistress and it takes away the people we love and those entertainers of our youth that brought us so much joy. And many times as adults, we can get through difficult situations watching shows of the past that made us laugh, cry, and dream. Penny Marshall gave us those feelings with her amazing talent. The feelings of love, honesty, compassion and kindness.  That’s why we already miss her.

The simplest of things.

“Real and Raw; The Heartbreak of Betrayal; How to Handle It and Grow From it”

 

I thought it would be unique if I wrote an article when the writer was experiencing the very thing they are writing about. How to get over the pain of betrayal which I am going through now. Be it friendship, business or relationships, in the end the cream rises to the top, and the dirt falls to the ground.

I remember watching the movie Braveheart. What hit me was the scene during the fight at Falkirk when William Wallace was betrayed by Robert the Bruce.  Instead of slicing Bruce’s throat, Wallace just sat back in disbelief.

If you look on Wallace’s face when he realizes he’s been betrayed, you see sheer pain. You can almost see his spirit being taken as if someone had literally turned out a light inside his heart. In the moment when he was most open and trusting, his heart was ripped out.   Tears welled up in his eyes and at that moment he gave up. When Bruce looked into Wallace’s eyes, he finally got him on a horse and helped to save him by letting him ride away. The immense pain he saw on Wallace’s face tortured Bruce.

Robert the Bruce: Lands, titles, men, power, nothing.
Robert’s Father: Nothing?
Robert the Bruce: I have nothing.  Those men who bled the ground red at Falkirk, they fought for William Wallace, and he fights for something that I never had. And I took it from him, when I betrayed him. I saw it in his face on the battlefield and it’s tearing me apart!
Robert’s Father: All men betray. All lose heart.
Robert the Bruce: I DON’T WANT TO LOSE HEART! I want to believe as he does.

In Braveheart, Wallace believed in his cause and in the relationships he had created.  Loyalty, honor and courage was his foundation.  Bruce betrayed that loyalty.  Bruce sold out Wallace for his own gain even though he knew it would destroy him. Bruce saw his ugliness eventually and he saw the pain he had caused.  Eventually he backed Wallace’s cause instead of hindering it. He wanted to restore what little self respect he still had and he had a conscious after all. He realized in the end, he wanted to have that spirit of truth and loyalty that Wallace had over the wealth and power his betrayal promised.

Toxic People:

Here is a great article on toxic people.   Things that are seen in such a person is that they are manipulative, demanding and dramatic.  Many can also be selfish, moody, and demand you pick them over others. They are a cancer and are sick and need to be avoided.   Many times when people are betrayed, they look back and see these things in the people they trusted. I’ve seen these things from manipulative teens to dysfunctional adults. It’s scary to watch their narcissism without a conscious to anyone but themselves.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-flux/201608/8-things-the-most-toxic-people-in-your-life-have-in-common

The Excuses of Betrayal:

I’ve never heard a person in my life say, “I don’t want to take your help because I’m really confused right now. I don’t know who I am and I really need to find myself. I’m still learning who I am and want to focus on that so I can’t take your help at this time. During this process I really don’t want to burden you or take up your time. When I have my head on straight I’ll call you and during this process I’ll keep you posted on how I am doing”. Selfish people don’t do this.  In reality they don’t care if they are a burden to you or if they drain others.  They just want things to get better for themselves and it doesn’t matter who they have to hurt to make it happen.  They will lie, make promises and do whatever it takes to get what they want.  These are the things you hear AFTER you help them and you are no longer an important part of their lives.

After you support them, then all of a sudden you are a stray dog. They played with you for a while because you would give them loyalty, comfort, support and all of the things they craved. Then when other people came around and they were back on their feet, they would throw the ball down a steep hill. The dog would take forever to run and get it and by the time the dog got back, the person would be gone.

