:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Taxi-cast-030926-a01951d0ff5e4b58a1e3eba404c44ddb.jpg "What happened to the cast of Taxi? See the actors 50 years later")
EW catches up with the former employees of the Sunshine Cab Company. What happened to the cast of Taxi? See the actors 50 years later EW catches up with the former employees of the Sunshine Cab Company. By Declan Gallagher on May 5, 2026 3:28 p.m. ET Leave a Comment :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/Taxicast030926a01951d0ff5e4b58a1e3eba404c44ddb.jpg) Louie, Alex, Elaine, Tony, Iggy, and Latka in season 4 of 'Taxi'.
EW catches up with the former employees of the Sunshine Cab Company.
What happened to the cast of Taxi? See the actors 50 years later
EW catches up with the former employees of the Sunshine Cab Company.
By Declan Gallagher
on May 5, 2026 3:28 p.m. ET
Leave a Comment
Louie, Alex, Elaine, Tony, Iggy, and Latka in season 4 of 'Taxi'. Credit:
Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
*Taxi* debuted fully formed in 1978 — a sharp, character-driven sitcom about a group of New York City cabbies trying to survive the daily grind at the Sunshine Cab Company, while dreaming of different lives off the asphalt.
Set largely in a dusty garage and dispatch office, *Taxi* starred Judd Hirsch as Alex Reiger. He’s the show’s moral center, around which gathers an eccentric cast of supporting characters, including wannabe actor Bobby (Jeff Conaway), aspiring artist Elaine (Marilu Henner), and sweet-natured mechanic Latka (Andy Kaufman). Looming over all of them is Louie (Danny DeVito), Sunshine’s surly dispatcher who quickly became a comedic hallmark.
*Taxi* was one of the first shows to blend workplace comedy with heartfelt storytelling, earning a devoted audience during its five-season run and garnering considerable critical praise, including 34 Emmy nominations and 26 Golden Globe nods.
It’s no surprise that most of the cast members went on to have great careers that continue to this day. Here’s what the cast of *Taxi* is up to now.
Judd Hirsch (Alex Reiger)
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Judd Hirsch in 'Taxi'; Hirsch at the 'Ella McCay' premiere in 2025.
Paramount Television / Courtesy Everett Collection; Jesse Grant/Getty
Judd Hirsch played Alex, the straight man at the chaotic taxi stand. Before taking a gig as a cabbie, he ditched his corporate office job — and his wife left him.
Finding his true breakthrough in his 40s, Hirsch won a pair of Emmys for the performance en route to a decorated career across mediums. In addition to an Oscar nomination for *Ordinary People *(1980), he won a pair of Tonys and went on to lead another sitcom, *Dear John*, that landed him a Golden Globe.
Eight years after starring in Sidney Lumet’s *Running on Empty *(1988), the native New Yorker broke an extended big-screen hiatus with a scene-stealing role as Jeff Goldblum’s neurotic father in *Independence Day* (1996).
More recently, he's had supporting roles in *The Meyerowitz Stories *(2017) and *Uncut Gems* (2019). He even scored another Oscar nomination for Steven Spielberg’s *The Fabelmans *(2022).
Over the years, the veteran character actor has had regular TV gigs on *Numb3rs *and *Superior Donuts*, plus a recurring part on *The Goldbergs. *
Hirsch married his longtime partner Kathryn Danielle in 2020. He has three children from previous marriages.
Danny DeVito (Louie De Palma)
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Danny DeVito in 'Taxi'; DeVito at the Go Gala in Beverly Hills in 2025.
Courtesy Everett Collection; Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty
Danny DeVito plays Louie, the head dispatcher and prime bully at the taxi stand who still lives with his mother.
DeVito told PEOPLE in 1979 that Louie originally wasn’t conceived as a main character. That changed once those in charge saw how magnetic he was.
“Louie wasn’t a big part in the pilot,” he said. “But he has developed into a major character. People see through his hard side and like him.”
