This character-driven humane comedy from the creators of The Mary Tyler Moore Show rolled out of the garage with a full tank of gas: a lightning-in-a-bottle ensemble, smart, witty, and compassionate writing, and extraordinary characters. The Sunshine Cab Company was a much grittier workplace than the sunny WJM newsroom. Its down, but never out employees--single mother Elaine (Marilu Henner), aspiring actor Bobby (Jeff Conaway), hapless boxer Tony (Tony Danza), reptilian dispatcher Louis (Danny DeVito), naive rube John (Randall Carver), and indeterminately foreign mechanic Latka (comic iconoclast Andy Kaufman)--struggled to keep rolling along. Judd Hirsch's salt-of-the-earth cabbie Alex Rieger solved everyone's problems but his own. Christopher Lloyd was the burn-out Reverend Jim joined the cast in season two.
Taxi's success was due to its excellent writing, Burrows's award-winning directing using his innovative four-camera technique, and its largely unknown but talented cast. Danny DeVito's Louie DePalma soon became one of the most despised men on television--possibly the most unredeemable and worthless louse of a character ever to reside on the small screen. Andy Kaufman's foreign mechanic Latka Gravas provided over-the-top comedy within an ensemble emphasizing subtle character humor.
Cast & Characters
- Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger
- Danny DeVito as Louie De Palma
- Tony Danza as Tony Banta
- Marilu Henner as Elaine O'Connor Nardo
- Jeff Conaway as Bobby Wheeler
- Andy Kaufman as Latka Gravas
- Christopher Llyod as Jim Ignatowski
- Rita Pearlman as Zena Sherman
- Randall Carver as John Burns
- Carol Kane as Simka Dahblitz Gravas
- J. Alan Thomas as Jeff Bennett
Broadcast History
First Telecast: September 12, 1978Last Telecast: July 27, 1983
Original Network:
ABC, 
NBC
Number of Seasons: 5
Number of Episodes: 115
Original Primetime Television Schedule:
- September 1978- October 1980, ABC, Tuesday 9:30-10:00pm
- November 1980- January 1981, ABC, Wednesday 9:00-9:30pm
- February 1981- June 1982, ABC, Thursday 9:30-10:00pm
- September 1982- December 1982, NBC, Thursday 9:30-10:00pm
- January 1983- February 1983, NBC, Saturday 9:30-10:00pm
- March 1983- May 1983, NBC, Wednesday 9:30-10:00pm
- June 1983- July 1983, NBC, Wednesday 10:30-11:00pm
Theme Song & Opening Credits
"Angela" by Bob JamesListen to theme song:
Buy Taxi On DVD
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Taxi Trivia
When Danny DeVito was starting out in the business, he had to have a roommate to make ends meet. His roommate was Michael Douglas.The idea for the Taxi TV show was from an article in an issue of the New Yorker magazine about cab drivers' lives.
Due to almost identical plotlines and storylines, Taxi has often been referred to as a forerunner for the TV series, "Cheers (1982)". Danny DeVito (Louie De Palma) is married to Rhea Perlman (Carla on Cheers).
Did you ever wonder if Judd Hirsch was really that smart or if his character just seemed to be in comparison to the others? Well, in real life, Judd has a college degree in Physics!
Tony Danza's character on the Taxi TV show dreamed of being a professional fighter. In real life, Tony Danza actually was a fighter before becoming a Taxi cast member.
Andy Kaufman loved to confuse his audiences by doing something they would never suspect or couldn't understand. He appeared on the very first episode of "Saturday Night Live". He played a record with the theme song to "Mighty Mouse". He just stood there looking at the audience while it played and would only sing the words, "Here I Come To Save The Day". It was hilarious, but you couldn't figure out why. When he died, people wouldn't believe it. They thought it was just another one of his gags. Oh yeah, he was also Elvis Presley's favorite as an Elvis impersonator.
His role as "Reverend Jim" was not the first time that Christopher Lloyd was seen as a "less than stable" person. In 1975, three years before the Taxi TV show began, he had a role in the movie, "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" as one of the mental patients. Oh, by the way, Danny DeVito also played one of the mental patients in that movie!
Marilu Henner dated both Tony Danza and Judd Hirsch during the show's run (One at a time).
More than 23 years after the Taxi TV show ended, its theme song would be heard on the Numb3rs TV Show at the end of episode #44 titled, "Blackout". That was a show of endearment for Judd Hirsh (Alex Rieger on Taxi) who also played "Alan Eppes" on Numb3rs!
