About
"We did 112 episodes of Taxi and we had 112 parties. Everyone would come. Robin Williams, Pam Dawber, Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Penny Marshall, Tom Hanks, and Peter Scolari. Our parties were legendary Friday nights on the Paramount lot."
In her two-and-a-half-hour interview, Marilu Henner talks about her early years doing commercials and appearing as "Marty" in the stage play Grease in Chicago. She discusses her time touring and on Broadway, and describes almost being cast on the CBS drama The Paper Chase, but holding out for the ABC comedy Taxi instead. She recounts her time as "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi, including working with show creator James L. Brooks, director James Burrows, and cast members Judd Hirsch ("Alex Reiger"), Danny DeVito ("Louie De Palma"), Tony Danza ("Tony Banta"), and Christopher Lloyd ("Reverend Jim Ignatowski"). Henner discusses working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravas," and relates the story of Kaufman's alter-ego Tony Clifton "guest-starring" on the show. She speaks of the cancellation of Taxi by ABC, and its subsequent revival and cancellation by NBC. She talks about being cast in several feature films, including The Man Who Loved Women with Burt Reynolds, which led to her being cast in the sitcom Evening Shade. She discusses several other projects, including her short-lived talk show Marilu, her appearance on Celebrity Apprentice, and her guest roles on Unforgettable and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She also speaks of her remarkable, scientifically documented ability to remember dates and specific details, which led to an appearance on 60 Minutes. Adrienne Faillace conducted the interview on May 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, CA.
Highlights
Marilu Henner on being cast as "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on Tony Clifton (Andy Kaufman) getting hired and fired on Taxi
Marilu Henner on the Taxi theme song
Marilu Henner on Hillary Clinton picking the title for Evening Shade
Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On her early life and influences; on playing "Marty" in the original Chicago production of "Grease"; on doing commercials early in her career
On getting into television; on being cast as "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi; on having input on "Elaine's" stories on Taxi and working with the producers including James L. Brooks and Ed. Weinberger
On meeting the cast of Taxi; on James Burrows directing the pilot of Taxi; on the production of Taxi
On shooting Taxi on Friday nights; on Taxi bloopers; on Danny DeVito as "Louie De Palma" on Taxi
On choosing Taxi over The Paper Chase; on Judd Hirsch as "Alex Reiger" on Taxi
Chapter 2
On the relationship between "Alex" and "Elaine" on Taxi; on working with Tony Danza as "Tony Banta" on Taxi; on working with Jeff Conaway as "Bobby Wheeler" on the show
On working with Randall Carver as "John Burns" on Taxi and the first time she got recognized from Taxi; on working with Christopher Lloyd as "Reverend Jim Ignatowski" on Taxi; on working with Carol Kane as "Simka Dahblitz-Gravas" on the show
On working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravas"; on doing publicity for Taxi; on Taxi being cancelled by ABC and picked up and cancelled by NBC
Chapter 3
On shooting the final episode of Taxi; on the Taxi theme song and the legacy of Taxi
On appearing in the feature film "The Man Who Loved Women" and being cast on Evening Shade; on how Evening Shade differed from Taxi; on Hillary Clinton picking the title for Evening Shade
On the final season of Evening Shade and her favorite episodes; on the cancellation of Evening Shade and hiding her pregnancy on the show; on hosting her own talk show, Marilu
On appearing on Celebrity Apprentice and working with Donald Trump; on appearing on 60 Minutes to discuss her memory; on appearing on Unforgettable; on appearing on Brooklyn Nine-Nine
On then-current projects and mentors; on how the industry has changed since she started; on advice to an aspiring actor and how she'd like to be remembered
Shows
60 Minutes
Marilu Henner on appearing on 60 Minutes to discuss her memory
Apprentice, The
Marilu Henner on appearing on Celebrity Apprentice and working with Donald Trump
Evening Shade
Marilu Henner on appearing in the feature films "The Man Who Loved Women" and being cast on Evening Shade, both starring Burt Reynolds
Marilu Henner on how Evening Shade differed from Taxi
Marilu Henner on Hillary Clinton picking the title for Evening Shade
Marilu Henner on the final season of Evening Shade and favorite episodes
Marilu Henner on the cancellation of Evening Shade and hiding her pregnancy on the show
Paper Chase, The
Marilu Henner on choosing Taxi over The Paper Chase
Taxi
Marilu Henner on being cast as "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on the character of "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on having input on "Elaine's" stories on Taxi and working with the producers including James L. Brooks and Ed. Weinberger
Marilu Henner on meeting the cast of Taxi
Marilu Henner on James Burrows directing the pilot of Taxi
Marilu Henner on the production of Taxi
Marilu Henner on shooting Taxi on Friday nights
Marilu Henner on Taxi bloopers
Marilu Henner on Danny DeVito as "Louie De Palma" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on choosing Taxi over The Paper Chase
Marilu Henner on Judd Hirsch as "Alex Reiger" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on the relationship between "Alex" and "Elaine" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on working with Tony Danza as "Tony Banta" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on working with Jeff Conaway as "Bobby Wheeler" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on working with Randall Carver as "John Burns" on Taxi and the first time she got recognized from Taxi
Marilu Henner on working with Christopher Lloyd as "Reverend Jim Ignatowski" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on working with Carol Kane as "Simka Dahblitz-Gravas" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravas" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on doing publicity for Taxi
Marilu Henner on Taxi being cancelled by ABC and picked up and cancelled by NBC
Marilu Henner on shooting the final episode of Taxi; on the Taxi theme song
Marilu Henner on the legacy of Taxi
Topics
Advertising and Sponsorship
Marilu Henner on doing commercials early in her career
Advice
Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
Bloopers
Marilu Henner on Taxi bloopers
Characters & Catchphrases
Marilu Henner on the character of "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
Creative Influences and Inspiration
Marilu Henner on James L. Brooks and other mentors
Pop Culture
Marilu Henner on the character of "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravas" and Tony Clifton on Taxi
Marilu Henner on the Taxi theme song
Television Industry
Marilu Henner on doing commercials early in her career
Marilu Henner on how the industry has changed since she started
Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
TV Theme Songs
Marilu Henner on the Taxi theme song
Professions
Actress
Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
Performers
Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
Genres
Comedy Series
Marilu Henner on playing "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on playing "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi (Part 2)
Marilu Henner on playing "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi (Part 3)
Marilu Henner on co-starring on Evening Shade
News and Documentary
Marilu Henner on appearing on 60 Minutes to discuss her memory
Reality TV
Marilu Henner on appearing on Celebrity Apprentice and working with Donald Trump
Talk Shows
Marilu Henner on hosting her own talk show, Marilu
People
Christopher Lloyd (actor)
Marilu Henner on working with Christopher Lloyd as "Reverend Jim Ignatowski" on Taxi
James L. Brooks
Marilu Henner on having input on "Elaine's" stories on Taxi and working with the producers including James L. Brooks and Ed. Weinberger
James Burrows
Marilu Henner on James Burrows directing the pilot of Taxi
Jeff Conaway
Marilu Henner on working with Jeff Conaway as "Bobby Wheeler" on Taxi
Tony Danza
Marilu Henner on working with Tony Danza as "Tony Banta" on Taxi
Danny DeVito
Marilu Henner on Danny DeVito as "Louie De Palma" on Taxi
Judd Hirsch
Marilu Henner on Judd Hirsch as "Alex Reiger" on Taxi
Marilu Henner on the relationship between "Alex" (Judd Hirsch) and "Elaine" on Taxi
Carol Kane
Marilu Henner on working with Carol Kane as "Simka Dahblitz-Gravas" on Taxi
Andy Kaufman
Marilu Henner on working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravas" and Tony Clifton on Taxi
Burt Reynolds
Marilu Henner on appearing in the feature films "The Man Who Loved Women" and being cast on Evening Shade, both starring Burt Reynolds
Donald J. Trump
Marilu Henner on appearing on Celebrity Apprentice and working with Donald Trump
Ed. Weinberger
Marilu Henner on having input on "Elaine's" stories on Taxi and working with the producers including James L. Brooks and Ed. Weinberger