His debut on SNL was a shocker. His comedy was so unlike anything ever witnessed that the audience had trouble fathoming just exactly what it was they saw. "A wizard, a true star"...truly unique and about as conceptual as one could get. Kaufman never seemed to be 'influenced' by anyone or anything...he had his own ideas of what was funny, and the levels of his comedic genius were at once simplistic yet very profound and convoluted. Performance art oriented, as stated above...his odd approach to living his life was his material (there was no separation), and therefore always uniquely his own. There will never be another like him (to the satisfaction of those who admired him as well as those who detested him)...thank God.