Danny DeVito Reveals That He Partied with Michael Jackson on the ‘Taxi’ Set
Danny DeVito, 80, has had a long and storied Hollywood career, from his beginnings as Louie De Palma on Taxi, to a big screen career that saw him not just acting beside but directing some of the biggest names of the ’80s and ’90s, to his nearly 20 year run as Frank Reynolds, the bonkers father figure of the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crew. With a career that long and diverse, you’d expect the star to have some unusual stories — and, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, DeVito did remember quite an unlikely tale about Michael Jackson and his love of the show where DeVito got his start.
While recalling Taxi‘s end — the show was cancelled after four seasons on ABC, before airing a fifth and final season on NBC — DeVito remembered that when he initially got the news of the show’s ABC cancellation, shortly before he was to host an episode of Saturday Night Live, the cast “all got together and got drunk.”
Through that show’s five seasons, DeVito fondly remembered a wild atmosphere — which attracted some big (and unexpected) names of the era.
Images Press/IMAGES/Getty Images
“But we were party animals anyway,” said DeVito. “Every Friday night we had a big party. It was really wild. For five years on Taxi, we worked from Monday to Friday. We did the show on Friday night, and then we had a party and everybody came to that party, from people who were on the sets of all the other shows, like Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days — Henry Winkler used to come. We had people like John Belushi play at our wrap party.”
But perhaps most surprisingly, “Michael Jackson was there,” DeVito said. “Michael loved our show. He used to come and watch in the booth up in the top where the technicians were. Robin [Williams] was there all the time, and we visited him too.”
Taxi ended in 1983, shortly after the release of Thriller, meaning that Jackson may have been reigning as the biggest pop star in the world while sitting in the set’s tech booth.
DeVito just wrapped Always Sunny‘s 17th season; the upcoming 18th is rumored to be the show’s last, though it has not been formally confirmed.
Puzzler '80s Comedy Classics
Vol 1, Issue 6
This issue is packed with puzzles and trivia from all your favorite '80s sitcoms.
Buy This Issue