These betrayers have huge issues, but they will nitpick you to death telling you how bad you act and how bad it makes them feel being oblivious to the pain they’ve created.  Funny how those things are only an issue when they don’t need you because it sure didn’t bother them when they did.  They will all of a sudden trash you behind your back and allow others to do the same.  After a while you realize their manipulative madness and say this just isn’t worth it.  Ok; you got me.  You used me but I just want you to go away.  Which they gladly will.

In reality their actions say, “you are not important to me now and I need to move on. Thanks a lot but I don’t need you anymore and you are not good enough to be in my life.  I will try and save face though so I don’t look bad”. Toxic people that betray always have a few things in their arsenal; or what we normal people call, excuses; to use, to make them feel better while they are telling you that they used you & you need to leave them alone.

The Feelings of Betrayal:

Most betrayers are master manipulators. They will turn you upside down acting confused and lost when they sure weren’t that way when they needed you. Some are so good they will even blame their own betrayal on you.   Somehow they are always the victim.   I remember asking my Uncle Phil once saying how can people knowingly hurt others? How can they say they will come through and they don’t? How can these people sleep at night? He smiled and said, “they sleep pretty well”.  You can sleep when you don’t have a conscious.

I don’t think that possibly losing that person is the thing that causes us pain, it’s that this person no longer thinks you are good enough for them.  It’s also the time and effort you put into them and how stupid you may feel for being so good to them. When they were in the mud pit and looked hopeless, you listened to their cries and jumped into the mud with them to help. If they were going down so were you. They sucked the life out of you but you were loyal.  The pain of being taken advantage is hard to take. The rejection is through the roof and it hurts.

We have to realize society has become much more selfish and some have no issues hurting others. They lack the conscious or the moral character to take care of business.   They will say all the right words, and do as much as they need to get what they want. Sometimes it’s for money or business favors or companionship when they are alone. For some in relationships it can be money and some even want eye candy to show off to others.

During their darkest and most fearful hours, you are there without judgement. When their situation looks ugly and they seem to be a mess that can’t be helped, you help them without care of being hurt. When they don’t need you anymore or the roles are reversed, there are always excuses and very little loyalty.   Something always trumps their loyalty to you, or their ability to be there for you.  That’s when you erase them from your life.

Why Do We Get Hurt:

Some get hurt because they are foolish and they trust everyone. For the most part though, many get hurt because they have compassion and care deeply for others and some people see it and take advantage of that. You feel for people and you don’t want them to hurt.

We’ve all been screwed over in our lives but usually the softhearted people get it much more often. People who are train wrecks love latching on to these people like a tick that won’t jump off a hiker. Softhearted and/or insecure people can be spotted a mile away. People know they will help and some go after them like a lion chasing a straggling antelope in a herd. These people will use the compassion of others to improve their own situation.

It’s noble to try to see good in people and to wish the best for them, but at time’s it’s also naïve. Usually the people that hurt us the most are the ones we care deeply for.

Learn From Your Mistakes:

Realize your heart was in the right place, but you shouldn’t have helped this person.  They are like a dementor in Harry Potter.  This is a soul taker; they literally drain your spirit and take every part of you when they need you.  When you are no longer needed, suddenly all of these flaws and issues about you come out.  Funny how they weren’t an issue when they needed you.  See the pattern?  Actions speak louder than words and you need to look at people’s actions over your compassion for them. Yes you screwed up by helping them; learn from it; but it still doesn’t give them the right to hurt you.

What’s really sad is as time goes on, good hearted and kind people get worn out by being burned so often and eventually they lose faith in people. They become jaded and untrusting and that is the society we live in today. A pastor friend the other day said, “it’s almost like ½ the people are jaded and have been burned a lot and the rest of the people are taking advantage of them and don’t have a conscious about it”. The key is to always keep growing, surround yourself with good people and be wary of who you help and who you let into your life.  Don’t be an open book.  Just because someone acts sweet or kind doesn’t mean they are good.

