Taxi Information

Taxi is an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher. The series, produced by the John Charles Walters Company, in association with Paramount Network Television, was created by James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, David Davis, and Ed. Weinberger.

Premise and themes

The show focuses on the employees of the fictional Sunshine Cab Company, and its principal setting is the company's fleet garage in Manhattan. Among the drivers, only Alex Rieger, who is disillusioned with life, considers cab-driving his profession. The others view it as a temporary job that they can leave behind after they succeed in their chosen careers.

Elaine Nardo is a receptionist at an art gallery. Tony Banta is a boxer with a losing record. Bobby Wheeler is a struggling actor. John Burns (written out of the show after the first season) was working his way through college. All take pity on "Reverend Jim" Ignatowski, an aging hippie minister, who is burnt out from drugs, so they help him become a cabbie. The characters also included Latka Gravas, their innocently wide-eyed mechanic from an unnamed foreign country, and Louie De Palma, the despotic dispatcher.

A number of episodes involve a character having an opportunity to realize his or her dream to move up in the world, only to see it yanked away. Otherwise, the cabbies deal on a daily basis with their unsatisfying lives and with Louie DePalma, their cruel dispatcher. Louie's assistant, Jeff Bennett, is rarely heard from at first, but his role increases in later seasons.

Sunshine Cab goes through a change of owners. They are referred to, but seldom seen: Ed McKenzie (who appears in one episode, played by Stephen Elliott), and, later, Ben Ratlidge (who is also only seen in one episode, played by Allen Garfield).

Despite the zany humor of the show, Taxi often tackled such dramatic issues as drug addiction, single parenthood, blindness, obesity, animal abuse, bisexuality, teenage runaways, failed marriage, sexual harassment, pre-menstrual mood disorders, gambling addiction, and the loss of a loved one.

Cast

This table does not count the two-part "Taxi Celebration/Retrospective"

Actor	Role	Years	Seasons
Judd Hirsch	Alex Rieger	1978"1983	1"5
Danny DeVito	Louie De Palma
Marilu Henner	Elaine O'Connor Nardo
Tony Danza	Tony Banta
J. Alan Thomas	Jeff Bennett		1"5 (Supporting)
Christopher Lloyd	Reverend Jim 'Iggy' Ignatowski		1 (Guest), 2 (Guest then Star), 3"5 (Star)
Jeff Conaway	Bobby Wheeler	1978"1982	1"3 (Star), 4 (3 Episodes)
Andy Kaufman	Latka Gravas	1978"1983	1"5 (Starring Credit When Present)
T.J. Castronova	Tommy Jeffries (Bartender At Mario's)	1979"1983	1"5 (Supporting)
Randall Carver	John Burns	1978"1979
Carol Kane	Simka Gravas	1980"1983	2 (1 Episode), 4 (2 Episodes), 5 (starring credit when present)
Rhea Perlman	Zena Sherman/Louie's Girlfriend4	1978"1983	1"5 (guest star)

Main cast

• Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch) " Alex is the sensible, pragmatic, compassionate core of the show, the one everyone else turns to for advice. At one point, he reveals his frustration with this unwanted burden. He once worked in an office, with a good chance of advancement, but lost his job owing to his refusal to follow the company line. He was married to Phyllis Bornstein (Louise Lasser), and when she divorced him because of his lack of ambition she sought sole custody of their baby daughter, Cathy. He gave in rather than fight. He is also estranged from his philandering father, Joe (Jack Gilford). Alex is a recovered compulsive gambler, although he relapses in one episode. A dry-humored pessimist, he has resigned himself to driving a cab for the rest of his life.

• Robert "Bobby" Wheeler (Jeff Conaway) (1978"1981, recurring 1981"1982) " Bobby is a shallow, conceited actor whose pretensions are Louie's favorite target. Success eludes Bobby as a struggling actor. Once, he is signed up by a famous manager, but it turns out she does not want to represent him; she only wants him as a lover. Another time, he is cast in a pilot for a soap opera called Boise. The show goes into production, but his part is recast. Conaway left the show after Season 3, but made a guest appearances in Season 4. On The Howard Stern Show, Taxi writer Sam Simon said that when Conaway was absent during the production of one episode, his dialogue was reassigned to the other cast members who delivered the jokes as well or better, which made the producers realize that Conaway was expendable.

• Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito) " The head dispatcher for the Sunshine Cab Company, Louie spends the bulk of his time holding court inside the caged-in dispatch office at the garage and trading insults with the drivers. He not only has no morals to speak of, he positively revels in his misdeeds. Nothing is beneath him, from taking advantage of a drunken friend of his sometime-girlfriend Zena Sherman (played by DeVito's real-life wife Rhea Perlman) to gambling with a young boy to stealing from the company. He lives with his mother (DeVito's real mother, Julia, in two episodes). He has (on very rare occasions) helped his workers, as in the episode in which an arrogant hairstylist (played by Ted Danson) gives Elaine a garish makeover just before a very important event and further humiliates her by stating he "didn't know how to do taxi drivers". It is Louie who bolsters her confidence to confront him. In 1999, TV Guide ranked De Palma first on its list of the 50 greatest TV characters of all time. The character was in part inspired by a very brief shot of a diminutive, gravel voiced, caged taxi dispatcher in the movie "Taxi Driver" angrily barking out pick up assignments to his cabbies.

• Elaine O'Connor Nardo (Marilu Henner) " Elaine is a divorced mother of two, struggling to cope while trying to realize her ambitions in the field of fine art. The object of lust of Louie, she is attracted to characters played by actors ranging from Tom Selleck to Wallace Shawn.

• Anthony Mark "Tony" Banta (Tony Danza) " The sweet-natured, if somewhat dimwitted, boxer has little success in the sport. In fact, Louie makes a lot of money betting against him. Finally, the boxing commission takes away his license because he has been knocked out one too many times. Though not by any means the smartest of the cast, he has no trouble comprehending the meaning of Latka's speech, even though he cannot actually understand him. Danza actually was a professional boxer. In the final season, Tony is introduced to new girlfriend Vicki (Anne De Salvo) by Simka. He and Vicki have a falling out after she becomes pregnant by him, but reconcile and get married.

• Reverend Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd) (guest star 1978, main cast 1979"1983) " A burned-out relic of the '60s, Jim lives in a world of his own. He was once a hard-working, serious student at Harvard University, with an extremely wealthy father (Victor Buono), but one bite of a drug-laden brownie was enough to get him hooked and send him into a downward spiral. (His last name was originally Caldwell; he changed it to Ignatowski, thinking that the backward pronunciation of that name was "Star Child".) The cabbies help him pass a written exam to become one of them, in a particularly memorable episode. He occasionally exhibits unexpected talents, such as the ability to play the piano masterfully. TV Guide placed Ignatowski 32nd on its list of the 50 greatest TV characters.

• Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman) " Latka is an immigrant from a very strange (presumably Eastern European) land, often speaking in his invented foreign tongue ("ibi da", "nik nik"). He works as a mechanic, fixing the taxis. Latka was an adaptation of the "Foreign Man" character Kaufman originated in his stand-up comedy act. He eventually grew tired of the gag, so the writers gave Latka multiple personality disorder, allowing Kaufman to play other characters, the most frequent one being a repellent, smooth-talking lounge-lizard persona calling itself Vic Ferrari. In one episode however, he becomes Alex, with profound insights into "his" life. Just when he is about to reveal to the real Alex the perfect solution for all his problems, he reverts to Latka.

• Simka Dahblitz-Gravas (Carol Kane) (recurring 1980"1982, starring 1982"1983) " She is from the same country as Latka. They belong to different ethnic groups which traditionally detest each other, but they fall in love and eventually get married. She is much more assertive than her husband, often standing up to Louie for him.

• John Burns (Randall Carver) (1978"1979) " The naive young man who works as a cabbie to pay for college, where he is working towards a degree in forestry. According to Carver, "...the characters of John Burns and Tony Banta were too similar...Some of the lines were almost interchangeable...," so he was dropped after the first season, without explanation. The pilot episode, "Like Father, Like Daughter," established that John started working for the cab company after he was a passenger in Alex's cab. John didn't have change, so he has to ride with Alex to the garage to pay him. Once there, he starts hanging around and eventually applies for a job. In the episode "The Great Line," he spontaneously marries a woman named Suzanne, and their marriage stays together throughout the rest of his run on the series.

Recurring guest cast

• Jeff Bennett (J. Alan Thomas) " Sunshine Cab's assistant dispatcher, he shares the "cage" with Louie but rarely speaks or interacts with the other characters. A quiet African-American man with an afro, Jeff appears throughout the show's run, initially as a background performer, but as the series progresses he gradually becomes more of a featured supporting player. In the Season 5 episode "Crime and Punishment", Louie falsely accuses Jeff of stealing car parts from the company and selling them on the black market"?a crime which Louie himself committed.

• Tommy Jeffries (T.J. Castronova) " The bartender and waiter at Mario's, the restaurant where the group often hangs out. Tommy is pretty friendly with the group, taking an interest in their personal lives.

