# Taxi: Actors and Credits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289 "2012-10-30T02:40:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HotDogWater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/35a633/32.png) [@HotDogWater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotDogWater)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/22 "2012-10-30T13:24:05Z")
“Slow down.” What…does…a…yellow…light…mean? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/23 "2012-10-30T14:15:23Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > While you are correct about all the related items for these characters, it is common for a show to develop over time. Very little of this backstory is likely to exist before the pilot is first filmed, as no one knows how long the show will run, if ever. Alex’s backstory, or at least part of it, was established early. In the very first episode, we find out about his divorce and his wife and daughter moving to South America. He finds out the daughter (who he hasn’t seen in 15 years) is going to college in Europe, so the gang commandeers a cab and drives to Miami so he can have a brief reunion when she’s changing planes. As a bit of trivia, the daughter was played by Talia Balsam, who was later married to George Clooney. > [@HotDogWater](#): > > “Slow down.” > > What…does…a…yellow…light…mean? Next time you see that scene, watch Christopher Lloyd. He says “what does a…” and then looks down at the paper before continuing. It’s like his brain can only hold three words in memory at any one time. Brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/24 "2012-10-30T15:09:46Z")
Musicat, according to several things I’ve read, Christopher Lloyd created much of the background for the character of Jim Ignatowski himself. He auditioned in character for the role, and the receptionist was uncertain when he came in for the audition whether he was trying out for the role or was a bum who wandered into the studio by mistake. Precisely how much of the character’s background was created by Lloyd before the audition and how much was added later by the writers isn’t clear. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/25 "2012-10-30T15:29:23Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > You’re correct that DeVito played Martini, but that character who was always fretting about his wife was Mr. Harding, played by William Redfield. > > Martini was the character who couldn’t get the idea of betting at McMurphy’s card games quite right. Or maybe he understood too well–when McMurphy declared that a cigarette represented a dime, Martini broke a cigarette in half, and pushing one half into the pile, declared he was betting a nickel. Ah yes. That’s right. Thanks, now I remember that. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/26 "2012-10-31T04:02:11Z")
Huh. I thought Vincent Schiavelli’s character married Latka and Simka. It’s been a while. Oh, wait, different wedding. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/27 "2012-10-31T04:23:08Z")
Yeah, there were two weddings. On an episode shown first on October 31, 1978, Latka married a call girl in a fake wedding. On an episode shown first on March 25, 1982, Latka married Simka. Christopher Lloyd played the minister at the first wedding. Vincent Schiavelli played the minister at the second wedding. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/28 "2012-10-31T06:52:41Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Alex’s backstory, or at least part of it, was established early. In the very first episode, we find out about his divorce and his wife and daughter moving to South America. He finds out the daughter (who he hasn’t seen in 15 years) is going to college in Europe, so the gang commandeers a cab and drives to Miami so he can have a brief reunion when she’s changing planes. > > As a bit of trivia, the daughter was played by Talia Balsam, who was later married to George Clooney. And without cheating, I think his ex-wife was played by **Louise Lasser**. Interestingly (and tragically) literally every main cast member of that show went on to do bigger & better things: Hirsch, DeVito, Kaufman, Danza, Henner, Lloyd, all of them except Jeff Conaway (who OD’ed a while back). ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/29 "2012-10-31T07:03:34Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > And without cheating, I think his ex-wife was played by **Louise Lasser**. Interestingly (and tragically) literally every main cast member of that show went on to do bigger & better things: Hirsch, DeVito, Kaufman, Danza, Henner, Lloyd, all of them except Jeff Conaway (who OD’ed a while back). Despite his substance abuse issues, Conaway was on Babylon 5 for four seasons. So he did have a few more relatively good years. In fact, he was in more episodes of B5 than he was in Taxi. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/30 "2012-10-31T12:37:51Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Musicat, according to several things I’ve read, Christopher Lloyd created much of the background for the character of Jim Ignatowski himself. He auditioned in character for the role, and the receptionist was uncertain when he came in for the audition whether he was trying out for the role or was a bum who wandered into the studio by mistake. Precisely how much of the character’s background was created by Lloyd before the audition and how much was added later by the writers isn’t clear. I can certainly believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/31 "2012-10-31T13:01:48Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Despite his substance abuse issues, Conaway was on Babylon 5 for four seasons. So he did have a few more relatively good years. In fact, he was in more episodes of B5 than he was in Taxi. He also had a starring role in [Wizards and Warriors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizards_and_Warriors_(TV_series)) in 1983 (which, despite only lasting eight episodes, I recall finding very funny). Being the lead in a show that bombs can be a career killer, especially when you add the drug issues as well. B5 was over a decade later. