History Characters / TaxiSeries

!!Main characters

->'''Played by:''' {{Creator/Judd Hirsch}}

-> The heart and soul of the series. After having a nice office job, his lack of ambition got him fired, he lost contact with his family, and ended up a taxi driver content to spend the rest of his life driving cabs.

[[folder:Robert L. "Bobby" Wheeler]]

->'''Played by:''' {{Creator/Jeff Conaway}} (seasons 1-3)

->'''Played by:''' Creator/DannyDeVito

->'''Played by:''' {{Creator/Marilu Henner}}

[[folder:Anthony Mark "Tony" Banta]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/TonyDanza

[[folder:Reverend Jim "Iggy" Ignatowski]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/ChristopherLloyd (seasons 2-5)

-> A gentle burned-out hippie, Jim first appeared in a one-shot role in the first season, being hired to officiate Latka's green card "wedding", but he was so well-received that the producers brought him back early in Season 2, and he [[AscendedExtra became a regular]] just a few weeks in.

->'''Played by:''' Creator/AndyKaufman

-> The Sunshine Cab Company's immigrant mechanic. Created as an {{Expy}} of performer Andy Kaufman's stage persona of "Foreign Man" and intended as a BreakoutCharacter, the show eventually took him in a DenserAndWackier direction via a multiple personality disorder over late Season 3 and the bulk of Season 4. But ThePowerOfLove for fellow old-worlder Simka Dahblitz brought him around, and Latka became the second and last regular character (and longest-serving one) to get married in the course of the series.

[[folder:Simka Dahblitz-Gravas]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/CarolKane (season 5)

-> Latka's feisty DistaffCounterpart. Initially appearing as a one-off character in Season 2's "Guess Who's Coming to Brefnish", her relationship with him fell apart owing to his prejudice against the "mountain people" of their home country, as she happened to be one of them. After an unsuccessful attempt to make a go of it in Omaha, Nebraska, she returned to New York City in Season 4 and ultimately gave Latka a reason to give up his multiple personalities. By season's end they were wed, and she was a regular in the fifth and final season.

->'''Played by:''' Creator/RandallCarver (season 1)

-> A somewhat nerdy college student from the Midwest who became a cabbie after having to go to the garage since Alex didn't have enough change for fifty bucks. He had a couple of episodes centered on him (with one of them focused on his AccidentalMarriage), but he was quickly DemotedToExtra and was written out after the first season. Portrayed by Randall Carver.

->'''Played by:''' Creator/JAlanThomas

* LethalStupidity: He managed to burn Louie's apartment to ashes because he was cooking beans... putting a bean bag into the stove.

* CloudCuckooLander: Jim lives in a world of his own, from having visions of the original Mouseketeers to mistaking a cigarette machine for a record machine, to having a funeral for a dead horse that doesn't exist.

* AbandonedCatchphrase: Early on, Latka often closed his sentences with "Tank you veddy much", a carryover from Kaufman's stage act. As he became more fluent in English, this was gradually dropped during the third season, and the last time this was uttered early in the fourth season, it was actually said by Alex.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: In "Bobby's Big Break", when Louie was ranting about how he was going to put Bobby through ultimate hell when he returned to the garage, Alex finally snapped and tore the front of Louie's wire-mesh dispatcher's cage with his bare hands and proceeded to yank Louie out of the cage and grab him roughly by the scruff of his shirt until Louie compromised.

'''Latka:''' Because, you are a terrible person?\\

* LimitedWardrobe: Hardly ever seen out of the beat-up denim. It's eventually revealed that it's the only clothes that he owns.

* {{Catchphrase}}: "Tank you veddy much", a carryover from Kaufman's stage act.

%%* BrilliantButLazy

%%* TheStoic

%%* TheNapoleon
%%* NoIndoorVoice

%%* ButNotTooBlack

%%* HollywoodDateless: Gets {{flanderized}} into this in the last season.

* AccidentalMarriage: In "The Great Line", he picks up a girl at Mario's with the line, "[[AccidentalProposal Let's just skip everything and get married]]." To his surprise, she accepts the proposal and they get married... and ''stay'' married for the rest of his time on the show. The last episode has him mention they both have contemplated having kids, but they have no idea how... how to raise them, that is.

