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Latka Gravas is a fictional character on the television sitcom Taxi portrayed by Andy Kaufman. A sweet-natured and lovable-but-goofy mechanic, Latka is an immigrant from an unspecified nation. [ 1 ] He was based on a character Kaufman created known as Foreign Man .
The Foreign Man character was changed into Latka Gravas for ABC's sitcom Taxi, appearing in 79 of 114 episodes in 1978–83. [citation needed] Bob Zmuda confirms this: "They basically were buying Andy's Foreign Man character for the Taxi character Latka." [23] Kaufman's longtime manager George Shapiro encouraged him to take the gig.
Greta Gravas (Susan Kellermann) (1979–1982), Latka's mother. She has a short fling with Alex, which causes friction with Latka. Phyllis Bornstein-Consuelos (Louise Lasser) (1980–1982), Alex's ex-wife, with whom he had a daughter. Phyllis became fed up with his lack of ambition and remarried, but they remain strongly attracted to each other.
From 1980 to 1983, Kane portrayed Simka Dahblitz-Gravas, the wife of Andy Kaufman's character Latka Gravas, on the American television series Taxi. She has theorized that she was cast in Taxi in part due to her work in Hester Street , where a significant portion of her dialogue was spoken in Yiddish , since Simka speaks a fictional language ...
The story traces Kaufman's steps from childhood through the comedy clubs and television appearances that made him famous, including his memorable appearances on Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, Fridays and his role as Latka Gravas on the sitcom Taxi, which was popular among viewers but disruptive for Kaufman's co-stars.
Kaufman agreed to appear as Latka Gravas in 14 episodes per season, approximately half of the entire series if Tony Clifton was also allowed to guest star in the series. The producers were well aware that "Clifton" was an alter ego of Kaufman but went along with the fiction that Clifton was a separate actor.
Latka creates a suave but obnoxious alter ego, Vic Ferrari, to help him score with the ladies. However, nobody likes his new persona, and Alex tries to convince him to bring the old Latka back. George Wendt appears in this episode. Notes: George Wendt would later go on to play Norm Peterson on Burrows' next series Cheers in 1982.
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