What Happened To The Cast Of Taxi?

Almost everyone loves a good workplace sitcom, and the 1978 New York City-set series "Taxi" was one of the greatest of all time. But what have the show's stars been up to since the series went off the air in 1983?

"Taxi" followed the employees of the fictional Sunshine Cab Company in Manhattan as they went about their lives, and it starred a cast of future entertainment titans. While comedian Andy Kaufman, who played oddball immigrant mechanic Latka, died less than a year after the series ended, and Jeff Conaway, who played struggling actor Bobby Wheeler, died in 2011 after a long and public battle with drug and alcohol addiction, other cast members have gone on to massive success.

"Taxi" was created by former "Mary Tyler Moore Show" writers and producers James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, David Davis, and Ed. Weinberger and would receive 34 Emmy nominations and 18 wins over the course of five seasons. Not only that, but head writers Glen and Les Charles would go on to create the wildly popular "Cheers," forever changing the sitcom landscape.

(Note: Randall Carver, who played John Burns in the first season, and Carol Kane, who played Simka in the last two seasons, are not included because they were in so few episodes, but both have gone on to have successful acting careers in both movies and television.)

Judd Hirsch was already somewhat well-known as an actor when he headed the ensemble cast of "Taxi," having been nominated for an Emmy for his guest spot on the comedy "Rhoda," but he really came into the spotlight as Alex Reiger, the even-keel but cynical cab driver who mostly played the straight man to everyone else's ridiculous antics — a role that won him won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead in a Comedy Series for the role in 1981 and 1983.

Hirsch went on to have numerous guest spots on shows as diverse as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "The Big Bang Theory," "American Dad!," "The Good Wife," and "Maron," as well as starring as the title character on the sitcom "Dear John" and co-starring in the short-lived sitcom "Superior Donuts." On the film side of things, Hirsch has appeared in big-budget blockbusters like "Independence Day" as well as independent features, and he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Boris Podgorny in Steven Spielberg's 2022 film "The Fabelmans." Hirsch has also had a storied career on the stage, winning Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in "Conversations with My Father" and "I'm Not Rappaport."

Other than Carol Kane joining the cast in the later seasons as Latka's love interest, Simka, and Rhea Perlman occasionally guest-starring as shop boss Louie De Palma's (Danny DeVito) sometimes-girlfriend, Zena, the only major female character on "Taxi" was single mother, taxi driver, and art lover Elaine Nardo, played by Marilu Henner. Elaine always managed to hold her own with the guys at the shop and was Sunshine Cab's resident surrogate mother to everyone (except Louie, who lusted after her cartoonishly.) 

Since "Taxi," Henner has mostly tackled smaller roles in movies and television, like a one-off appearance on "NCIS", though she has played the title character's mother in dozens of Hallmark Channel "Aurora Teagarden Mysteries" TV movies. She also appeared as a contestant on the first season of "The Celebrity Apprentice" in 2008 and the 23rd season of "Dancing With the Stars" in 2016, even doing a "Taxi"-themed foxtrot with her dance partner, Derek Hough. Outside of acting and reality television, Henner has been vocal in brain-research activism, as she has a rare condition called highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) that allows her to easily and clearly access memories from her life in ways most of us cannot.

Prior to "Taxi," Danza was a professional middleweight boxer, but he was discovered at a boxing gym and cast as lovable-lunk/Italian-American cab driver Tony Banta on the series. The fictional Tony drew some from the actor, as he was also a boxer, though he was terrible at it (while Danza had been pretty good). 

After "Taxi," Danza starred on the hit sitcom series "Who's the Boss?," which ran on ABC for eight seasons. While he's had some bit parts in movies like "Don Jon" and "Angels in the Outfield," Danza primarily found success on television. He's had major guest spots on shows like "Blue Bloods" and the "Sex and the City" sequel-revival "...And Just Like That," and he starred in a short-lived Netflix series called "The Good Cop" opposite actor and singer Josh Groban, who played his character's son. He also had his own daytime variety talk show, "The Tony Danza Show," which ran for two seasons (and 330 episodes!) from 2004-2006, and a sitcom also called "The Tony Danza Show" that ran for five episodes in 1997.

While most of the crew at Sunshine Cab Company were quite friendly with one another, they all found mutual enmity in their boss, Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito), a morally bankrupt jerk who barked orders and sexually harassed every woman younger than his mother. According to DeVito, he got the role by walking into the audition, throwing his script on the table, and yelling, "Who wrote this s***? — pure Louie!

Following "Taxi," DeVito has had a prolific career in movies, theater, and television. He's had impactful one-off appearances, like his role as a male stripper on "Friends," but also had major television and movie roles, like starring as The Penguin in Tim Burton's 1992 film "Batman Returns" or as Sid Hudgens in Curtis Hanson's fantastic 1997 noir "L.A. Confidential." He's also directed the excellent dark comedies "The War of the Roses," "Throw Momma From the Train," the kids' film "Matilda," and the wildly underrated "Death to Smoochy." Oh, and he's a producer, too: His production company, Jersey Films, is responsible for movies like "Pulp Fiction," "Get Shorty," and "Garden State."

Perhaps DeVito's greatest work since playing Louie is his turn as Frank Reynolds on the long-running FX sitcom "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," joining the show in its second season. Frank is definitely a riff on Louie, taking his bad behavior to the nth degree; over 16 seasons, Frank has been the deranged fuel that drives the series. 

Christopher Lloyd officially joined the cast of "Taxi" in the second season after guesting in the first as Reverend Jim Ignatowski, a former college intellectual who got swept up in the hippie movement of the 1960s and used so many drugs that he was pretty much always in his own little ridiculous world. Over the course of the series, Jim grew close to Louie, who called him "Iggy," showing there was some humanity in the little troll after all. 

Since "Taxi," Lloyd has been a very active performer, becoming an international superstar for his role as inventor Doc Brown in the "Back to the Future" films. He starred as a Klingon commander in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," was Professor Plum in "Clue," and even played the wild Uncle Fester in "The Addams Family" and "The Addams Family Values." He's had numerous guest appearances on shows like "The Mandalorian," "NCIS," and "Hacks," with an IMDb page that goes for miles. Most recently, he's appeared on the Netflix series "Wednesday" as Professor Orloff, and as the father of Bob Odenkirk's character in the action movies "Nobody" and "Nobody 2."