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/32 "2012-10-31T14:06:54Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > And without cheating, I think his ex-wife was played by **Louise Lasser**. Interestingly (and tragically) literally every main cast member of that show went on to do bigger & better things: Hirsch, DeVito, Kaufman, Danza, Henner, Lloyd, all of them except Jeff Conaway (who OD’ed a while back). You forgot Randall Carver. It’s okay, everyone does. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/33 "2012-10-31T15:54:19Z")
I was unaware that Jeff Conaway had died. Sadly, I’ve not even thought of him in years. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/34 "2016-11-01T02:37:29Z")
I never watched Conaway in Babylon 5 but Bobby Wheeler was my least favorite Taxi character. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/35 "2016-11-01T14:00:52Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > And without cheating, I think his ex-wife was played by **Louise Lasser**. Interestingly (and tragically) literally every main cast member of that show went on to do bigger & better things: Hirsch, DeVito, Kaufman, Danza, Henner, Lloyd, all of them except Jeff Conaway (who OD’ed a while back). Obviously this post was made before Judd Hirsch’s performance in Sharknado, The Second One. It doesn’t get any bigger than Sharknado. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/36 "2016-11-01T14:16:28Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Obviously this post was made before Judd Hirsch’s performance in Sharknado, The Second One. > > It doesn’t get any bigger than Sharknado. :smack: Now, now, he played a significant role in _Independence Day_, too, putting up with his bratty, erratic son. And never forget that Reverend Jim was that way from smoking marijuana. Once. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/37 "2016-11-01T14:39:10Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/38 "2016-11-01T14:45:08Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I think Alex was the “Pogo” of the show; he held everything together. Like Pogo in Walt Kelly’s comic strip, he didn’t have the best comedic lines, but the show centered on him and he provided a moderating influence among the crazies. Whether or not that justified top billing, I don’t know. I think Hirsch’s acting status was slightly above the others when the show started, and someone had to be first. I think the technical term is the “anchor.” Andy on _WKRP in Cincinnati_ was the anchor. He’s sometimes cited as the reason the show was never more successful than it was, because some critics thought he was too lightweight to carry a show\*. The anchor character is not supposed to change much, while the other characters are allowed to grow and change a lot. Leonard is the anchor on _The Big Bang Theory_. The idea is that since the audience observes along with the anchor, too much change in the anchor asks too much from the audience in changing and adapting. Hawkeye was the anchor when _M_A_S_H\* premiered, although even if not officially, I think it kind of shifted to Col. Potter later in the series. \*Personally, I think the joke’s on them, because apparently the show has done **really** well in DVD and online sales, outperforming more successful shows of the time. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/39 "2016-11-01T14:47:40Z")
After leaving _Taxi_, Hirsch won two Tony Awards. His film work is just a sideline to his career since then. He also was a regular in the TV show _Forever_. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/40 "2016-11-01T14:55:10Z")
Didn’t he play the Dad in “Numb3rs”? Between that, Independence Day, BBT, and The Goldbergs it seems he’s made a bit of a sideline playing “neurotic Jewish character’s father” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/41 "2016-11-01T15:53:35Z")
Since this zombie is awake: **Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast** recently interviewed **James L. Brooks** , legendary TV guy and Film Director. Great interview overall; what is funny is that there are a few times he starts to laugh a bit, and you can _totally_ hear that one standout laugher that cut through the overall audience noise during specific scenes in the Mary Tyler Moore show, Cheers, Taxi, etc. I had heard it was Brooks laughing backstage, but had never heard him isolated. Anyway: He states that Judd Hirsch was the heart of the show both as the starting point for the actors, and as the character. Brooks discusses how the show emerged from an article in New York Magazine (same with Saturday Night Fever and a couple of other movies) about a taxi company where everyone had a dream career that they were pursuing while driving a cab. Brooks went to spend a day at the cab company for research. While there, all the wannabee actors and artists, etc. looked to one guy as the coolest guy of the cabbies - maybe his name was Steve. Brooks waited for Steve to show up so he could see what he was like - turns out the guy was super easy-going and completely okay as a cab driver - grounded. Brooks realized he was the anchor to the show and slotted Hirsch in the role. The overall interview is very good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289.md?page=3)