DeVito has since enjoyed a fruitful career in film. Villainous roles have been his specialty, from the greedy scoundrels he played in *Romancing the Stone *(1984) and *Ruthless People *(1986) to his grotesque Penguin in *Batman Returns *(1992) and muckraking journalist in *L.A. Confidential *(1997). He also showed a softer side in comedies like *Twins *(1988) and *Junior *(1994).
Modern audiences know him best for his two-decade run as Frank Reynolds on *It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia*, though his top-to-bottom resume speaks for itself — including his work behind the camera, directing such films as *Matilda* (1996), *The War of the Roses *(1989), and *Death to Smoochy *(2002).
DeVito has been married to Rhea Perlman since 1982. They have been officially separated for years but remain close friends. The couple share three children.
Danny DeVito recalls partying with Michael Jackson on the set of 'Taxi'
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Carol Kane reveals epic prank 'Taxi' costar Andy Kaufman pulled on her
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Marilu Henner (Elaine Nardo)
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Marilu Henner in 'Taxi'; Henner at the Summer Soiree in Santa Monica in 2025.
Courtesy Everett Collection; Tommaso Boddi/Variety via Getty
Single mom Elaine originally takes the part-time taxi-stand job to supplement her work at an art gallery. Eventually she finds she has plenty in common with her oddball co-workers.
The role earned Marilu Henner five Golden Globe nominations. She’s been a small-screen mainstay ever since. A few years after her star-making turn, she co-headlined the sitcom *Evening Shade* opposite Burt Reynolds.
Most recently, she’s been a regular in the *Aurora Teagarden *TV movie franchise, based on the popular book series. She plays the mother of the title character, played by Candace Cameron Bure.
Henner is also well-remembered for big-screen appearances in *Hammett* (1982), *L.A. Story *(1991), and *Noises Off *(1992).
The Chicago native has been married to Michael Brown since 2006. She has two sons from a previous marriage.
Henner has a rare condition known as Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), or hyperthymesia, which allows her to recall incredibly specific, detailed events from throughout her life.
Tony Danza (Tony Banta)
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Tony Danza in 'Taxi'; Danza at the Central Park Conservancy Annual Gala in 2025.
Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection; Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty
Tony Banta, the kind-hearted but not particularly sharp part-time boxer, served as Tony Danza’s big break.
Danza developed a signature persona and earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role. It wasn’t long before he had a sitcom of his own, this time the long-running *Who’s the Boss?* (1984–1992). That brought three more Globe nods for the actor.
While being regularly in-demand on television, Danza has made room for his share of movies, including pairing up with *Taxi *costar Christopher Lloyd in *Angels in the Outfield *(1994). His kid costar in that baseball flick, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, eventually cast him in his directorial debut, *Don Jon *(2013).
The Brooklyn native had a run on Paul Haggis’ legal drama *Family Law,* and later booked a small role in the director’s Oscar-winning *Crash *(2004). He currently stars on *Power Book III: Raising Kanan*.
During a 2023 reunion with the *Taxi *cast on *The View*, Danza revealed that Henner was his first “Hollywood girlfriend.” Though their romantic relationship didn’t work out, Henner obviously has good memories of their time together.
Danza quipped, “The problem is you don't want your girlfriend to have a great memory. ‘Don't you remember?’ Of course she does! She remembers everything, and so it’s just not something you want.”
Danza has been married twice and has four children.
Andy Kaufman (Latka Gravas)
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Andy Kaufman in Taxi'; Kaufman at a rehearsal for 'Teaneck Tanzi' in 1983.
Courtesy Everett Collection; Debra Trebitz/Corbis/VCG via Getty
Legendary alternative comedian Andy Kaufman enjoyed the most famous role of his career as sweet immigrant mechanic Latka.
Kaufman often expressed ambivalence about his beloved role, as he wanted to be known for his own comic voice instead of an ensemble player on a sitcom.
“He wasn’t overjoyed doing *Taxi* because it was confinement to him,” said Kaufman’s friend, Cindy Williams, in the documentary* Andy Kaufman Is Me*. “He was restricted by, you know, lines that people had written for him. And Andy, he was his own creator.”