* NiceGirl: She's extremely kind and supportive of her friends, and despite he love for the fine arts, she isn't a snobbish

%%* TheConfidant

%%* DoggedNiceGuy

* UglyGuyHotWife: In "Louie and the Blind Girl", she elects to get surgery that could restore her sight. Louie is [[InsecureLoveInterest terrified that she'll dump him once she sees what he actually looks like]]. But he stands by her side, and true to the trope, when she first sees him she says that he's everything she imagined.

%%* DeadpanSnarker

* MsFanservice: She's [[HeadTurningBeauty incredibly attractive]] and frequently [[SheCleansUpNicely dresses well]].

* OneOfTheBoys: She's hardly a {{Tomboy}}, but she quickly builds a rapport with the rest of the male cast and hangs out with them often.

%%* BigEater

%%* MrImagination

* AccidentalMarriage: In "The Great Line", he picks up a girl at Mario's with the line, "[[AccidentalProposal Let's just skip everything and get married]]." To his surprise, she accepts the proposal and they get married...and presumably ''stay'' married for the rest of his time on the show.

* DemotedToExtra: By the end of the first season, no less.

%%* RaisedCatholic: In "Shut It Down," he revealed he went to Catholic school.
-->'''Louie:''' I used to have a nun in my parochial school--Sister Porchnik. She used to give pop quizzes on eternal damnation.

-->'''Louie:''' I used to have a nun in my parochial school--Sister Porchnik. She used to give pop quizzes
on eternal damnation.

* GenreSavvy: Being an actor, he was often this. Like when the entire garage crowded the door awaiting for some movie people, only to be stopped by him, calling then "a bunch of 'groupies'".

* AmbiguousDisorder: Jim often confuses reality with fiction (he once referred that his father taught him to be a man along with his brothers Hoss and Little Joe), he once got obsessed with being the one who watched E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial more than anyone else in New York City, forgets important stuff frequently and considers Louie his best friend.

* GeniusDitz / IdiotSavant: Jim may be slow at times ([[JustifiedTrope justified]] since he used to be a drug addict), but you'll be surprised at how much his apparent social delusions prove to be quite accurate, especially in "Jim Joins the Network."

* TokenGoodTeammate: Despite Alex's initial sour demeanor when given one of his friends' problems, he ''always'' comes through in the end and everybody knows they can rely on him. Secretly, however, it's something that Alex resents, as learned in "Mr. Personalities", when Latka (as Alex) relates all of Alex's innermost thoughts to a psychiatrist.

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: In regards to Bobby, his favorite tormentee!

* SpotlightStealingSquad: Kaufman was ''perceived'' as this by the show's cast and crew, particularly by Tony Danza, due to the unusual provisions in his contract that among other things meant he didn't have to attend all the rehearsals. But largely because he only appeared in half the episodes per season, however (and even fewer episodes in the late seasons), he was never actually this.

* {{Determinator}}: Lou always expected Zena to come back to him after they broke up, being clearly shocked when Zena told him she was going to get married.
* FriendlessBackground: He was this in high school.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: No one, except Jim and perhaps Latka (and even the latter is revealed to have often fantasized about him in front of a firing squad). The "friend" part is questionable, but he does start to hang out with the cabbies outside of the garage more and more as the series progresses.
* HatesBeingTouched: Especially by "cabbies."

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Louie had his moments. Once, the cabbies suspected that he would tell Latka was marrying a call girl to [[CitizenshipMarriage get his "green card"]]. But when the immigration agents asked him, he told them Latka was actually marrying for love.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: In regards to Bobby, his favorite tormentee.
* LargeHam: Much like all of [=DeVito=]'s characters. In fact, most of the roles he played later are {{Expy}}s of Louie in some way.

* StalkerShrine: Somehow the cabbies think that Louie's pasting of a photo of Zena's face over a bikini-clad calendar girl seems to be quite weird (That's how Jim knew of Zena in "Louie Meets The Folks").

* UglyGuyHotWife: One episode has him dating a blind girl, and she elects to get surgery that could restore her sight. Louie is [[InsecureLoveInterest terrified that she'll dump him once she sees what he actually looks like]]. But he stands by her side, and true to the trope, when she first sees him she says that he's everything she imagined.

* BigEater: Described as this by Latka.

* TheBusCameBack: In "Simka Returns", and ultimately, to join the main cast in Season 5.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: It has been shown that despite his innocent demeanor on the job, Latka can at times get carried away in his thoughts, such as in the episode "Fantasy Borough", where he daydreams that he and Louie have switched roles, with Latka as the top sarge and Louie as the harrowed mechanic. Ultimately, it climaxes with Latka about to execute Louie by firing squad. When Louie snaps Latka out of it moments later and pisses him off again, Latka simply says "Fire!" much to Louie's befuddlement.

