History Characters / Taxi

If you are looking for the character sheet of the ''Film/{{Taxi}}'' French film series, see [[Characters/TaxiFilms here]].

If you are looking for the character sheet of the ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' TV series, see [[Characters/TaxiSeries here]].

If you are looking for the character sheet of the ''Film/{{Taxi}}'' film series, see [[Characters/TaxiFilms here]].

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The core characters of the 1970's/1980's sitcom ''{{Series/Taxi}}'' include:

!!Alex Reiger

->'''Played by:''' 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.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Not too gently confirmed in a late episode by two members of a co-op board.
* BerserkButton: He doesn't react well when he gets compared with pelicans.
* 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.
* BilledAboveTheTitle: "Judd Hirsch in ... TAXI."
* BoyfriendBluff: In "Elaine's Old Friend", Alex posed as Elaine's college professor boyfriend, Bill Board, an act that managed to woo Elaine and even Elaine's friend while she was on a date with her own boyfriend. Even afterward, Elaine considered they should take their relationship further, but the end of the episode left it ambiguous as to whether or not anything was going to come out of it.
%%* BrilliantButLazy
%%* CloserToEarth
%%* TheComicallySerious
* CompressedVice: His compulsive gambling in "Alex Goes Off the Wagon".
%%* TheConfidant
* DeadpanSnarker: Especially towards Louie.
%%* DoggedNiceGuy
%%* TheFace
* GagNose: Something Louie constantly teases him about.
%%* TheGamblingAddict
%%* HollywoodDateless: Gets {{flanderized}} into this in the last season.
%%* KnightInSourArmor
* MotorMouth: Happened when he was given some uppers in "Men Are Such Beasts".
%%* NiceGuy
* OnlySaneMan: And how. When your friends and co-workers include an egotistical actor, a wacky immigrant mechanic, a burned-out relic of the '60s, a boxer one straw short of a haystack, and a vile toad of a dispatcher who likes to torture his employees, you know you must be the most normal one of the bunch. In a more bittersweet sense, he's the only one who truly accepts that he's a cab-driver and not just temporarily driving cabs until something bigger and better comes along.
%%* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
%%* SitcomCharacterArchetypes: Square and Sage.
%%* TheStoic
%%* StraightMan: Alex became this in later seasons.
* 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.
* TheUnfavourite: The reason Alex is strangely nonchalant about his father having a heart attack.
%%* VitriolicBestBuds: With Louie.

!! Robert L. "Bobby" Wheeler

->'''Played by:''' Jeff Conaway (seasons 1-3)

%%* TheAce
* BadBadActing: The acting stints that he lands are full of this.
* BreakTheCutie: He always comes closer than anyone to getting out of the garage, and always has his dreams crushed in the most humiliating way possible. Louie delights in reminding Bobby what a failure he is.
* ButtMonkey: Bobby has the unfortunate plug of being Louie's favorite of the cabbies to pick on.
%%* TheCharmer
* 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'".
* PutOnABus: To Hollywood.
** TheBusCameBack: For a guest appearance in the episode "Bobby Doesn't Live Here Anymore."
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The "sensitive guy" to Tony's "manly man". Subverted with Bobby's selfishness.
%%* SmallNameBigEgo
* StraightMan: To Tony. Lampshaded in an early episode, after Tony said "Touché" instead of the more conventional "Bon appetit":
--> '''Bobby:''' Why do you always have to annoy me?

!! Louie [=DePalma=]

