“Taxi”

“Taxi,” which ran from 1978 to 1983, starred Judd Hirsch as taxi driver Alex Reiger, and mostly focused on the goings-on in the taxi garage. There was Marilu Henner as single mother Elaine O’Connor-Nardo, Tony Danza as boxer Tony Banta (ever notice that in both “Taxi” and “Who’s the Boss?” Danza plays a character named Tony? What’s up with that?), Jeff Conaway as Robert L. “Bobby” Wheeler, an aspiring actor; and Andy Kaufman as the foreign mechanic Latka Gravas. And, then there was Danny DeVito as the rabid dispatcher Louie De Palma. When the show first started, it also featured Randall Carver as Jeff Bennett.

I think my favorite regular character on the show was Kaufman’s Latka Gravas. Latka would eventually meet and marry Simka Dahblitz, played by the wonderfully funny Carol Kane. Among the guest stars was Rhea Perlman (who, according to hollywood.com, married DeVito in 1982, and would become a future "Cheers" star) as Zena Sherman, a love interest for Louie De Palma.

I remember the show being on during a 9:30 p.m. time slot. The show would end with someone walking out of a door and a woman saying, “Goodnight, Mr. Walters,” and he’d reply, “Uh-huh.” That was also my bedtime cue.

You can read more about “Taxi” at imdb.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077089/

Here’s the opening scene of Taxi, found on YouTube.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzhwx8aOO0A

Here’s a clip from the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmKHwkwBXNA