Kaufman Was My Hoax Fiance; The Taxi star pulled some of the funniest stunts on US TV, but his fake engagment fooled the world.

LEGENDARY comic Andy Kaufman pulled off his biggest hoax when he introduced his "fiancee" on live TV to millions of viewers.

Gospel singer Kathie Sullivan was paraded before the world's Press as the woman who had captured the tortured star's heart.

They fell for it hook, line and sinker, as they did with most of the stunts Kaufman pulled off.

But there's no mention of Kathie in Man On The Moon, the Hollywood blockbuster based on Kaufman's life, which stars Jim Carrey.

Film-makers chose to ignore the entire episode, though Kathie had contacted them to offer her help.

Now she has admitted her two-month "engagement" to the star in 1981 was a sham.

Kathie, 47, says: "Even now, most of Andy's fans, and the Press, think the engagement was real. But it was fiction, set up by Andy's publicity people."

Kathie was a singer on the Lawrence Welk Show when she was approached by Kaufman's publicist. She only knew the comedian from his role as Latka on the sitcom Taxi, the part for which he is best known in Britain.

Despite that, Kathie was asked to pose as his girlfriend - and the fact that she was a gospel singer made the stunt even better.

Kathie says: "This guy told me Andy had really messed up and this would help to get him back in the public's good graces.

"He begged me to go along with it and pretend it was for real. My parents weren't keen on the idea and friends warned me to be careful because it might ruin my image, but I thought it sounded like fun."

At the infamous press conference, Kaufman claimed to have met Kathie several years before on a plane.

Andy told the world: "At this point in my life, I was doing a lot of crazy things. I felt a spiritual void which Kathie helped to fill."

The "couple" held a backstage press conference and photo session before the Lawrence Welk Show, during which Kathie displayed her diamond "engagement" ring.

Kathie recalls: "Andy introduced me as his fiancee and we hugged and kissed.

"When he went on to say I was a gospel singer, the audience laughed. Then we both sang a Christian song called Home Again and the audience became quiet and respectful.

"The rest of the show went off without a hitch - Andy really pulled it off."

The charade went on for two months and kept Andy in the public eye. But the couple did begin to grow closer.

Kathie says: "Andy would call me quite often and we'd go out. He even took me to a Christmas party for the cast of Taxi and introduced me as his fiancee. We developed a genuine friendship, but we never became close physically. And neither of us ever met the other's family."

The charade ended in November 1981, when Kaufman's publicists said the engagement was off because Kathie had been pressuring Andy to stop poking fun at women in his comedy act. Kaufman died of cancer in 1984.

Kathie now lives in Texas with her husband, an accountant, and their two daughters. She still records and performs Christian music.

She says: "I enjoyed seeing Man On The Moon. I like Jim Carrey - he has what it takes to capture the essence of Andy."

And she still has a treasured memento from her relationship with Kaufman - the diamond "engagement" ring.

She reveals: "It really is an actual diamond, more than one carat - Andy never asked for it back."