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

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

* TheAntagonist: Well, he's the closest thing the show has to one.
* BadBoss: Louie once cooked the books in order to try to stop a strike (then agreed to the union's demands only when Elaine agreed to date him), embezzles from the company, and treats the employees like complete dirt. It can best be summed up by this dialogue in an early episode, after Latka fixes a taxi, and Louie rips a part out:
-->'''Louie:''' Now you can put that back in. You know why I did that, Latka?
-->'''Latka:''' Because, you are a terrible person?
-->'''Louie:''' Yes.
* BerserkButton: There's one word Louie hates more than anything... "accident".
* BigEgoHiddenDepths: In "Louie Goes Too Far", Elaine asks Louie if his privacy has been ever violated (this after she caught him peeping while changing clothes). We then learn that Louie has to go to the kids' department of the store each time he buys new clothes, feeling very humiliated.
* BigLittleMan: Louie spends most of his time in the dispacher's cage during the pilot, and the audience has a big laugh when they see Louie at full height.
* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: Right from the first time the old dispatcher asked him to fill in, Louie found out he could make extra cash by letting his employee know he accepted bribes for favors, not that most of what they got was any good. He even told Latka to pay him before he could take a sick day. It's not just money either. He always gets the first candy bar by threatening to call whoever doesn't move last for a cab.
%%* TheBully
* ButtMonkey: Whenever he's not the one causing the humiliation.
* CasanovaWannabe: He is known for hitting on women to no avail, most notably on Elaine.
%%* DeadpanSnarker
* {{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."
* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: Louie becomes this in the ''Taxi'' montage of ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' as Danny [=DeVito=] had another role in the movie.
%%* HopelessSuitor: To Elaine
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: He may try his best to hide it, but there's one reason Louie wants to hang out with Alex and Co. once in a while.
* {{Jerkass}}: A classic example on television.
** JerkassFacade: Very strongly implied. Notably, in "Louie's Fling", Louie starts crying so that Alex can help him. When Alex does, Louie teasingly announces that he only pretended to cry so that Alex would come through, pissing Alex off, but when Louie realizes Alex is serious, he quietly laments that his tears were real.
** 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.
%%* LovableSexManiac
%%* ManipulativeBastard
* MeanCharacterNiceActor: So nice in real life that he refused to kill cockroaches on the set!
* MommasBoy: Still lives with his mother but seems to resent her at times.
%%* 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, [[RealityEnsues Reality Ensued]] in this case, as he was ''fired'' for it.
%%* SitcomCharacterArchetypes: Bully
%%* SmallNameBigEgo
%%* SmugSnake
* 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").
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Baby Ruth chocolate bars, fresh out of the vending machine.
%%* {{Troll}}
%%* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist
%%* VitriolicBestBuds: With Alex (played straight) and Jim (subverted).

!! Elaine O'Connor-Nardo

->'''Played by:''' Marilu Henner


%%* DeadpanSnarker
%%* MsFanservice
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Until Simka joined the cast.
* StraightMan: To everybody except the more reasonable Alex.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The feminine counterpart to the sharp-tongued Simka.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: A couple of episodes suggest that she and Alex may have a thing for one another, but the show was cancelled before anything ever came out of it.
%%* WomenAreWiser

!! Anthony Mark "Tony" Banta

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

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

* TheAce: After Bobby left the show, Tony became this.
%%* TheBigGuy
%%* BookDumb
* TheDitz: He's not too bright.
%%* DumbMuscle
%%* EdgyBackwardsChairSitting
* HeroicBSOD: When his license was revoked because of boxing being too dangerous for him.
%%* NoodleIncident: His year spent in the Vietnam War.
* 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.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The "manly man" to Bobby's "sensitive guy". Subverted given how moronic Tony can be.
%%* StrawLoser

!! 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.

* 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.
%%* BreakoutCharacter
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: A single marijuana-laced brownie sent the bright, wealthy, and promising young Harvard student James Caldwell into a downward spiral of drugs in the '60s and transformed him into the Jim Ignatowski that the cabbies all know and love.
** 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...
* CleansUpNicely: When he takes Elaine out to see a concert violinist, she's blown away to see how he looked a suit and tie. Too bad he was a day early for the concert.
* 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.
* DrugsAreBad: Jim is basically a walking cautionary tale.
%%* EruditeStoner
* ExtremeDoormat: When he was James Caldwell.
* FingertipDrugAnalysis: When going through Latka's cookies, he was able to find out the secret ingredient was actually coca leaves. Just by chewing through them, he could pinpoint where it was grown and the quality, the same way some people can identify a fine wine.
* 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."
%%* ImmuneToDrugs
* IvyLeagueForEveryone: As mentioned, Jim was attending Harvard in the '60s when he took that fatal pot brownie.
%%* LargeHam: This is Creator/ChristopherLloyd, after all.
%%* LethalChef
* LimitedWardrobe: Hardly ever seen out of the beat-up denim.
%%* LiteralMinded
%%* MessyHair
* MrImagination: Although he sees himself as a "down-to-earth" man.
%%* NiceGuy
* NoodleIncident: Lots of them. He was thrown out of the Democratic Convention in Chicago for stealing decorations, and attended Woodstock ("500,000 people...lucky for them I went or it would have only been 499,999"). He spent a year of his life making a macrame couch, and was once traded from his commune to another one for two goats and an unspecified Donovan album.
* NostalgiaFilter: Jim has a big one for TheSixties.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: He can be quite clever at times, at least when he isn't stoned. For instance, his words of advice have convinced Alex to stop gambling, and (in the series' last original episode) wound up buying the cabbies' favorite hangout, Mario's, and turned it into a success.
%%* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname
%%* OverlyLongGag: "What does a yellow light mean?"
%%* PacManFever
%%* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In Season 2.
* SdrawkcabName: He choose the name Ignatowski because he thought it spelled "Star Child" backwards.
%%* SitcomCharacterArchetypes: Goofball
* SpecialGuest: Listed as such during his initial appearance, although Jim later proved to be a FakeGuestStar in Season 2 when he became a series regular.
* StonersAreFunny: Jim's habit has gotten him in some rather odd situations to say the least; He lived in a condemned building, bought a racehorse he renamed Gary (to erase his "slave name") and kept him in his living room, and spent a considerable period of time trying to become the "perfect" cabbie only to spend all his earnings on a wall of [=TVs=]. He screamed in his sleep, and thought weekends were nine days long because "we switched to the metric system."
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Spaghetti-Os; he has fifty cans of the stuff in his apartment.
%%* VitriolicBestBuds: With Louie.
%%* WackyGuy