Jim’s Jamz:

Take responsibility.  It’s rough out their gang but you can do it.   Smile, move on and be rid of emotional drainers.  Let out the pain and discouragement and then take a deep breath and live again.  There are a lot of wolves in sheep’s clothing though. Sometimes the darkest people on the inside seem like the kindest, most attractive and sweetest people on the outside. Be strong, keep your eyes open, and trust in peoples actions over their words. When you give you should never want anything back but you also don’t want to be a lackey. Many times the person with the brightest smile has the most selfish intentions.   You are their life raft and once they are off the island, they will set you adrift not caring where you land or even if you land at all.   Not everyone deserves our help or our hearts and friendship.  Only give your loyalty to those that will respect it, appreciate it, and keep it for life and refuse to accept being a victim to anyone.

“I Used to be an Open Book; Learning the Hard Way Why We Need Online Privacy”

(below is an updated version of this article)

https://theforumcelebritypodcast.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/update-my-horror-stories-why-im-no-longer-an-open-book-online-privacy-overview/

“I’m an open book”, said the naive person.

I’M AN OPEN BOOK!  Some even brag about it like it’s a badge of honor.  I learned the hard way how naive a statement that is.

I remember one time I was out with friends and one of them said how they admired that I was the type of person that was the first to try new things or to do something new instead of just following what others think or did.  Another friend laughed, “yea, Jim is the dumb one that does it first and finds out all the mistakes so the rest of us don’t have to go through it”.  They both were probably right.

I remember going online years ago as a kid.  I was in wonder over the internet.  I put in an AOL disk that I got in the mail.  At 14.8, the speed at that time seemed so fast.  The internet really didn’t have that many websites but I was amazed.  Over time I started using things like Yahoo, EBAY and Paypal.

I have always wanted to think that everyone has good in them.  In reality our culture has changed and not for the better.  Morals and character are harder to find and the evil that we see in the news is pretty scary.  Are all people bad?  Of course not; but ask the thousands that get bullied online every day how things have changed.

(one billion people lose their identity in Yahoo security breach)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-business/wp/2016/10/17/one-billion-reasons-why-the-yahoo-cyber-breach-matters/

How Social Media & The Internet Has Changed Our Communication:

The internet and social media is fun and has a lot of great rewards, but it also has a downfall.  It has made many people dysfunctional communicators.  Some people in business and in personal relationships are like Hemmingway in emails, texts and chats.  Get them in person and their personality is that of a napping frog and their communication skills are as good as one of the Teletubbies.  Look at people on dates; many don’t even talk to their partner.  They are texting others, looking at videos or even flirting with other people.  Go to a movie theater and try to find people that aren’t texting someone.  We have the attention spans of puppies on espresso and as a culture, we seem to use guesses, mind reading skills or jedi mind tricks to communicate with each other instead of just talking directly.

We Are Much More Open to Promote Quicker Communication:

Most Psychology studies shows that it takes a good year to really get to know someone. That’s a lifetime now.  Instead of getting to know each other, we use Facebook, Linkedin, and Match.com, or other sites to almost “instantly” learn about someone.  The problem is it’s shallow, lazy and dysfunctional at times.  It takes time to get to know people whether we are finishing each others sentences or not.  I’ve seen people move in with others after days of meeting someone on a dating site or they go into business with someone they barely know after meeting online.  It’s sheer madness.  We want it and we want it now.  The problem is you have to build a foundation be it business or in your personal relationships, and it’s more than a profile or mouse click away.  Affiliate marketing is a huge part of internet business and in reality you are joining an unknown business run by people you don’t know.  It has a 95% fail rate for a reason.

I’ve lost my identity twice and I once was used in a scam.  Between scammers and EBAY itself, it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad.  Once two German hackers got into my EBAY account and started to put up fake adds selling high end Apple products and ended up stealing about $30,000 from people having bidders send them money by western union.

The Dangers of Being An Open Book With Online Dating:

I remember being an open book on Facebook the last 5 years especially in the dating scene when I became single.  After a while people would show up uninvited to my house and work.  I had one girl that I chatted with a couple of times do a search on me and found my business.  We had coffee once and I knew she was not the person for me plus she looked too young.  One day I came into my office to see patients in the afternoon and my secretary said, “you’re girlfriend is here”.  Well that was strange because at the time I didn’t have one.  I walked in and this cute young girl who couldn’t have been 22 was there.  I asked her what was going on.  I talked to her long enough to make sure she didn’t have an ax or Lizzie Borden tattoo, but I still wasn’t comfortable.  I eventually got rid of her.

