Hoaxer Or The Hoaxed? Andy Kaufman's Brother Backpedals On 'Alive' Rumours

Andy Kaufman's brother Michael Kaufman appeared on CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper on Thursday (November 14, 2013) to claim that he himself has been the victim of a hoax meant to trick him into believing his famous brother is still alive and the father of a 24-year-old woman.

"I believe I am part of the hoax," Kaufman said. "I don't believe that [the woman claiming to be his daughter] is acting on her own, though."

Only, Michael was the one who claimed he had received a letter from his brother in 1999, alerting him to the fact that he was still alive. He was also the one who brought a woman purporting to be Andy's daughter on-stage in New York on Monday night.

Kaufman was one of the biggest names in American comedy before his death and worked closely with the likes of Robin Williams. He was played by Jim Carrey in the 1999 movie Man on the Moon.

"He just wanted to be a stay-at-home dad, that's why he wanted to leave the showbiz," she explained.

"He's pretty much a great dad, and raised us. My mom has her own business... He helps her with that kind of thing, paperwork and stuff, so he can work from home and he doesn't have to be hiding out [or] concealing himself."

In a video posted on gossip site TMZ, Michael is seen asking the woman whether his brother Andy is "getting close to revealing himself" before asking the audience not to follow the woman after she left the building.

"I won't give you her name. I don't even know [her] name.Let her have her privacy," he says, "Send him my love."

Next page: How the Smoking Gun exposed Michael Kaufman's hoax. Or did they?

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Though we essentially called the woman out as an actress on Thursday, The Smoking Gun confirmed that she is indeed a New York actress named Alexandra Tatarksy and was hired to play the role of the Taxi star's daughter.

According to a source familiar with the stunt, Tatarsky met Michael Kaufman earlier this year while working at a Manhattan gallery exhibiting a collection of Kaufman's "ephemera and artifacts." The actress was allegedly then recruited by Michael Kaufman to play the role of Andy's daughter.

During his appearance on CNN, Michael flatly denied the report.

"I'm still trying to process it all" he said, "I'm questioning things as much as everyone else. Now that it's Thursday and not Monday anymore, I believe that I am part of a hoax, I don't believe that she's acting on her own though. I did not know how to reach her, but now [with the] Smoking Gun.I'm sure there's some way of reaching her now."

What do you think? Did Michael Kaufman know about the hoax, or is he himself being hoaxed?