James L. Brooks Recalls Seeing Andy Kaufman Get Booed Off a Comedy Stage

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Brooks co-created 'Taxi' — a sitcom starring Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, and more — which ran from 1978 to 1983.

By Madison E. Goldberg and Tommy McArdle
Published on December 14, 2025
10:00AM EST

• James L. Brooks knew the late Andy Kaufman would be the perfect fit for Taxi after seeing him perform at a comedy club
• Brooks recalled Kaufman going up as a character named "Vince," only to be booed off the stage
• Brooks' latest film, Ella McKay, hit theaters on Friday, Dec. 12

James L. Brooks recounted the moment he knew Andy Kaufman would be a great fit for his sitcom Taxi.

Brooks, 85, tells PEOPLE exclusively of the pivotal moment he saw the late comedian's stand-up routine, performing as two different people on the same night in one club.

"I saw him do this 'Foreign Man' [character]," Brooks recalls, referring to the late comedian's famous "Foreign Man" act. "And I saw him in a club, and then a comic came out [named] Vince."

Brooks says that "Vince" was "the worst, lowest comic you ever saw."

He says that the comedian "was offending the audience," and there was "shouting" back and forth for him to "come off the stage."

"And his manager, Andy's manager, came over to me while I was watching this guy, and he said, 'That's Andy,'" Brooks recalls, shocked to learn the mysterious man on stage was the same person who had the audience laughing earlier in the night.

"Andy was creating that other character that got booed off the stage after scoring as Andy as the foreign man," he says.

After watching the performance artist's wild set, Brooks knew he would be a great asset to the sitcom.

"And I went... I wanted him immediately for Taxi," he says, noting that Kaufman's manager jokingly told him that he would have to "hire the other guy too," referring to both of the comedian's characters.

After Kaufman joined the Taxi cast as mechanic Latka Gravas, Brooks notes that he continued the bit on set — and they never knew which version of the comedian they would get that day.

"He was the first performance artist. He was an utter original," the Academy Award-winning director said of Kaufman, adding, "There's been nobody like him before or since."

Along with Kaufman, the cast also included taxi drivers Alex Reiger (Judd Hirsch), Bobby Wheeler (Jeff Conaway), Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner), Tony Banta (Tony Danza), and "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd), along with dispatcher Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito), to name a few.

Kaufman starred on the hit series for its entire run, from 1978 to 1983. Shortly after the show ended, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in 1984 at age 35.

Brooks' latest film, Ella McKay, which stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Mackey, Woody Harrelson, Albert Brooks, Ayo Edibiri, and more, hit theaters on Friday, Dec. 12.