http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FGYcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RE4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2835,1656336&dq=jeff+conaway&hl=en

In this article dated in 1983, Jeff Conaway said that his Bobby Wheeler character was nothing more than a bad stereotype of what an actor is. He said he had no choice but to leave the show because the character was no good. Do you agree???


http://alonefancryinginthewilderness.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/gmr3thgscslmlsg.jpg

I think he's being a bit harsh. Sure, Bobby was vain and cocky but he had a heart, too and I always enjoyed the character. As far as "had to go", well, the show only lasted a couple more years without him so it wasn't like he would have had to wait that long to taste his freedom. Like most actors who left successful shows at the height of the show's popularity, I think it would have been better for his career if he'd stayed, but that's just my opinion.

It's BS bravado if you ask me. Basically, he made a bad career move and is trying to justify it, to save face. He ended up doing soaps and informercials after leaving Taxi and then ended up as a celebrity drunk/addict doing "reality" shows.

He made a bad move and probably regretted it.

It's BS bravado if you ask me. Basically, he made a bad career move and is trying to justify it, to save face. He ended up doing soaps and informercials after leaving Taxi and then ended up as a celebrity drunk/addict doing "reality" shows.

He made a bad move and probably regretted it.
:yeahthat

It's BS bravado if you ask me. Basically, he made a bad career move and is trying to justify it, to save face. He ended up doing soaps and informercials after leaving Taxi and then ended up as a celebrity drunk/addict doing "reality" shows.

He made a bad move and probably regretted it.




I couldnt agree more.

Wow! Glad to see two "agrees" in a row!:D

I agree, too!! I mean, Jeff Conaway had a hit (Grease) before Taxi and one after (Babylon 5) - but leaving the show when he did was a bad career move. It took him years to get another decent role, and now he's reduced to Celebrity Rehab. He looks at least 10 years older than he really is. Sad AND scary.

Been thinking about this question a lot and I gotta say no, Bobby was a character that jumped out at me when he was part of an ensemble.

Barry Kemp wrote a lot of Bobby episodes and he mentioned in an interview that Bobby was written as the insecure one, and it's a believable behind the shallow exterior lies a beaten actor.

The Charles Brother said something interesting, Bobby was like the anti Louie, he was tall, blonde and had talent

http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/sam-simon#

sam simon mentioned how he became expendable, I still stand by the fact that the writers should've feed on the Louie/Bobby parallel like Diane and Carla on Cheers. I found Taxi a good show but it couldn't last long because they couldn't give the normal characters like Bobby and John their due like Cheers did. I'm always curious what would've happened to the show if the Charles Brothers were running it without people like Jim Brooks hovering over their backs

I thought he left the show to star in the extremely short lived Wizards & Warriors.