Randall Carver
BornMay 25
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater
OccupationActor
Years active1969–present
Known forTaxi

Randall Carver (born May 25[1] in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American actor. Carver started his acting career in the late 1960s, and had roles in films and television. He portrayed John Burns throughout the first season (1978–79) of Taxi.

Early life and education

Carver, a Texan native,[2] graduated from Missouri Military Academy as an officer cadet, second lieutenant and then West Texas State University with a bachelor's degree.[1][3] Five months after completing his uncredited debut in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, he served the United States Army as a tank platoon leader, first lieutenant of the Korean Demilitarized Zone for at least one year till his honorable discharge.[2][3] Then he also graduated from the Fine Arts program of the University of California, Los Angeles.[2][3]

Career

Besides other minor roles,[2] Carver's first major onscreen appearance was the 1973 drama film Time to Run as Jeff Cole, an environmentalist who attempts to sabotage his father's (Ed Nelson) nuclear power plant.[4] He portrayed Jeffrey DeVito,[5] gangster husband of Cathy Shumway (Debralee Scott),[6][7] in the 1977–78 television series Forever Fernwood.[8] He also made guest appearances in other television series, like Emergency!, Room 222, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Waltons,[8][3][9] and appeared in stage plays and in made-for-television films during the 1970s.[9]

Taxi

In the first season (1978–79) of the television sitcom series Taxi, Carver portrayed John Burns, "a [naïve student][10] who lands in the taxi business more by default than design."[8][9] Marley Brant in her book Happier Days (2006) praised Carver's acting but found his character John not well developed, even with his wedding subplot.[11] Carver said,

[The writers] were always trying what to do with this guy [...] There were so many characters. Most of us were on the stage at the same time [...] and seemed [like] everybody was kind of vying for their moment in the sun. A couple of times Tony Danza and I changed lines at the director's or producers' requests [...] They'd do retooling and restructuring, and while it was not always pleasant at times, you can sort of see from this distance that everything worked out for the best [...][11]

His character did not return for the second season.[10]

Post-Taxi career

Carver appeared in other films and television programs thereafter. He made a guest appearance as the fiancé of "a girl from West Virginia" (Loni Anderson) in one segment of the two-part 1980 episode, which was filmed in 1979, of the television series The Love Boat, alongside other guest stars of the similar segment Donny Osmond and Rich Little.[12] He portrayed a killer[13] in the 1980 made-for-television film Detour to Terror.[14] He portrayed Lieutenant Vaughn Beuhler,[13] the "doltish [lieutenant[15] and the station's] program director,"[16] one of the principal characters in the 1980 sitcom The Six O'Clock Follies, set in the television station in Saigon, South Vietnam, in 1967 (during the Vietnam War).[13][15][16] He also appeared in The Norm Show and Malcolm in the Middle in late 1990s and 2000s.[13] Carver portrayed Mr. Bankside in the 2007 film There Will Be Blood.[17]

Personal life

Carver is married to writer Shelley Herman.[1]

Accolades

Carver was inducted into West Texas A&M University's Branding Iron Theatre Hall of Fame on April 22, 2017,[18] and then Missouri Military Academy's 2022 Hall of Fame.[3]

Selected filmography

Films

  • Midnight Cowboy (1969), uncredited role
  • Time to Run (1974), Jeff Cole – Carver's first major role
  • Detour to Terror (1980, TV), Nick – killer
  • There Will Be Blood (2007), Mr. Bankside

Television series

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Randall Carver: Biography". RandallCarver.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Churches here sponsor new Billy Graham film". Daily Record. Ellensburg, Washington. January 18, 1974.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "MMA Hall of Fame: Randall Carver '64". Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Time to Run opens Sunday". Daily Union Democrat. Sonora, California. May 17, 1974.
  5. ↑ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. 2003. p. 747. ISBN 9780345455420.
  6. ↑ "Forever Fernwood Episodes (Unknown Episode No.)". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Forever Fernwood Episodes (Unknown Episode No.)". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 Slifka, Adrian, ed. (July 24, 1978). "Around the Television Airwaves: Pick Regulars for Taxi Series". The Youngstown Daily Vindicator. Youngstown, Ohio.
  9. 1 2 3 "Casting complete for new comedy series". Ellensburg Daily Record. August 15, 1978.
  10. 1 2 King, Susan (November 13, 1994). "Retro Hail, Taxi: beloved sitcom gets a fare share on Nick at Nite". Los Angeles Times (Orange County ed.). TV Times guide, p. 83. Also seen in The Vindicator
  11. 1 2 Brant 2006, pp. 164–65 "A New Kind of Family"
  12. ↑ Buck, Jerry (June 3, 1979). "Loni Finds It Difficult to Be Lonely". The Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. TV Screen-Movies-Radio pullout, p. 8.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Brant 2006, p. 251 "The Legacy "
  14. ↑ "Simpson Back via Detour". The Albany Herald. February 9, 1980. p. 13–B.
  15. 1 2 Boyle, Peter J. (April 24, 1980). "Six O'clock Follies: It's No M-A-S-H". Fredericksburg, Virginia. p. 33.
  16. 1 2 Buck, Jerry (April 18, 1980). "Vietnam is the setting for new comedy series". The Free Lance-Star. Associated Press. p. 23.
  17. ↑ "Randall Carver in There Will Be Blood". Hotflick.net. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  18. ↑ Chandler, Chip (April 18, 2017). "'A tradition that continues': WT Theatre to honor distinguished alums with lengthy film, TV careers". Panhandle PBS. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
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