One night when I was coming home from work, a man was sitting on my porch.  It ended up being a patient; kind of a borderline mentally ill patient that was a pretty scary guy.  He found my information from LinkedIn and Facebook and did a search on me and found my home address.  It was 11:30 pm and he asked if we could talk and if he could come in.  I actually saw my neighbor looking at him and I talked him into leaving and that if he was having issues that he should go to the ER.  I slept with a loaded gun next to my bed just in case.

I write online at times for political sites and I was Mr. Open Book then too.  Unfortunately I said something some people didn’t like and I started getting death threats.  Someone emailed me a photo of my front yard saying he was watching me.  I called the police but I was paranoid whenever anyone came by.

The worst situation I had was a girl I met online and we started to talk.  She lived near me and asked to meet.  We met a couple of times and would text and talk on the phone sometimes but just friends stuff.  There was just something not right with her and my spidey sense was tingling.  I told her that we should be online friends and that maybe one of these days we could get together again but that I was really busy at work.  I’m not a sleazy person and I don’t sleep around like a lot of people do so I just felt uncomfortable with being that close.

Some pretty girls rarely if ever hear the word no from a guy and she didn’t take it well.  She went crazy.  She started freaking out telling me who did I think I was and that she could get guys 100 times better than I was.  She then said I was messing with her and that no one messed with her and got away with it.  I’ve always tried dating the sweet, girl next door types so the psycho high maintenance I’m going to kill you while  you sleep type of girls were never my thing.

At about 12:30 am I began to get texts.  Now I have a lot of friends that text me at that time because they are night owls and usually bored; but this was different.  It was a girl asking to meet and have sex.  She then began to talk about things that we can do that I’m not quite sure are physically possible; I mean I looked it up and I don’t think those parts go together or can bend that way but I still could be wrong.  Anyways, I texted her back saying she had the wrong guy and told her to stop texting me.  I found out that angry woman had put an ad with all of my information and photo on a sex add on Craigslist.  Craigslist actually told me to call the police.  I warned her and she took the ad down.  Instead of taking my time and being careful, I was an open book with all of my personal information on Facebook and LinkedIn and I let my walls down.

(Yahoo scans emails to give to the government)

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-exclusive-yahoo-secretly-scanned-customer-emails-for-us-intelligence-sources-2016-10

Protect Your Photos:

You want to talk about open books, just go on Twitter or instagram.  People put up naked or sexual photos literally potentially ruining their reputation.  I knew a nurse once who got fired and many felt the reason was her Facebook photos that were extremely sexual.

It just blows me away how people can send near strangers naked photos of themselves and even videos.  It’s both dumb and risky at the same time and lacks class.  I know many are insecure these days needing lots of attention but man.  Once something is on the internet it is there forever!  Photos are easily stolen and I found out the hard way how people can use them to try and embarrass you or make you look bad.

Take Back Your Privacy:

I realized then that between big business pimping out our web surfing habits, locations, purchasing habits, and all of our social media information, I was not going to be used or exposed.  Now Samsung admits to recording us through some of their tv’s and appliances are the next to hook us up online.  Unfortunately there is only so much we can do to protect our information, but I’m determined to keep my accounts as private as possible.

I finally said “enough”.  I had written for many publications online but I started over.  I got a pen name and I stopped posting up family photos and giving personal information.  I closed all of my social media sites and started over.  I told my 3000 Facebook followers that I was moving on and that it had gotten too weird for me.  Magically all of the drama ended shortly after.

