Each week, we will be taking an in depth look at some of the best sitcoms and comedy shows from both the UK and the USA.

Today we will be looking at a comedy that won 4 Golden Globes – Taxi

About the Show

Summary of Plot

The staff of a New York City taxicab company go about their job while they dream of greater things.-iMDB

Number of Seasons / Episodes

5 seasons

Characters:

Judd Hirsch – Alex Reiger
Danny Devito – Louie De Palma
Marilu Henner – Elaine Nardo
Tony Danza – Tony Banta
Andy Kaufman – Latka Gravas

Trivia

• When ABC cancelled the series in 1982, HBO considered purchasing the show, only to lose out to NBC, which promoted the show in ads stating “Same time, better network”.
• Andy Kaufman had invented the persona for his character in his comedy act prior to working on the show, including the famous line “tank-you-veddy-much”. It was the show’s writers that came up with the name of Latka Gravas. Kaufman created Latka’s language, which he taught to Carol Kane for her role as Simka, by inviting her to dinner, and refusing to let her speak English.
• Before closing their doors for good in 1982, the Checker Motors Corporation, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, supplied cars to the series.
• Judd Hirsch has said that the Taxi (1978) cast all hated Andy Kaufman
• Jeff Conaway was discovered passed out on one of his filming days by one of the producers. It was common knowledge in the Hollywood community that Conaway was addicted to drugs at this point. The producers wrote him out of the episode, and divvied up his lines amongst the other cast members. 

Clips

Taxi Intro