Andy Kaufman Is a Busboy Who Commits to the Bit in ‘Thank You Very Much’ Documentary
Andy Kaufman never wanted to feel too far away from his audience. Early in his career, he found that bussing tables at Jerry’s Famous Deli in Los Angeles kept him grounded. But that didn’t mean he didn’t bring his full-time work as a comedian to his part-time job as a busboy. In an exclusive clip from the recently released documentary Thank You Very Much, Kaufman slips on his red apron to pour coffee and deliver food to the right tables — except he added an extra step of snatching them back up before the customer could finish eating:
“Sometimes, in show business, there’s a separation between the performer and the public,” Kaufman says in the archival footage. “They don’t get to walk around among people. Being a busboy keeps me in touch with people.” The people in question don’t seem to find it particularly funny when he goes to clear their table while they’re mid-bite. Still, it’s a classic bit and a seemingly timeless one, too. TikTok is flooded with videos, many of which have amassed hundreds of thousands of views, where servers are recruited to prank unsuspecting customers by taking their food away in the middle of their meal.
“The way I can describe Andy Kaufman, basically, is excellent, hardworking, very serious in his work,” Jerry Seidman, who co-founded the deli, says in the clip. There’s only a slight scratch of sarcasm. Howard West, who co-managed Kaufman, broke down the ethos of the idea. “People contact — see how they react, see what they do,” he said. “And also look for people like myself saying, ‘Is he for real? What’s he doing? Why is he doing that?'”
One night, Kaufman pulled an extended bit on Richard Gere, who was seated in the back at a booth with a woman. “Andy wouldn’t leave them alone. He kept coming by and asking, ‘Would you like more coffee?’ Over and over and over again,” Gregg Sutton, who was Kaufman’s musical conductor, told Rolling Stone in 1999. “Gere said, ‘Quit bugging me!’ But Andy comes over again anyway and starts pouring the coffee while looking away, like somebody had called him, and the coffee starts overflowing all over the table, and Richard Gere is flipping out in his Armani suit.”
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He added: “If he knows who Andy is, he doesn’t care at this point. He’s screaming, ‘What are you doing, you stupid idiot!’ and Andy’s saying, ‘Oh, gosh, I’m sorry,’ and trying to clean up but only making it worse, pushing the coffee all over them. It was hilarious.”
The most common reactions might not have been as extreme, but there were many times when Kaufman was the only one who was in on the bit. “They would get very upset,” said Beverly Cholakian, who recommended him for hiring at the Post Bagel, another location he worked at sometimes. “They would want the food replaced. Many times I’d have to say to him, ‘OK, you’ve done enough tonight, you can leave now.’”
Thank You Very Much premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023. It was helmed by director Alex Braverman with co-producers the Safdie brothers and Morgan Neville. The documentary includes commentary and interviews from Bob Zmuda, Danny DeVito, Lynne Margulies, Steve Martin, and Marilu Henner. Thank You Very Much is now available in select theaters and on streaming.