A New Lease on MY Online Life:

I started to write again and it felt good to not be weighed down by internet drama.  I’ve now restarted and I’ve been much less open online.  The drama is mostly gone.  Even though I have over 40k followers on my two Twitter accounts, I keep people at a distance. I now don’t have to deal with the nonsense.  I don’t put my real birthday online, or my address or my name, and I’ve slowly created safe, fun and healthy online relationships with some turning into friendships.  I’ve used Google voice for contact phone numbers and I feel much safer.

Social media and technology has entrenched a high level of trust in the latest generations and I worry about them.  Corporations have slowly eroded their sense of privacy and their respect for it.  I think some would put blood sample results online if they were asked to; they are open books and trust everyone.  They don’t have any money now but when they get older and start making money, taking their identities will be like taking candy from a baby because they are so trusting.  It’s even a risk with our money.  When I met with my banker once he spoke under his breath and told me not to use the banking application because in reality financial apps in his opinion were not safe.

Linked in is the worst.  Why in the world would I tell about myself and my business to people that are competitors so they could know what I am doing and what I’m working on.  I was taught to keep things under wraps.

It used to drive one of my ex girlfriends insane when every where we went; or even if I was online; people would tell me their life stories.  I’ve talked to people at times who will tell me their most innermost secrets and I barely know them.  Maybe in a way people are just lonely and with all of the dysfunctional communications, they just need a human being to actually talk to in person.

The Moral of The Story:

People can do what they want but I think people need to wake up and not be open books.  For our jobs some of us are forced to be as open as possible but on our personal accounts it’s our choice.  The world isn’t as safe a place anymore and people need to be much more careful.  You shouldn’t be a fearful hermit, but you also shouldn’t be Shirley Temple.  It takes one identity theft, one bad thing said online, or one picture to ruin a reputation and cause years of headaches.  Sorry Steve Zuckerberg, Apple and Google; I’m not trusting you any more.  Learn from my mistakes; I always make them before everyone else does.

 

“Andy Kaufman: He Would Have Broken The Internet: From Wrestling to Hoaxes”

Andy Kaufman was not a comedian.

When you ask a comedian what their goal is they will say to make people laugh. Andy Kaufman was different. His goal was to make himself laugh and to make you wonder if what he was doing was real or not. His goal was to watch people squirm in the realm of wonder.

Many people have said that Andy was a trail blazer for comedian’s, but I disagree. When it came to comedy, he saw the darkest and deepest path and took it.   No one then or since has ever followed him and taken that same path.

Andy once said he felt more like a song and dance man, but in reality he was so much more. From the beginning of his career you knew you were watching something unique. I’ve talked to a few people that saw Andy in clubs and the words they use to describe the shows are funny, uncomfortable, and thought provoking,

He stirred the pot and he wanted to mess with your mind by making you wonder if what you were seeing was reality or not. Life was a big prank to him and he would go to any lengths to make it seem real. Andy wanted to make himself laugh and to create a world where nothing was for sure. How many times did he do a routine where he was down and out with a hard luck story and when the crowd laughed he would smirk and say, “you shouldn’t be laughing because I’m being serious”. The crowd would then be quiet and you could feel how uncomfortable they were. Of course he wasn’t serious, and of course Andy loved it.

Some people felt disappointed when he did the television show Taxi, but he did that on the coaxing of his manager George Shapiro. Even though he hated sitcoms, it gave Andy the money and the fame to do what he wanted to do. In an interview with Tony Danza that is online, Danza said that Andy rarely came to the set during weekly rehearsals and that he stayed private. The cast of Taxi was a friendly environment and it brought an heir of animosity when Kaufman would just show up to the final reading, and then the day of tapings. What made the cast even more angry is that Andy never made a mistake.

Andy’s most famous antics to this day are still being debated. In one of his earliest appearances on David Letterman, he showed up saying he was financially strapped and needed help. David asked him what he was working on and Andy said nothing.   Letterman then asked about his bookings and Andy said he had none. He was unshaven and disheveled and had large amounts of mucous under his nose.   Letterman gave him tissue before Kaufman pleaded with the crowd to give him money to help him out. He walked out into the crowd and people started to give him money before security sent him away. Letterman wasn’t laughing.