* MeaningfulAppearance: Latka wears white overalls, which accentuate his innocence, on the job. It's more obvious post Season 1, when they're considerably less grimy than before.

* {{Ruritania}}: This is the only explanation given on the show from where Latka might be from. We've seen drawings of the country like nothing that can be identified as a known location as well as some of the dress styles that suggest an Eastern European land. (In Kaufman's stand-up, Foreign Man was said to come from a fictional island nation in the Caspian Sea called "Caspiar", but this was never explicitly adapted into Latka's backstory.)

* SpotlightStealingSquad: Kaufman was ''perceived'' as this by the show's cast and crew, particularly by Tony Danza, due to the unusual provisions in his contract that, among other things, meant he didn't have to attend all the rehearsals.

* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: Louie becomes this in the ''Taxi'' montage of ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' as Danny [=DeVito=] had another role in the movie.

-> The Sunshine Cab Company's immigrant mechanic. Created as an {{Expy}} of performer Andy Kaufman's stage persona of "Foreign Man" and intended as a BreakoutCharacter, the show eventually took him in a DenserAndWackier direction via a multiple personality disorder. But ThePowerOfLove for fellow old-worlder Simka Dahblitz brought him around, and Latka became the second and last regular character (and longest-serving one) to get married in the course of the series.

* AbortedDeclarationOfLove: Latka tried to tell his feelings for Simka, but he turned into Vic Ferrari before he could complete his speech.
%%* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Vic!
* AndStarring: "Andy Kaufman as Latka Gravas."

* BewareTheNiceOnes: It has been shown that despite his innocent demeanor on the job, Latka can at times get carried away in his thoughts, such as in the episode "Fantasy Borough", where he daydreamed that he and Louie switched roles, with Latka as the top sarge and Louie as the harrowed mechanic. Ultimately, it climaxes with Latka about to execute Louie by firing squad. When Louie snapped Latka out of it moments later and pissed him off again, Latka simply said "fire."

%%* BilingualBonus / YiddishAsASecondLanguage: His name is Yiddish for "potato pancake."

%%* TheCasanova: As Vic Ferrari.

* CitizenshipMarriage: Latka had one of these in "Paper Marriage" to avoid deportation before eventually being wed to Simka in Season 4.
* CloudCuckooLander: He is innocent and polite but extremely naive and can have a hard time reconciling the ways of "the old country" with his new life

* CursedWithAwesome: The Vic Ferrari personality helped Latka score with multiple women, but the reason he wanted to dispose of Vic was because Vic continuously interfered with Latka's own life and even attempted to take over completely.
* ADayInTheLimelight: "Paper Marriage", "Mama Gravas", "The Apartment", "Latka's Revolting", "Guess Who's Coming For Brefnish", "Latka's Cookies", "Latka the Playboy", "Mr. Personalities", "Simka Returns".
* DidYouJustHaveSex: Simka realizes that Latka "did it with another woman" immediately after he walks into the door in the snowstorm episode.
* TheDitz: Latka ''seemed'' like one at times, but that was arguably more a case of ObfuscatingStupidity.
* {{Expy}}: Of Kaufman's "Foreign Man" character, which he originated in his acts before he was offered a role on ''Taxi.''

%%* HappilyMarried: To Simka.

* MateOrDie: This almost ruins Latka and Simka's marriage when Latka sleeps with a female cabbie to keep from freezing to death in a snowstorm.
* MeaningfulAppearance: Latka wears white overalls, which accentuate his innocence, on the job.

* SpotlightStealingSquad: Kaufman was ''perceived'' as this by the show's cast and crew, particularly by Tony Danza.

%%* FunnyForeigner: Of course.

* {{Ruritania}}: This is the only explanation given on the show from where Latka might be from. We've seen drawings of the country like nothing that can be identified as a known location as well as some of the dress styles that suggest an Eastern European land.

* BrilliantButLazy
* CloserToEarth
* TheComicallySerious
* CompressedVice: His compulsive gambling in "Alex Goes Off the Wagon".
* TheConfidant

* DoggedNiceGuy
* TheFace

* TheGamblingAddict
* HollywoodDateless: Gets {{flanderized}} into this in the last season.
* KnightInSourArmor

* NiceGuy

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
* SitcomCharacterArchetypes: Square and Sage.
* TheStoic

* VitriolicBestBuds: With Louie.