• Zena Sherman (Rhea Perlman) (1979"1982) " The woman who fills the vending machine. She begins a romantic relationship with Louie (played by Perlman's real-life husband DeVito), but Zena gets married after they break up.

• Greta Gravas (Susan Kellerman) (1979"1982) " Latka's mother who shares his strange cultural practices. The cabbies find her to be surprisingly attractive and she has a short fling with Alex.

• Phyllis Bornstein-Consuelos (Louise Lasser) (1980"1982) " Alex's ex-wife with whom he has a daughter. She has since remarried.

Guest stars

Guest stars on the show included Ruth Gordon, Eileen Brennan, Marcia Wallace, Bubba Smith, Penny Marshall, Ted Danson, Jeffrey Tambor, Martin Mull, Herve Villechaize, Wallace Shawn, Tom Selleck, Talia Balsam, Victor Buono, Mandy Patinkin, Julie Kavner, Jimmy Lennon, Wally "Famous" Amos, Al Lewis, George Wendt, Craig T. Nelson, Tom Ewell, Dick Butkus, Dee Wallace, Lenny Baker, Lassie, Martin Short, Paul Sand, Ernie Hudson, Vincent Schiavelli, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Tom Hanks, Dick Sargent, Robert Picardo and Mark Blankfield. Ruth Gordon won an Emmy for her her guest spot and Eileen Brennan was nominated for an Emmy for her guest spot on the show.

Awards and nominations

Taxi is one of television's most lauded shows. During its run, the sitcom was nominated for 31 Emmy Awards and won 18, including three for Outstanding Comedy Series. It was also nominated for 25 Golden Globes, with four wins (three for Best TV Series " Musical/Comedy). In 1979, it received the Humanitas Prize in the 30 minute category. It was also ranked 48th in TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 1997, two of the show's episodes, "Latka the Playboy" and "Reverend Jim: A Space Odyssey" were respectively ranked #19 and #63 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

Awards

Emmy Awards:

• Comedy Series (1979"1981)
• Lead Actor in a Comedy Series " Judd Hirsch (1981, 1983)
• Guest Actress in a Comedy Series " Ruth Gordon (1979)
• Lead Actress in a Comedy Series " Carol Kane (1982)
• Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series " Carol Kane (1983)
• Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series " Danny DeVito (1981)
• Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series " Christopher Lloyd (1982, 1983)
• Directing in a Comedy Series " James Burrows (1980, 1981)
• Writing in a Comedy Series " Michael J. Leeson (1981)
• Writing in a Comedy Series " Ken Estin (1982)
• Film Editing for a Series " M. Pam Blumenthal (1979"81), Jack Michon (1981)

Golden Globe Awards:

• Best Television Series-Comedy (1979"1981), tied in 1980 with Alice
• Best TV Supporting Actor " Danny DeVito (1980), tied with Vic Tayback in Alice

Additional nominations

Emmy Awards:

• Comedy Series (1982, 1983)
• Lead Actor in a Comedy Series " Judd Hirsch (1979, 1980, 1982)
• Lead Actress in a Comedy Series " Eileen Brennan (1981)
• Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series " Danny DeVito (1979, 1982, 1983)
• Directing in a Comedy Series " James Burrows (1982)
• Writing in a Comedy Series " Michael J. Leeson (1979)
• Writing in a Comedy Series " Glen Charles and Les Charles (1980, 1981)
• Writing in a Comedy Series " David Lloyd (1981)
• Writing in a Comedy Series " Barry Kemp and Holly Holmberg Brooks (1982)
• Writing in a Comedy Series " Ken Estin (1983)

Golden Globe Awards:

• Television Series-Comedy (1982"1984)
• Actor in a TV Series-Comedy " Judd Hirsch (1979"1983)
• TV Supporting Actress " Marilu Henner (1979"1983)
• TV Supporting Actress " Carol Kane (1983)
• TV Supporting Actor " Tony Danza (1980)
• TV Supporting Actor " Danny DeVito (1979, 1981, 1982)
• TV Supporting Actor " Jeff Conaway (1979, 1980)
• TV Supporting Actor " Andy Kaufman (1979, 1981)

Production

Taxi was inspired by the non-fiction article "Night-Shifting for the Hip Fleet" by Mark Jacobson, which appeared in the September 22, 1975 issue of New York magazine. This article helped suggest the idea for the show to James L. Brooks and David Davis, though nothing from the article was used directly. The article was a profile of several drivers who worked the night shift for a New York cab company.

The series was produced on Stage 23 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California, from July 5, 1978, to February 18, 1983.

