# 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:** 3
**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, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/42 "2016-11-01T15:57:57Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > 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. Dammit. I hate when I get tricked into posting to a zombie. Anyway, I think I’ve seen a transcription of that interview, or read an article where Brooks tells the same story. Alex has a line in the pilot where he says “Me? I’m a cab driver. I’m the only cab driver in the place.” ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/43 "2016-11-01T17:49:02Z")
Kaufman was so unknown at the time that Foreign Man once went on the [Dating Game](http://dangerousminds.net/comments/andy_kaufman_punks_the_dating_game_1978) (and never broke character). ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/44 "2016-11-01T18:11:34Z")
“Whhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttt…” ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/45 "2016-11-01T18:51:44Z")
> [@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). That’s pretty ironic since, as I recall it, Conaway bailed out of the show midway through its run. The way I remember it played out, he got a small part in “Grease” and after that movie hit it big, he imagined he was destined to be as big a star as John Travolta – too big for a rinky-dink sitcom like “Taxi.” Judd Hirsch was in very much the same as Jerry Seinfeld was on his own show. While Jerry was the central character, and everything ostensibly revolved around him, he very quickly was out-shined by his co-stars. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/46 "2016-11-01T18:51:51Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Very interesting. Sometimes, an underdog like Hirsch (IMHO) comes out on top! But that’s the whole point. Judd Hirsch wasn’t an underdog at the time, it was the other cast members who were underdogs. When trying to understand past shows it’s best to look at them from the viewpoint of the time they were made. I watched the show when it first aired and I can assure you the order of the credits seemed perfectly natural back then. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/47 "2016-11-01T19:00:15Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > That’s pretty ironic since, as I recall it, Conaway bailed out of the show midway through its run. The way I remember it played out, he got a small part in “Grease” and after that movie hit it big, he imagined he was destined to be as big a star as John Travolta – too big for a rinky-dink sitcom like “Taxi.” > > Judd Hirsch was in very much the same as Jerry Seinfeld was on his own show. While Jerry was the central character, and everything ostensibly revolved around him, he very quickly was out-shined by his co-stars. He actually played danny Zuko (the lead) on Broadway for over two years, prior to Taxi and before playing Kenickie in the movie. ---
**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, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/48 "2016-11-01T19:02:50Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > That’s pretty ironic since, as I recall it, Conaway bailed out of the show midway through its run. The way I remember it played out, he got a small part in “Grease” and after that movie hit it big, he imagined he was destined to be as big a star as John Travolta – too big for a rinky-dink sitcom like “Taxi.” Conaway did have a fairly successful career after _Taxi_, most notably in _Babylon 5_. He also was in the delightful _Wizards and Warriors_. I can understand him leaving – he was the least interesting of the characters and he didn’t have much to do. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/49 "2016-11-01T19:22:55Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Don’t forget about stage credits. I remember an interview with Marilu Henner in which she mentioned being a bit starstruck to be acting with Judd Hirsch just shortly after being in the audience of a play he was in. Great story! > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > … > Christopher Lloyd played the minister at the first wedding. > > Vincent Schiavelli played the minister at the second wedding. And both played Red Lectroids in _Buckaroo Banzai_!: [ERRP | Expired Registration Recovery Policy](http://img.movieberry.com/static/photos/16074/12_midi.jpg) ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/50 "2016-11-01T20:37:04Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > And never forget that Reverend Jim was that way from smoking marijuana. Once. Actually, he got started by eating a Marijuana brownie, as depicted in an elaborate flashback scene of his time as a super-serious undergrad (with a sports letter) at Harvard. A young Tom Hanks was one of his classmates. ---
**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, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/51 "2016-11-01T20:52:24Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Actually, he got started by eating a Marijuana brownie, as depicted in an elaborate flashback scene of his time as a super-serious undergrad (with a sports letter) at Harvard. > > A young Tom Hanks was one of his classmates. I think that came later. There was an early scene in which someone asked him how he got so (weird? spacy? insightful? something…) and he replied (long pause) “Marijuana!” “Jeez, how many times did you (smoke/try) it?” (longer pause) “Once!” That may have evolved into the flashback. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/52 "2016-11-01T21:09:00Z")
That may not be the whole back story, though. There was a different episode where Jim’s father tracked him down, and the gang all went to visit him at the Caldwell family mansion (Ignatowski was a nom de guerre of sorts). His father remarks to Jim that his room was just as he left it, “with the exception of the airplane glue.” ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/53 "2016-11-01T21:28:05Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > 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. [Enjoy it now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39k067hcgYY)! ---
**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:** [November 1, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/54 "2016-11-01T22:49:12Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > (Ignatowski was a nom de guerre of sorts) It’s “starchild”, backward. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/55 "2016-11-01T23:34:31Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > 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. That probably has more to do with the fact that the entire series was only released a year or 2 ago, compounded with the pent up demand for a version that used the real music, as God intended. Booger. ---
**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, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/56 "2016-11-01T23:54:38Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > That probably has more to do with the fact that the entire series was only released a year or 2 ago, compounded with the pent up demand for a version that used the real music, as God intended. > > Booger. A lot of series have never made it past a stripped season one or two release. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/57 "2016-11-02T00:41:30Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > A lot of series have never made it past a stripped season one or two release. And? ---
**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:** [November 2, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/58 "2016-11-02T01:15:14Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > 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. I know exactly the laugh you mean. I always thought it was a segment of a laugh track (electro-mechanical box) and that was why it was heard so often. Everything on a laff box is repeated many times, but that was the only one that stood out. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/59 "2016-11-02T02:34:19Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > That probably has more to do with the fact that the entire series was only released a year or 2 ago, compounded with the pent up demand for a version that used the real music, as God intended. > > Booger. You mean, “As God is my witness!” 😃 ---
**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 2, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/60 "2016-11-02T02:39:27Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > And? (typing very slowly) …so any series from that era that has solid and sustained video sales is a standout for many reasons. Quite a few popular series with some evidence of viewer demand sold so poorly later seasons were never released. _Hill Street Blues_ was an enormously popular show with a huge following and a lot of demand for its release on home video. The original release stopped with season 2 because of poor sales. It took the usual white knight, Shout Factory, to finally release the whole thing years later. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289/61 "2016-11-02T05:20:10Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > so any series from that era that has solid and sustained video sales is a standout for many reasons. Are you misinterpreting my reply to RivkahChaya? Because I listed some of the many reasons it is a standout, and your reply is to tell me there are many reasons it is a standout, so… where are you going with this? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxi-actors-and-credits/639289.md?page=4)