One of the oddest and most compelling moments in the long, rich, twisty history of Memphis culture had to be the stretch in the early ’80s when comedian and television star Andy Kaufman came to Memphis to be a professional wrestler.
Arriving as an emissary from distant Hollywood at the very peak of Memphis wresting, Kaufman became a fixture at Monday Night Wrestling cards at the Mid-South Coliseum and on the Saturday morning wrestling broadcasts on WMC, Channel 5, first challenging women to matches and then getting into a feud with Jerry Lawler that the pair eventually took national via a notorious appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.
I remember watching all of this play out in real time as a grade-schooler living in Eastern Arkansas and a dedicated Saturday morning wrestling watcher. At the time, I only knew Kaufman as the guy on wrestling. Apparently lots of adult Memphis wrestling fans were similarly in the dark.