Production notes

When the series was cancelled by ABC, it seemed for a time that the premium cable television network HBO would pick up the series. When it didn't, the series was picked up by NBC, which at first kept it on at its ABC time slot of Thursday 9:30 p.m following the first season of Cheers.

Opening sequence

The opening titles show a cab driving east across the Queensboro Bridge. The footage originally was intended as a "bridge" between scenes and is only about fifteen seconds long; parts of it are subtly repeated a few times to fill the opening.

The external establishing shot of the Sunshine Cab Company was of an actual taxi garage and gas station located on Charles and Hudson streets in New York's West Village. The building has since been demolished, and an apartment building and a Rite Aid pharmacy went up on the site.

Theme music

Bob James wrote the opening theme, "Angela", which was originally intended for a sequence in episode #3 ("Blind Date"). The producers liked this slower, more melancholy tune better than the up-tempo opening theme they had initially chosen ("Touchdown"). Both songs are on James's 1978 album, Touchdown.

In 1983, James released The Genie, an LP containing much of the incidental music he had written for Taxi during its run.

Episodes

See List of Taxi episodes for more information On ABC, the first two seasons aired Tuesdays at 9:30, the third season aired Wednesdays at 9:00 and Thursdays at 9:30 and the fourth season aired Thursdays at 9:30. On NBC, the final season aired Thursdays at 9:30, Wednesdays at 9:30 and 10:30 and Saturdays at 9:30.

Cast reunions

Danny DeVito hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live soon after Taxi was canceled after the fourth season. During the opening monologue, DeVito read a letter supposedly from his mother asking God to forgive ABC for cancelling the show, adding that "but I'll understand if you don't." A filmed bit had him driving around New York looking morose until inspiration strikes, and he blows up the ABC building. In addition, the Taxi cast members were given an opportunity for closure, which up to that point had been denied them due to the abrupt cancellation. The actors took their "final" bows during DeVito's opening monologue, only to have NBC (which aired SNL) pick up the show.

Decades later, most of the cast returned to play their younger selves and briefly re-enact scenes for the Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon. Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner, Jeff Conaway, Carol Kane, Randall Carver, J. Alan Thomas and Christopher Lloyd all reprised their roles. The only two living members of the Taxi cast who didn't reprise their roles were Danny DeVito, who produced and co-starred in the film as Kaufman's manager George Shapiro, and Tony Danza. Kaufman had never gotten along with Danza during the taping of the original Taxi series, and because of this, Danza felt it would be hypocritical to appear in the film.

Several of the surviving cast members (along with surviving cast members from other Judd Hirsch and Bob Newhart vehicles) reunited in different roles for an episode of the Judd Hirsch/Bob Newhart series George & Leo.

In January 2009, Danny DeVito made mention of wanting to make a Taxi reunion movie. There has yet to be any news of this project moving forward.

References in popular culture

According to the film Man on the Moon which centered partially around Andy Kaufman's role on Taxi, Kaufman negotiated a certain number of appearances for his alter ego, Tony Clifton, into his contract with ABC. The film goes on to show a scenario in which Kaufman deliberately attempted to sabotage the taping of an episode of Taxi in the guise of Tony Clifton because, as the film explains, Kaufman was severely disappointed in his casting as Latka and truly wanted nothing to do with the show, but felt obligated by his friendship with George Shapiro and the money he was being offered for the role. However, a preface to the film by Kaufman (played by Jim Carrey) explained that the movie was a fictionalized, embellished and chronologically inaccurate portrayal of his life and the viewer was not expected to leave the film with a clear and true picture of it, therefore the reality of the event, as are much of the events in the film, is in question. Parts of this story have been confirmed by Danny DeVito in the book Hailing Taxi.

Kaufman Cabs is a Taxi firm based in Little Haiti which is seen in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The firm takes its name from Andy Kaufman, who played the taxi mechanic in Taxi.

DVD releases

All five seasons of Taxi have been released from Paramount Home Entertainment. The first three seasons of Taxi were released on DVD in Region 1 between 2004-2005. It took almost four years until Paramount released The Fourth Season on September 22, 2009, and The (Fifth &) Final Season on December 22, 2009 (the last two seasons were released in conjunction with CBS Home Entertainment). Only seasons 1 & 2 have been released in Region 2.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release dates
		Region 1	Region 2
The Complete First Season	22	October 12, 2004	April 28, 2008
The Complete Second Season	24	February 1, 2005	February 9, 2009
The Complete Third Season	20	September 13, 2005	TBA
The Fourth Season	24	September 22, 2009	TBA
The (Fifth &) Final Season	24	December 22, 2009	TBA

Footnotes