!! Latka Gravas

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

-> 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.

* 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."
* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Latka's native language. Most of this was Kaufman's creation and he had to teach it to Carol Kane when she made her first appearance as Simka, but a few specific words were added by the writers ("nik-nik" = "love", for instance).
* BerserkButton: Go ahead, try to mention Vic Ferrari to Latka. Or mess with his woman, Simka.
* 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."
%%* BigEater
* BilingualBonus / YiddishAsASecondLanguage: His name is Yiddish for "potato pancake."
* CannotTalkToWomen: Why Latka creates the Vic Ferrari alter ego, who ''can'', in "Latka the Playboy".
%%* TheCasanova: As Vic Ferrari.
* {{Catchphrase}}: "Tank you veddy much", a carryover from Kaufman's stage act.
%%* TheChewToy
* CitizenshipMarriage: Latka had one of these in "Paper Marriage" to avoid deportation before eventually being wed to Simka in Season 4.
%%* CloudCuckooLander
%%* CloudCuckooLand: His native homeland.
* 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.''
* ExtremeDoormat: Especially when faced with Louie's wrath.
%%* FunnyForeigner: Of course.
%%* HappilyMarried: To Simka.
%%* {{Jerkass}}: Vic.
%%* ImmigrantPatriotism
* LiteralMinded: In "Mama Gravas", when Latka is telling the gang his mother is arriving soon.
--> '''John:''' When does her plane land?
--> '''Latka:''' Right at the end of flight.
%%* LovableSexManiac
* ManInWhite: Latka wears white overalls, which accentuate his innocence, on the job.
* 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.
* MommasBoy: After his father died, his mother was all he had left, so you can guess how Latka reacted when Alex slept with his mother.
%%* MrImagination
%%* NiceGuy
%%* PitbullDatesPuppy: The Puppy in his relationship with Simka.
%%* ThePollyanna
* {{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.
%%* SitcomCharacterArchetypes: Goofball.
* SplitPersonality: Develops one in "Latka the Playboy" and it sticks for most of Season 4.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Kaufman was ''perceived'' as this by the show's cast and crew, particularly by Tony Danza.
* WackyGuy: The show's first character of this type, followed by Jim.
%%* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent
%%* WideEyedIdealist

!! Simka Dahblitz-Gravas

->'''Played by:''' Carol Kane (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.

* AllPeriodsArePMS: In "Simka's Monthlies", the final episode to air, this threatens her marriage to Latka because she cannot make the meeting with the immigration board that would finalize her U.S. citizenship (thus risking deportation). Inverted, in that she actually ''does'' have PMS (as opposed to a normal period where she acts like she does).
* AndThisIsFor: Simka slaps Latka for each family member of hers he unknowingly mocked with his jokes in "Guess Who's Coming for Brefnish" ("I hope you have a small family...").
* BigEater: Described as this by Latka.
* BilingualBonus / YiddishAsASecondLanguage: Her name means "happiness" in Yiddish.
* TheBusCameBack: In "Simka Returns", and ultimately, to join the main cast in Season 5.
%%* DistaffCounterpart: To Latka.
%%* EightiesHair: In the last season.
* FieryRedhead: Starting in Season 4 (she was blond in her initial appearance).
%%* FunnyForeigner
%%* HappilyMarried: To Latka.
* PitbullDatesPuppy: The Pitbull in her relationship with Latka.
%%* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In Season 5.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: In her re-encounter with Latka, Simka tells she was "used and thrown away like and old shoe" when referring to the relationships she had after the events of "Guess Who's Coming For Brefnish."
* SitcomCharacterArchetypes: Goofball, like her husband, but she's a bit more worldly-wise and sharp-tongued than he is.
* WomenAreWiser: As previously mentioned, Simka would often stand up to Louie for Latka.

!! John Burns

->'''Played by:''' Randall Carver (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.

