Why Randall Carver and Jeff Conaway Left "Taxi" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Adamantium · 07-08-2009, 08:27 AM

I've got a book called "Hailing Taxi." It has interviews with all the cast members (except for Andy, of course). Judd Hirsch really didn't get interviewed, though the guy tried an interview. But Judd didn't want to. It's all in the book, lol.

Anyways, they got rid of John because no one liked to write for him. They say all of the John-centric episodes were lame, and he was too similar to Tony. By that they meant that his lines and Tony's were interchangeable. Plus, they knew that Christopher Lloyd would be joining the cast, so they had to made room for him.I personally liked the character of John Burns, but I much prefer Jim Ignatowski. He's my favorite character. So in the end I'm glad John was on there when he was and I'm also glad he left.

As for Jeff Conaway, he said he loved the character of Bobby Wheeler. He didn't particularly care for the way they wrote him. He said that all he seemed to do was come in and say "Hi Alex" and that anyone could do that part. Unlike the classic characters of Louie or Jim which had to be played by DeVito and Lloyd. So he had a few meetings about it and decided to leave. In the fourth season they had him guest star in the episode where Bobby moves to L.A. He mentioned that they asked him to make some more guest appearances, and he was up for that, seeing as it would make sense for Bobby to be coming and going because of his acting career. However, the cast gave him such a hard time in his last episode that he just chose to leave all together. Jeff has since said he regretted leaving.

There's a thread on this, but it's old and I didn't think I was allowed to bring it up. But I wanted to mention what I think happened to John Burns. He was either fired... quit for a different job... or changed shifts. If he worked a different shift at the cab company, he wouldn't see the gang. He was most likely fired. In a way, he was the most successful of the bunch. He moved to New York shortly before the first episode and is married early on, and for whatever reason left Sunshine Cab Company.

Chocolate Moose · 07-08-2009, 11:24 AM

John was nothing special. Didn't Jeff want a lot of money to continue ?

MickeyMac · 07-08-2009, 06:34 PM

I like the first season but I always thought the John character was insignificant. I really thought the show started to go down after Jeff Connelly left. Not that that it was bad, but I didnt think it was as funny.

07-08-2009, 08:27 AM	#1
Adamantium TVAdam No More Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 11, 2002 Location: Springfield, Ohio Posts: 7,826	Why Randall Carver and Jeff Conaway Left "Taxi" I've got a book called "Hailing Taxi." It has interviews with all the cast members (except for Andy, of course). Judd Hirsch really didn't get interviewed, though the guy tried an interview. But Judd didn't want to. It's all in the book, lol. Anyways, they got rid of John because no one liked to write for him. They say all of the John-centric episodes were lame, and he was too similar to Tony. By that they meant that his lines and Tony's were interchangeable. Plus, they knew that Christopher Lloyd would be joining the cast, so they had to made room for him.I personally liked the character of John Burns, but I much prefer Jim Ignatowski. He's my favorite character. So in the end I'm glad John was on there when he was and I'm also glad he left. As for Jeff Conaway, he said he loved the character of Bobby Wheeler. He didn't particularly care for the way they wrote him. He said that all he seemed to do was come in and say "Hi Alex" and that anyone could do that part. Unlike the classic characters of Louie or Jim which had to be played by DeVito and Lloyd. So he had a few meetings about it and decided to leave. In the fourth season they had him guest star in the episode where Bobby moves to L.A. He mentioned that they asked him to make some more guest appearances, and he was up for that, seeing as it would make sense for Bobby to be coming and going because of his acting career. However, the cast gave him such a hard time in his last episode that he just chose to leave all together. Jeff has since said he regretted leaving. There's a thread on this, but it's old and I didn't think I was allowed to bring it up. But I wanted to mention what I think happened to John Burns. He was either fired... quit for a different job... or changed shifts. If he worked a different shift at the cab company, he wouldn't see the gang. He was most likely fired. In a way, he was the most successful of the bunch. He moved to New York shortly before the first episode and is married early on, and for whatever reason left Sunshine Cab Company.

07-08-2009, 11:24 AM	#2
Chocolate Moose Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 21, 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 4,887	John was nothing special. Didn't Jeff want a lot of money to continue ?
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07-08-2009, 06:34 PM	#3
MickeyMac Member Forum Star Join Date: Jun 18, 2008 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Posts: 19,004	I like the first season but I always thought the John character was insignificant. I really thought the show started to go down after Jeff Connelly left. Not that that it was bad, but I didnt think it was as funny.