He first found mainstream notoriety on the premiere episode of *Saturday Night Live* in 1975, thanks to his iconic *Mighty Mouse *routine. That surreal sketch epitomized his career as a whole, but he became best known for his “Foreign Man” character and, by extension, Latka.
His absurdist celebrity impressions, talk-show stunts, Tony Clifton alter-ego, and stint on the women’s wrestling circuit made him a perpetual curiosity... and that's before he starred as a robot in the poorly received film *Heartbeeps *(1981).
The comedy legend was diagnosed with large-cell carcinoma of the lungs in early 1984 and died later that year at age 35.
“A lot of what *Taxi* fans might have missed was just how confrontational Andy was in all of his other performances,” *Andy Kaufman Is Me* director Clay Tweel said. “Even his more lighthearted and sweeter moments on stage were engaging the audience in a way that bordered on uncomfortable because you were always wondering what was real and what was just for show.”
From 1982 until his death, the New York native was in a relationship with actress Lynne Margulies. His daughter, Maria Bellu-Colonna, was born in 1969. Conceived with Kaufman’s high-school girlfriend, Maria was put up for adoption and only discovered who her parents were later in life.
Jeff Conaway (Bobby Wheeler)
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Jeff Conaway in 'Taxi'; Conaway at the ASCAP Awards afterparty in 2009.
Paramount Television / Courtesy Everett Collection; Michael Bezjian/WireImage
Jeff Conaway played Bobby, a struggling actor trying to make ends meet with his taxi job while weathering a cavalcade of abuse from Louie.
The same year *Taxi *premiered, Conaway played Danny Zuko’s best pal, Kenickie, in *Grease *(1978). He went on to extended stints on *The Bold and the Beautiful* and *Babylon 5*, reprising the latter role in three TV movies. He also appeared in the films *Jawbreaker* (1999) and *Do You Wanna Know a Secret?* (2001).
The actor was married three times, including to Rona Newton-John, the younger sister of *Grease *star Olivia Newton-John.
Conaway was found unconscious at his Encino, Calif., home in May of 2011. Fifteen days later, his family removed him from life support and he died at the age of 60.
Christopher Lloyd (Reverend Jim Ignatowski)
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Christopher Lloyd in 'Taxi; Lloyd at opening night of 'Back to the Future: The Musical' in 2023.
Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection; Bruce Glikas/WireImage
Christopher Lloyd played Harvard-educated Reverend Jim, whose days as a leading thinker came to an unceremonious end when he inadvertently became a drug addict.
“I just kind of felt like I knew the guy,” Lloyd told *Variety* about Reverend Jim. “I understood what he was about. At that time, there were people like him out on the street. So I just observed them and my feelings about it, and it worked. A lot of that performance came out of the freedom I felt working with that cast and the great writing team. They made it easy.”
With or without *Taxi*, Lloyd’s place in pop culture lore is secure. After making his film debut in *One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest *(1975), appearing alongside DeVito, he helped define a whole generation of moviegoing as Doc Brown in *Back to the Future *(1985).
Not long afterward, he was the incomparable Judge Doom in *Who Framed Roger Rabbit *(1988), and brought Uncle Fester to life in two *Addams Family *features.
He’s been ubiquitous on screens big and small for decades, with over 250 credits and three Emmys — including two for *Taxi* — to his name.
In recent years, Lloyd has popped up in the action flick *Nobody *(2021) and Tim Burton’s revival of the *Addams Family *franchise, *Wednesday*, as a teacher who also happens to be a disembodied head.
The Connecticut native has been married to Lisa Loiacono, his fifth wife, since 2016.
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Original Article on Source
Source: "EW Comedy"
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Source: Comedy
Published: May 6, 2026 at 06:58AM on Source: RED MAG
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EW catches up with the former employees of the Sunshine Cab Company. What happened to the cast of Taxi? See the actors 50 years lat...
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