Randall Carver

Randall Carver (born May 25 in Fort Worth, Texas)^[1] is an American actor and a native of Texas.^[2] Carver started his acting career in the late 1960s, and portrayed roles in films and television, such as Taxi.

Career

Carver graduated from University of California, Los Angeles, with its Fine Arts program.^[3] He appeared in minor roles, including his uncredited debut in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy,^[3] starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. His first major appearance was the 1973 drama film Time to Run as Jeff Cole, an environment enthusiast 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] a rebranded series of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976–77). He also made guest appearances in other television series, like Emergency!, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Waltons,^[2][8] and appeared in stage plays and in made-for-television films during the 1970s.^[2]

Taxi

In the first season (1978–79) of the television sitcom series Taxi, Carver portrayed John Burns, "a [naïve student]^[9] who lands in the taxi business more by default than design."^[2][8] According to the book Happier Days (2006), although the book praised his acting, Carver's character John was not well-developed, even with his wedding subplot.^[10] Carver said,

[The writers] were always trying what to do with this guy [...] There were so many characters. Most of us [cast] 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 [actor] Tony Danza, [portrayer of boxer Tony Banta], 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 [...]^[10]

His character was written out^[9] and then replaced in the second season (1979–80) by an aging hippie and recovering drug addict Reverend Jim "Iggy" Ignatowski, portrayed by actor Christopher Lloyd.^[9] Lloyd initially appeared as Reverend Jim in an episode of season 1, "Paper Marriage" (1978). Lloyd reprised the role of Jim in the season 2 episode, "Reverend Jim: A Space Odyssey" (1979), and became a cast member in subsequent seasons.^[9][11]

Later works

Carver made appearances 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, starring O. J. Simpson.^[14] He portrayed Lieutenant Vaughn Beuhler,^[13] the "doltish [lieutenant^[15] and the station's] program director,"^[16] one of principal characters in the short-lived 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] co-starring Laurence Fishburne and Phil Hartman.^[13] 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] starring Daniel Day Lewis.

Selected filmography

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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

• Emergency! (1970s), various roles
• The Waltons, Monty Vandenberg – "The Deed" (1973)
• The Six Million Dollar Man, PFC Robert E. Barris – "Survival of the Fittest" (1974)
• Forever Fernwood (1977–78), Jeffrey DeVito – rebranded title of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
• Taxi, John Burns (1978–79)
• The Love Boat, Elmar Fargas – Season 3, Episode 18–19 (1980)
• The Six O'Clock Follies (1980), Lt. Vaughn Beuhler
• The Norm Show (1999–2001), various roles
• Malcolm in the Middle, Joshua – "The Block Party" (2004)

References

General

• Brant, Marley (2006). Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms, 1974-1984. ISBN 9780823089338. 
• Official website

External links

• Randall Carver at the Internet Movie Database