* 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.
%%* {{Adorkable}}
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: He is never seen or mentioned after Season 1.
%%* CloudCuckooLander
* DemotedToExtra: By the end of the first season, no less.
%%* ADayInTheLimelight: "The Great Line" and "Money Troubles."
* TheDitz: He's not too bright.
* TheGenericGuy: According to Randall Carver himself, this was the reason John Burns was written out of the show, as his and Tony's roles were practically interchangeable.
* GiveGeeksAChance: He was the first regular on the show who got married. [[AccidentalMarriage While this was actually an accident]], he and his wife Suzanne [[HappilyMarried quickly took a liking to each other]] and they remained married.
* InsaneTrollLogic: Once Tony complained that the apples in the snack machine were "old and mushy". Here's John's explanation:
-->"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".
* NaiveNewcomer: Particularly in the show's WelcomeEpisode.
%%* NiceGuy

!! Jeff Bennett

->'''Played by:''' J. Alan Thomas

* AscendedExtra: While he never quite made "regular" status, Jeff had the episode "Crime and Punishment" centered on him when Louie accuses him of stealing car parts. Plus, Thomas filled in for Andy Kaufman during rehearsals whenever Kaufman was not present, and his role in the episodes where he was given something to do basically took the "Louie foil" slot that Latka often held.
%%* BeleagueredAssistant
%%* ButNotTooBlack
* LivingProp: Was this at the beginning of the show before over time getting a promotion.
%%* RecurringExtra
* RunningGag: Louie can never quite recall his last name. It's Bennett.
%%* TokenMinority
----

->'''Played by:''' Tony Danza

%%* TheDitz

* ShipperOnDeck: Tony will often step in to help Elaine find a guy whenever she's feeling lonely. This backfired horribly in "Elaine's Strange Triangle."

* TheGenericGuy: According to Randall Carver himself, this was the reason John Burns was written out of the show, since his and Tony's roles were practically interchangeable.

%%* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome

%%* TheDitz

* HappilyMarried: And after the ''sixth episode'', no less.

%%* DeadpanSnarker

* ADayInTheLimelight: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], as Latka was still a central character, but episodes that stood out for being primarily focused on him: "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", and the remainder of the series' episodes that involved his relationship with Simka.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: No one, except Jim and perhaps Latka. 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.

* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: A single marijuana-laced brownie sent the bright, wealthy, and promising young James Caldwell into a downward spiral of drugs in the '60s and transformed him into the Jim Ignatowski that the cabbies all know and love.

** Which was borrowed by 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...

** Which was borrowed by 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 SATs with a future at Harvard. And then Homer told him to lighten up and handed him a beer...

* OnlySaneMan: And how. When your friends and co-workers include an egotistical actor, a wacky immigrant mechanic, a burned-out relic of the '60s, a boxer one straw short of a haystack, and a vile toad of a dispatcher who likes to torture his employees, you know you must be the most normal one of the bunch.

* StonersAreFunny: Jim's habit has gotten him in some rather odd situations to say the least; He lived in a condemned building, bought a racehorse he renamed Gary (to erase his "slave name") and kept him in his living room, and spent a considerable period of time trying to become the "perfect" cabbie only to spend all his earnings on a wall of TVs. He screamed in his sleep, and thought weekends were nine days long because "we switched to the metric system."

* AbsenteeActor: Elaine's appearances in the episodes "Mama Gravas", "Tony's Sister and Jim" and "Take My Ex-Wife, Please" amounted to little more than brief cameos.

* AbsenteeActor: Andy Kaufman was extremely reluctant to do a sitcom and made it a requirement in his contract that he wouldn't have to appear in every episode. He doesn't; in fact, Latka appears in fewer and fewer episodes as the series progresses.

* AbsenteeActor: In "What Price Bobby", Alex only appears during TheStinger. This was because Hirsch was busy filming ''Film/OrdinaryPeople'' at the time.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Jeff Conaway was fired after his heroin addiction became too disruptive to the filming schedule. When he was finally completely unable to film an episode, Bobby's lines were split between other characters where they fit just as well, causing the producers to realize they didn't need the character at all.

* AllPeriodsArePMS: In "Simka's Monthlies", the final episode to air, this threatens her marriage to Latka because she cannot make the meeting with the immigration board that would finalize her U.S. citizenship (thus risking deportation).

* NaiveNewcomer: Particukarly in the show's WelcomeEpisode.

%%* NaiveNewcomer

->'''Played by:''' Christopher Lloyd (seasons 2-5)

-> A gentle burned-out hippie, Christopher Lloyd's character 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.

-> A gentle burned-out hippie, Christopher Lloyd's character 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 became a regular just a few weeks in.