Marilu Henner

Actress


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About
About this interview

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.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"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."

People Talking About ...
Highlights
Marilu Henner on being cast as "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
04:08
Marilu Henner on Tony Clifton (Andy Kaufman) getting hired and fired on Taxi
06:23
Marilu Henner on the Taxi  theme song
02:47
Marilu Henner on Hillary Clinton picking the title for Evening Shade
01:50
Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
02:53
Full Interview

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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

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Marilu Henner on appearing on 60 Minutes to discuss her memory
04:33

Apprentice, The

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Marilu Henner on appearing on Celebrity Apprentice  and working with Donald Trump
04:18

Evening Shade

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Marilu Henner on appearing in the feature films "The Man Who Loved Women" and being cast on Evening Shade, both starring Burt Reynolds 
05:31
Marilu Henner on how Evening Shade differed from Taxi
02:31
Marilu Henner on Hillary Clinton picking the title for Evening Shade
01:50
Marilu Henner on the final season of Evening Shade and favorite episodes
02:21
Marilu Henner on the cancellation of Evening Shade and hiding her pregnancy on the show
04:01

Paper Chase, The

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Marilu Henner on choosing Taxi  over The Paper Chase
02:05

Taxi

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Marilu Henner on being cast as "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
04:08
Marilu Henner on the character of "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
02:41
Marilu Henner on having input on "Elaine's" stories on Taxi and working with the producers including James L. Brooks and Ed. Weinberger
04:46
Marilu Henner on meeting the cast of Taxi
04:17
Marilu Henner on James Burrows directing the pilot of Taxi
01:48
Marilu Henner on the production of Taxi
04:51
Marilu Henner on shooting Taxi on Friday nights
02:57
Marilu Henner on Taxi bloopers
01:18
Marilu Henner on Danny DeVito as "Louie De Palma" on Taxi
08:43
Marilu Henner on choosing Taxi over The Paper Chase
02:05
Marilu Henner on Judd Hirsch as "Alex Reiger" on Taxi
01:32
Marilu Henner on the relationship between "Alex" and "Elaine" on Taxi
05:32
Marilu Henner on working with Tony Danza as "Tony Banta" on Taxi
03:44
Marilu Henner on working with Jeff Conaway as "Bobby Wheeler" on Taxi
01:46
Marilu Henner on working with Randall Carver as "John Burns" on Taxi and the first time she got recognized from Taxi
03:50
Marilu Henner on working with Christopher Lloyd as "Reverend Jim Ignatowski" on Taxi
02:44
Marilu Henner on working with Carol Kane as "Simka Dahblitz-Gravas" on Taxi
03:43
Marilu Henner on working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravas" on Taxi
09:24
Marilu Henner on doing publicity for Taxi
01:10
Marilu Henner on Taxi being cancelled by ABC and picked up and cancelled by NBC
06:12
Marilu Henner on shooting the final episode of Taxi; on the Taxi theme song
03:41
Marilu Henner on the legacy of Taxi
01:22
Topics

Advertising and Sponsorship

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Marilu Henner on doing commercials early in her career
02:24

Advice

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Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
02:53

Bloopers

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Marilu Henner on Taxi  bloopers
01:18

Characters & Catchphrases

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Marilu Henner on the character of "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
02:41

Creative Influences and Inspiration

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Marilu Henner on James L. Brooks and other mentors
01:05

Pop Culture

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Marilu Henner on the character of "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
02:41
Marilu Henner on working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravas" and Tony Clifton on Taxi
09:24
Marilu Henner on the Taxi  theme song
02:47

TV Theme Songs

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Marilu Henner on the Taxi  theme song
02:47

Television Industry

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Marilu Henner on doing commercials early in her career
02:24
Marilu Henner on how the industry has changed since she started
02:47
Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
02:53
Professions

Actress

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Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
02:53

Performers

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Marilu Henner on advice to an aspiring actor
02:53
Genres

Comedy Series

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Marilu Henner on playing "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi
35:25
Marilu Henner on playing "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi (Part 2)
38:05
Marilu Henner on playing "Elaine Nardo" on Taxi (Part 3)
05:03
Marilu Henner on co-starring on Evening Shade 
16:14

News and Documentary

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Marilu Henner on appearing on 60 Minutes  to discuss her memory
04:33

Reality TV

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Marilu Henner on appearing on Celebrity Apprentice  and working with Donald Trump
04:18

Talk Shows

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Marilu Henner on hosting her own talk show, Marilu
01:54
People

James L. Brooks

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Marilu Henner on having input on "Elaine's" stories on Taxi and working with the producers including James L. Brooks and Ed. Weinberger
04:46

James Burrows

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Marilu Henner on James Burrows directing the pilot of Taxi
01:48

Jeff Conaway

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Marilu Henner on working with Jeff Conaway as "Bobby Wheeler" on Taxi
01:46

Tony Danza

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Marilu Henner on working with Tony Danza as "Tony Banta" on Taxi
03:44

Danny DeVito

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Marilu Henner on Danny DeVito as "Louie De Palma" on Taxi
08:43

Judd Hirsch

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Marilu Henner on Judd Hirsch as "Alex Reiger" on Taxi
01:32
Marilu Henner on the relationship between "Alex" (Judd Hirsch) and "Elaine" on Taxi
05:32

Carol Kane

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Marilu Henner on working with Carol Kane as "Simka Dahblitz-Gravas" on Taxi
03:43

Andy Kaufman

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Marilu Henner on working with Andy Kaufman as "Latka Gravas" and Tony Clifton on Taxi
09:24

Christopher Lloyd (actor)

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Marilu Henner on working with Christopher Lloyd as "Reverend Jim Ignatowski" on Taxi
02:44

Burt Reynolds

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Marilu Henner on appearing in the feature films "The Man Who Loved Women" and being cast on Evening Shade, both starring Burt Reynolds 
05:31

Donald J. Trump

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Marilu Henner on appearing on Celebrity Apprentice  and working with Donald Trump
04:18

Ed. Weinberger

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Marilu Henner on having input on "Elaine's" stories on Taxi and working with the producers including James L. Brooks and Ed. Weinberger
04:46

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