The character Tony Clifton was pure genius. Andy created a character that was a lounge singer who was below the belt nasty with little to no talent.   In his contract, Andy actually had it written in that Tony was do to a handful of Taxi episodes. Clifton would show up each time to the Taxi set with a hooker on each arm, both being at least 6 feet tall. He then stated that the hookers would now be a part of the show.   Clifton was fired but he would not leave the set. The media; which Andy called; had a field day when Clifton was made to leave.

One of the all time epic storylines in wrestling history was the famous Andy Kaufman v.s. Jerry Lawler feud. Andy had spent months on Saturday Night Live wrestling women and began calling himself the inter gender champion.   Kaufman said that women were superior in cleaning, washing potatoes and carrots and scrubbing floors. People were incensed.  He also would get into the ring to teach the “redneck” people of Memphis, TN how to use soap and wash themselves.  The crowd went nuts!

Andy contacted Vince McMahon Sr. to see if he could get involved in the New York wrestling scene. Mr. McMahon Sr. was very sensitive to bringing anything fake into the wrestling world; the term sports entertainment hadn’t been invented yet; so he declined thinking it would ruin wrestling. Andy had a wrestling photographer friend in Bill Aptos, and he had Andy call Jerry Lawler in Memphis wrestling.

Lawler being a great showman knew this was a huge opportunity. He and Andy conspired to fool the world. Over time Lawler would coach a female wrestler to wrestle Andy. When Andy won, Lawler then challenged Andy.   In the famous first match Lawler did 2 pile drivers; a hold that powers your head into the mat; and Andy looked like he was dead but was only slightly hurt.

In a funny story, after the 2nd pile driver, Andy lay motionless on the mat. His partner in crime, writer and producer and sometimes Tony Clifton character Bob Zmuda, asked Andy if he was ok. Bob was actually the referee during the match. With the crowd roaring their approval, Andy quietly told Bob to call an ambulance. Bob then walked over to Lawler and told Jerry what Andy wanted to do. Lawler who is known for being frugal, said no way because it would cost $300. Zmuda walked over to check on Andy and told him what Lawler said. Andy whispered, “I’ll pay for it”. When Zmuda told him Andy would pay for it, Lawler said go get an ambulance.

Andy also did some very short lived television shows that were not overly supported by the networks due to his unpredictability. In one show Andy actually had the network mess up the vertical hold on the program.   This would make viewers at home think something was wrong with their tv’s.

Andy’s dream was to do a show at Carnegie Hall which he did in 1979. Saturday night live actually did a small story about it on their program that was very touching.

In a tender moment he brought out his “grandmother” who sat on the side of the stage to watch the show. She took a bow. At the end of the show his grandmother got up and clapped and then took off her mask. It was none other than his friend, fellow comedian Robin Williams.

Andy also had an elderly woman die on stage only to have him come back out as an Indian. He did a dance to revive her after the doctors pronounced her dead.  At the end of the show he wanted to thank the crowd and he had 24 busses take them out for milk and cookies and invited anyone who wanted to meet him to come to the Staten Island Ferry the next morning. He did some more bits and met his adoring fans.

Within six months of being diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer, Andy Kaufman sadly died on May 16, 1984.   His friend Jerry Lawler was in attendance at his funeral fighting back tears. Even then, tabloids, fans and the media wondered if this wasn’t another huge hoax. He had talked about faking his own death for years, but unfortunately this was not a hoax.

He was before my time but he always fascinated me and I loved learning about him. And with so many nominally talented people being famous for sex tapes, being sleazy or vulgar; or for just being attractive; you wonder what a talented person like Andy would have done to the social media world of today.

Could you imagine all of the twitter discussions or the YouTube videos proving or disproving things he said or did?  With social media he would have reached millions in a blink of an eye in a way no comedian ever could.  He would have had the world scratching it’s head but laughing all the way.  And in true form, nothing would have been more pleasing to the great Andy Kaufman.