Hologram USA, a technology company that specializes in visual recreations of celebrities, has announced that it will use hologram likenesses of comedians Redd Foxx and Andy Kaufman to create shows to be presented across the USA next year. The ghostly images of the long-deceased comic geniuses will be accompanied by recordings of their most famous routines.

The company has previously created projections of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

Redd Foxx, most famous for his portrayal of Fred Sanford in the 1970s sitcom Sanford & Son, pioneered the use of profanity in standup comedy, recording over 50 scatalogical albums with titles such as You Gotta Wash Your Ass.

Like most people in show business, Foxx worked menial jobs before attaining fame and fortune; in the 1960s, Malcolm X declared him to be “the funniest dishwasher on this earth.”

Andy Kaufman, who once appeared on Redd Foxx’s television variety show, first got national attention by lip-synching to the Mighty Mouse theme song on Saturday Night Live. In one of the strangest moments in the history of television, Kaufman walked out on stage, stood next to a small phonograph, placed the needle down on the record, and mouthed the words “Here I come to save the day!” at the appropriate times. The audience didn’t know whether to laugh or clap or feel embarrassed.

Throughout his career — which was cut short when he died at age 35 (unless he didn’t) — Kaufman continued to focus exclusively on similarly awkward stunts, blurring the line between comedy and absurdity. He transitioned from a cult figure to mainstream fame as the character Latka in the TV sitcom Taxi. In 1999, he was the subject the biographical film Man on the Moon, in which he was brilliantly portrayed by Jim Carrey.

According to a spokesperson from Hologram USA, the Foxx/Kaufman shows “will have residencies in multiple locations in tourist-oriented cities across the country… They will play several times a day for the first year and then eventually they’ll be put on a rotation with other acts.”

Source:

NYTimes.com