Taxi was one wild boozy ride! Wrestling bouts on set, endless partying... Danny DeVito recalls life on the classic sitcom (2024)

By Tim Oglethorpe for MailOnline

Published: 17:33 EDT, 1 March 2013 | Updated: 17:33 EDT, 1 March 2013

It’s highly appropriate that Danny DeVito is raising a glass of something very powerful and very alcoholic to the memory of the classic American sitcom Taxi, which launched his movie career.

Powerful, because the show redefined TV comedy, combining laughs in a New York taxicab company with subjects such as gambling addiction and obesity, winning 18 Emmys and four Golden Globes along the way.

And alcoholic? Because, says Danny, who played the scheming, malevolent taxi controller Louie De Palma, the cast knocked back a frightening amount of the hard stuff, to ‘celebrate’ every episode.

‘We’d go crazy,’ remembers Danny, 68, in London to publicise the re-running of Taxi and thoroughly enjoying his very large martini.

‘We’d finish shooting an episode at 10pm on a Friday night, then party like animals through to Sunday. And when I say “we” I mean fellow cast members as well as guys like Robin Williams, who was shooting in the same studio lot, John Belushi, who was a friend of people in the cast, and Jack Nicholson, who was a friend of mine.

‘By Sunday I would be totally blitzed and then we’d start all over again on the Monday, with read-throughs and rehearsals, filming and the partying on a Friday night. It was like this for five years, from 1978 to 1983. Just look at me now: I’m the product of those five crazy years!’

Danny doesn’t appear too damaged by the debauchery. The thick-rimmed spectacles may be a permanent fixture, most of his hair has gone and there are some grey whiskers in his stubble, but he remains sharp-witted and full of fun.

‘There used to be wrestling bouts in the rehearsal room, on Taxi,’ he grins. ‘The brilliant Andy Kaufman, who played the mechanic Latka, would wrestle any large women who came to the set.

‘So some poor lady from the post office would arrive with a package and he’d say things like, “Hey, what are you doing taking a man’s job, why aren’t you at home cooking?”

‘She’d get cross, they’d wrestle and sometimes his face would turn bright red as they rolled around on the floor. He always won, although sometimes it was a close thing.’

Following the success of Taxi, 5ft-tall, New Jersey-born Danny landed roles in a string of hit movies in the 80s and 90s, including Terms Of Endearment, Romancing The Stone, Ruthless People and Twins.

But he remains incredibly fond of the sitcom that started it all. ‘I’m so proud of Taxi, the way it tackled difficult subjects and yet still made people laugh. Everyone had a great time filming it. It was like a family.’

So much so that he even married his wife Rhea Perlman, who played Zena Sherman in the show, on set in LA.

Sadly, it was announced last year that they were splitting after 30 years of marriage and three children, Lucy, 30, Gracie, 28, and Daniel, 26 – although there have been reports recently suggesting a reconciliation.

‘Everything’s good and we’re great friends, although stories about us renewing our marriage vows weren’t true,’ says Danny. ‘She and I don’t do that kind of stuff.’

Things could have turned out very differently had Danny taken Jack Nicholson’s advice in 1978 and said a very emphatic no to appearing in Taxi.

‘He was being snobby about it, telling me to steer clear because it was ‘only’ TV rather than a movie. I’m so glad I didn’t take his advice.’

And he may never have won the part had he not taken a huge gamble in the audition. ‘I walked in, threw the script across the room, and shouted, “Who wrote this c***?” There was a deathly silence and I was terrified I’d blown it.

But then all the executives started laughing – they knew they’d found their cantankerous, malevolent Louie.

That stunt could have backfired horribly. Fortunately it didn’t.’ Fans everywhere will raise a glass to that.

Taxi, weekdays from Thursday, 6.30pm, CBS Drama.