42 years later, Taxi co-stars Danny DeVito and Carol Kane prove their chemistry is still alive and well.
Spoiler alert for the Season 17 finale of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
In the Season 17 finale, Frank Reynolds (DeVito) gets his shot on The Golden Bachelor. Kane steps in as Sam, a quirky yet grounded contestant who unexpectedly captures Frank’s usually discriminating eye. At first, Frank arrives at the Bachelor Mansion with impossibly high standards, even shocking real host Jesse Palmer during the limo entrances when he asks: “Are all these whores gonna be this old?”
After some pushback from Frank and adjustments from The Golden Bachelor producers, the show introduces two new contestants — a 20-year-old TikTok influencer named Cock Chewa (Audrey Corsa), and Sam, an age-appropriate contender. Sam quickly throws Frank off guard with her biting humor, saying: “You’re kidding me — this cretin is The Bachelor? I have better looking boils.”
For DeVito, speaking with DECIDER about Kane’s guest role in the finale, it was the perfect way to bring her into the chaotic world of the Philadelphia gang — more than four decades after they played Simka Dahblitz-Gravas (Kane) and Louie De Palma (DeVito) together in their classic sitcom.
Carol and I have known each other for many, many years, since the ’60s. And she worked on Taxi in the ’70s, but we’ve been friends forever and we talked to each other all the time, You’re always looking for ways where, you know, if there’s somebody in your arena that you can coerce into being on the show. This was perfect, this part was perfect for her and she loved it and they loved her and that was, that was a gift.
DeVito shared.
On Taxi, DeVito played the sharp-tongued dispatcher, while Kane took on the role of the wife of quirky mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman). The sitcom also featured Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, and Christopher Lloyd, and ran for four seasons on ABC from 1978 to 1982 before moving to NBC for one final season from 1982 to 1983.
Even after more than 40 years, DeVito told DECIDER that the cast has stayed close. Whether through online meetups or in-person gatherings, he said that whenever they reconnect, it feels as if no time has passed. That bond came through again with Kane’s appearance on Sunny, as DeVito explained they “sit right into each other” whenever they’re together.
“We have this thing that Marilu Henner sets up for us every month or so, and we do a Taxi zoom and it’s amazing because we just never lost touch. We’ve been doing it for like years now,” DeVito shared, noting that Kane’s guest spot ended with an open invitation for her return — and leaving the door open for other Taxi cast members to one day make their way to Philly as well.
So far, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has featured Kane, Christopher Lloyd — who memorably appeared as Santa Claus in Season 6, Episode 13, “A Very Sunny Christmas” — and even slipped in a playful nod to Tony Danza in Season 16, Episode 5. In that episode, Frank shocks Dee (Kaitlin Olson) when she eats decades-old oysters, telling her: “You ate those oysters? That can’s from a shellfish company I started with Tony Danza back in the ’80s,” to which Dee replies after reading the label: “Tony’s oysters in a canza?”
So, could Judd Hirsch or Marilu Henner — or even Lloyd in a larger role — show up in a future season of the FX comedy, especially since the show is already moving ahead with Season 18? According to DeVito, he believes creators and stars Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton could absolutely find a way to make it happen and deliver the kind of reunion Taxi fans would love to see.
I don’t know, we’ll see what happens. We got to get there, it’d be great. Can you imagine Judd on the show or Tony? It would be great to have everybody on somehow without making it like too surreal. But I think Rob and Charlie and Glenn could figure that out if they sat down and went into the writers room.
DeVito said with a laugh
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17 is now streaming on Hulu. Taxi is currently streaming on Paramount+.
Source: DECIDER