ANDY KAUFMAN'S 99cent TOUR

Prankster Alan Abel participated in a panel discussion about the role of the hoax in Andy Kaufman's work last night at the Participant Inc. gallery in NYC. The informal talk was hosted by Slycraft Hour creator and hoaxer, Bob Pagani, with Slycraft collaborator Albin Sadar and artist Cory Arcangel.

Cory Arcangel, Alan Abel, Bob Pagani and Albin Sadar

The evening was part of a weeklong series of screenings and talks titled, "ANDY KAUFMAN'S 99 cent TOUR," staged in conjunction with “On Creating Reality by Andy Kaufman,” on view at Maccarone organized by Jonathan Berger in collaboration with the Estate of Andy Kaufman, Lynne Margulies, Bob Zmuda, and Tony Clifton.

Two reviews about the show appeared in The New York Times and Art in America.

Alan as 'Omar the Beggar' on THE MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW

Alan's 'Omar the Beggar' character might be a distant relative of Tony Clifton's. Although Omar was not as offensive as Andy's alter ego, he definitely pissed people off along the way. There are similarities in style between Andy and Alan. They both stayed in character to the end, it's difficult to differentiate between the character and the reality and sometimes there is no point to the act except the expression itself. Alan Abel, like Andy Kaufman, was simply born to perform and test the boundaries of absurdity in the process.

ABEL RAISES CAIN On Screen In Person!

Meet legendary cultural icon and modern American satirist, Alan Abel, in the award-winning documentary, ABEL RAISES CAIN, playing one night only at the following locations, as part of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation's On Screen/In Person series. A discussion with the filmmakers, Jenny Abel and Jeff Hockett - along with special guests - will follow each of the screenings:


Oswego Cinema - Oswego, NY
Tuesday, MARCH 5th, 2013 at 7:00pm


Firehouse Theatre Project - Richmond, VA
Wednesday, MARCH 6th, 2013 at 7:30pm
(Tickets available through Modlin Center for the Arts)

Taubman Museum of Art - Roanoke, VA
Thursday, MARCH 7th, 2013 @ 7:00pm

Movies at Midway Upstairs Screening Room - Rehoboth Beach, DE
Saturday, MARCH 9th, 2013 @ 7:00pm

Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts - Annapolis, MD
Tuesday, MARCH 12th, 2013 @ 7:00pm

Pollak Theatre @ Monmouth University - West Long Branch, NJ
Thursday, MARCH 14th, 2013 @ 7:30pm

Taylor Little Theatre @ Mercyhurst University - Erie, PA
Friday, MARCH 15th, 2013 @ 2:15 and 7:15pm

Before Stephen Colbert, there was Alan Abel. A master of deadpan, Alan founded the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals with Buck Henry in the 1960s, a zany cause that lured even Walter Cronkite, the most trusted newsman in America. Their motto was, "A Nude Horse is a Rude Horse." A silly idea that caught like wildfire, news of the phony organization landed the front pages of newspapers across America.

Realizing the power of satire, Abel soon carved a niche for himself by rousing the public and poking fun at the media with other zany causes that were just believable enough to be true. For fifty years, he wreaked havoc on the world stage with such hoaxes as a Professional School for Panhandlers, Females For Felons, the KKK Symphony Orchestra, Running a Jewish Grandmother for President, Euthanasia Boat Cruises, among countless others.

ABEL RAISES CAIN is the true life story of hoaxer Alan Abel and his wife Jeanne, told through the viewpoint of their daughter, Jenny Abel, who was also an unwitting accomplice to some of Abel's pranks.

This is a night you won't want to miss! Urge fellow faculty, staff, colleagues, family and friends to attend a special screening of this unflinchingly intimate, compelling and humorous portrait of America's most notorious media prankster.

"Long before Borat hauled his mustachioed mischief across the Western Hemisphere, Alan Abel was giving interviews in the guise of ridiculous characters and whipping the world into an outraged lather... Narrated and co-directed by his daughter Jenny, ABEL RAISES CAIN is a sweet film...a loving portrait of an eccentric father." - THE SEATTLE STRANGER

"An impressive debut, featuring a story that's almost too perfect to be true, the film will keep you talking, telling others about this hilarious man who's still pulling the wool over the eyes of an unsuspecting media." - MINNESOTA DAILY

"Like a reverse Jon Stewart, Abel has been creating fake news...preying on mainstream media's insatiable thirst for the lurid, the perverse, and the wacky" - PBS POV BLOG

For further information about Alan Abel and the documentary, ABEL RAISES CAIN, please visit: http://abelraisescain.com