One thing is for sure. Tony Clifton is larger than life, and his imposing image on the Las Vegas Strip deserves to be spilled into the right hand margin. If you don’t like him, you can leave this blog right now. He’s that big.

The late Andy Kaufman knew Tony Clifton personally. For those who only remember Kaufman as Latka Gravas from the TV series “Taxi,” you’re missing out, as Kaufman was an awesome, if eccentric, comedian. Prior to his stints on SNL, Kaufman was a stand up comic whose specialty was long set ups that often had no punch line, yet occasionally provided a responsive audience transportation to a local venue for milk and cookies. He was also a talented impersonator.

Kaufman impersonated Elvis, Tito Puente and Jerry Lawler, but his epitome [embodiment, exemplification, quintessence, essence, perfect example, exemplar, representative, type, typification, personification, incarnation, archetype, model, prototype, pattern, ultimate, last word; see also model] was Tony Clifton, and it was spot on.

I’ve never seen a better impersonation of Tony Clifton, the greatest lounge singer/entertainer/comedian ever. So welcome to  Rafael’s Silver Cloud Lounge, order a tropical beverage (the tiny umbrella is free) and tip the waitress while we introduce the next act: The Overnight Open Thread.