I always thought Jeff Conaway (Bobby Wheeler) left 'Taxi' to pursue a film career. Either that or his addiction to drugs and neither were the case. In actuality, he wanted to stay on the show, but had a falling out with the writers because he felt they turned his Bobby Wheeler character into a "Dumb Blonde."

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1wAtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Cc4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1438,725727&dq=jeff+conaway&hl=en

Bobby Wheeler was indeed the dumb blond, but to be fair Tony Banta was the dumb brunette. :crazy:

Bobby Wheeler was indeed the dumb blond, but to be fair Tony Banta was the dumb brunette. :crazy:


Well, at least in the case of Tony Banta, there was an excuse, he was Punch drunk from losing so many boxing matches. LOL


In the case of Bobby Wheeler, I have to respectfully disagree. I really didn't find the character dumb at all. Maybe its just me.

Re: Tony - very true. :lol: About Bobby, actually he was more vain than dumb, but I think you get my point.

Re: Tony - very true. :lol: About Bobby, actually he was more vain than dumb, but I think you get my point.
Let's face it. There's a pretty thin line between stupidity and vanity.

I think he was wrong to leave regardless. All the rest of the cast had long careers and it started with this show. Andy Kaufman who was the biggest star on the show at the time probably would have too if he hadn't died. Sometimes it's best just to stick with it. Tony Danza played a dumb character and a year after the show ended came back with WTB. That show was even more popular than Taxi and he wasn't a dumb jock in there either. lol

Even Jeff Conaway did have another hit show when he was on Babylon 5. It's just that his addictions ruined his career. It's so sad to look at him now. :(

Even Jeff Conaway did have another hit show when he was on Babylon 5. It's just that his addictions ruined his career. It's so sad to look at him now. :(
I know. I was just watching Grease yesterday on AMC and every time Kinicki came on the screen and I couldn't help but think of how downhill Jeff's health (and life) have gone since then. :(

It's interesting that I started watching both Babylon 5 & Taxi for the first time in 2018. And, I don't know of much else that JC was in other than these two series. He definitely didn't go on to become huge in a myriad of TV series and/or movies. And, though I am a big B5 fan (though I saw the show long after it's release) I don't think it was extremely popular when it was out.

I do definitely think he should have stayed on Taxi throughout all five seasons, though circumstances may have made this impossible. One of my favorite episodes featuring the character was when he was trying to convince the gang how good of an actor he was, and genuinely acted like he was upset with them, which was very convincing. And, then it was revealed that it was all "an act" - LOL.

At first, Bobby was kind of dumb, but when Tony Danza became a bigger part of the show, Bobby's character was written as very actor-y and kindof "1970's NY era sophisticated" to differentiate him.

Also, whereas most shows are lucky to have one "Urkel", Taxi eventually had 3 breakout characters (Louie, Latka & Reverend Jim), so it's hard to say how much more would be done with Conaway's character.

I have a feeling that Bobby would have been used as a "bridge" into storylines involving NYC plays, TV shows & commercials, but only in a superficial role.

However, if Judd Hirsch had left the show, it's possible that Conaway and/or Marilu Henner would have become promoted to the show's lead character (straight man).

Recently I read that Jeff left the show because of drug problems. Apparently he was found passed out on set and that was it. I guess that was kept quiet back then. Whatever the reason Jeff seemed bitter about his taxi days. That they kept him from going out to do movies etc. He complained that Danny DeVito never hired him for anything when he was out of work. Who knows.

He complained that Danny DeVito never hired him for anything when he was out of work. Who knows.

That's rough and I can relate to that situation where someone you know is in a position of authority and minimal help from them could be life-changing for you (in a good way) and, for whatever reason, they don't.

Of course, Devito might've been hesitant to try and pull someone out of quicksand that might wind up pulling him in.