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.