For most comedians who have a set cast of characters they've created as part of their acts, there's a clear delineation between performer and character. On the one hand, we had Red Skelton. On the other hand, we had Clem Kadiddlehopper.

Andy Kaufman's genius was not in the characters he created, but in the way he blurred the line between performer and character so that we never knew how much of what we were watching was Kaufman himself and how much was one of his creations. His performances were as much psychological slight-of-hand as comedy. If you allowed yourself to be taken in by the trick, he was great. If you didn't, you never got him.