* TheCharmer

* SmallNameBigEgo

-> The diminutive, but despotical dispatcher at the Sunshine Cab Company.

-->'''Louie:''' Now you can put that back in. You know why I did that, Latka?
-->'''Latka:''' Because, you are a terrible person?
-->'''Louie:''' Yes.

* TheBully

* CasanovaWannabe: He is known for hitting on women to no avail, most notably on Elaine.
* DeadpanSnarker

* HopelessSuitor: To Elaine

* {{Jerkass}}: A classic example on television.

* LovableSexManiac
* ManipulativeBastard
* TheNapoleon
* NoIndoorVoice
* ThePeepingTom: He did this in "Louie Goes Too Far", peeping on Elaine through a hole in the wall separating the two rest rooms; however, in this case, as he was ''fired'' for it.
* SitcomCharacterArchetypes: Bully
* SmallNameBigEgo
* SmugSnake

* {{Troll}}
* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Alex (played straight) and Jim (subverted).

* DeadpanSnarker
* MsFanservice
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Until Simka joined the cast.

* WomenAreWiser

-> A wannabe amateur boxer who gets some big breaks that always crumble down.

* BookDumb

* DumbMuscle
* EdgyBackwardsChairSitting

* PlatonicLifePartners: With Elaine; Tony is the only male character in the main cast that never expressed any interest in her but was always willing to help her out.

* StrawLoser

* BreakoutCharacter

** Which was borrowed by ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' (and played much darker, considering Homer led into the flashback by asking, "After all I've done for you?") as the origin of worthless drunk Barney Gumble. Barney was a bright high school student studying for the UsefulNotes/SATs with a future at Harvard. And then Homer told him to lighten up and handed him a beer...

* EruditeStoner: "I must have taken.. music lessons.."

* HippieName: Played with. Jim changed his last name to Ignatowski, because he was so high he thought it was "Star Child" spelled backwards.
* ImmuneToDrugs

* LethalChef

* LiteralMinded
* MessyHair

* NiceGuy

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname

* PacManFever

* SitcomCharacterArchetypes: Goofball

* VitriolicBestBuds: With Louie.

-> The Sunshine Cab Company's mechanic. An immigrant from an unnamed (perhaps Eastern European) country who firmly believes in UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream (Type 1), he is innocent and polite but extremely naive and can have a hard time reconciling the ways of "the old country" with his new life. Created as an {{Expy}} of performer Andy Kaufman's stage persona of "Foreign Man" and intended as a BreakoutCharacter, the show eventually took him in a DenserAndWackier direction via a multiple personality disorder. But ThePowerOfLove for fellow old-worlder Simka Dahblitz brought him around, and Latka became the second and last regular character (and longest-serving one) to get married in the course of the series.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Vic!

* BigEater
* BilingualBonus / YiddishAsASecondLanguage: His name is Yiddish for "potato pancake."

* TheCasanova: As Vic Ferrari.

* TheChewToy

* CloudCuckooLander
* CloudCuckooLand: His native homeland.

* FunnyForeigner: Of course.
* HappilyMarried: To Simka.
* {{Jerkass}}: Vic.
* ImmigrantPatriotism

--> '''John:''' When does her plane land?
--> '''Latka:''' Right at the end of flight.
* LovableSexManiac

* NiceGuy
* PitbullDatesPuppy: The Puppy in his relationship with Simka.
* ThePollyanna

* SitcomCharacterArchetypes: Goofball.

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent
* WideEyedIdealist

* DistaffCounterpart: To Latka.

* FunnyForeigner
* HappilyMarried: To Latka.

* AccidentalProposal / AccidentalMarriage: In "The Great Line", he picks up a girl at Mario's with the line, "Let's just skip everything and get married." To his surprise, she accepts the proposal and they get married...and presumably ''stay'' married for the rest of his time on the show.

* CloudCuckooLander

-->"They do put new apples in the machine, but to get to the new apples, you have to eat all the old apples, but because the old apples are so old, very few people eat them. So, by the time you get to the new apples, they're old apples".

* NiceGuy

* BeleagueredAssistant
* ButNotTooBlack

* RecurringExtra

* TokenMinority