Jeff Conaway Movies
Though Jeff Conaway achieved TV fame by playing an actor who couldn't find work, he had in fact been a busy professional since childhood. At age ten, Conaway made his first Broadway appearance in All the Way Home. Eleven years later, after completing his education at N.Y.U., Conaway was seen in his first film, Jennifer on My Mind (1971). He played Kenicke in the New York staging of Grease, then repeated the role for the 1978 film adaptation. Also in 1978, he began a three-year run on the TV sitcom Taxi, in the role of Bobby Wheeler, an incredibly luckless aspiring actor who made ends meet by driving a hack. Conaway has since delved into the realm of "fantastic television," appearing as Prince Erick Greystone in Wizards and Warriors (1983) and (occasionally) as Zack Allen on Babylon 5 (1992). Active in the direct-to-video market, Jeff Conaway both directed and acted in Bikini Summer 2 (1992). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Season two of the popular reality show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew begins with the same premise as the first season: to film the three week rehabilitation process of a group of celebrities, facilitated by widely respected internist and addiction medicine specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky. The celebrities seeking treatment in season two include Rodney King, Tawny Kitaen, and others, as well as the return of season one cast member Jeff Conway. Sober for 13 years, actor Gary Busey also appears as the group's sobriety coach. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Pinsky
- 2006
Their lives going nowhere fast, two middle-aged friends from Los Angeles start up their own business in a bid to gain the respect of their friends and colleagues. As young children, Brenda (Sean Young) and her immigrant friend Jonathan (Christian Schoyen) were bullied mercilessly. Now they're adults, and not much has changed. In an attempt to get their lives on track, they take a shot at the American Dream. But while owning your own business is easy, getting to the top in a city like L.A. is nearly impossible. Seduced by the prospect of success and caught up dreams of fast cars and fat bank accounts, Brenda and Jonathan quickly realize that they don't know the first thing about running their own business. When their latest client Chuck (Danny Trejo) discovers they've been living the dream on his dime, the two friends are in for a rude awakening. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A gaggle of young adults discovers a cache of gold in an abandoned mine. Little do they realize that the vengeful ghost of the long-dead miner (Vernon Wells) protects the hoard with a gaffing hook, pick axe, and shovel, despite the efforts of the sheriff (John Phillip Law) and zany Aunt Nelly (Karen Black). ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
A vacation in paradise turns into a bloodbath in this modern-dress horror story. Six students from an exclusive East Coast university head down to Florida for spring break, but while sun and fun are the first order of business, things take a turn for the worst when the friends head out for a night on the town, and one of them is brutally murdered at a dance club. Over the next three days, three more of the vacationers turn up dead, and the two survivors have to figure out who the killer is and why they've been targeted -- before it's too late to save themselves. Do You Wanna Know A Secret stars Joseph Lawrence (better known as Joey Lawrence when he was the teen-dream star of Blossom), Chad Allen, Dorie Barton, and Jack McGee.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Lawrence, Chad Allen, (more)
- 1999
Although the popular science fiction series Babylon 5 had officially run its course, one final two-hour episode was deemed necessary to segue into the spinoff series Crusade. Thus, on January 3, 1999, the TNT Network offered the world premiere of Babylon 5: A Call to Arms. The year is 2266: After several years' development, the first destroyer prototypes based on the White Stars (proposed by B5 crew member Delenn in the fifth-season episode "Movements of Fire and Shadow") have been completed. While inspecting the results, Alliance President Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) experences disturbing visions of a future Apocalypse -- and of a doomsaying stranger named Galen. Sheridan's visions seem poised to become reality when the Drakh, the dreaded allies of the defeated Shadows, mount a counteroffensive against humanity. It is up to a new team of space warriors, manning the twin battlecruisers "Excalibur" and "Victory," to prevent Galen's predictions from coming true. Babylon 5: A Call to Arms was written by J. Michael Straczynski, and later novelized by Robert Sheckley. As for Crusade, that oft-postponed series finally debuted on June 9, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, (more)
- 1998
This feature-length sci-fi adventure is based on the television series Babylon 5. This time, the crew members stumble across an ancient device that can control their minds. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, (more)
- 1994
As part of a promotional book tour, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) agrees to appear in a TV informercial. Also appearing is Matt Matthews (Anthony Zerbe), a once-popular author laid low by alcoholism. It turns out that Matthews--who of course is an old friend of Jessica's--is acquainted with a member of the informercial's studio audience, and with a blackmailing professional extra, both of whom are murdered in the course of the action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
The 200th episode of Murder, She Wrote finds Jessica (Angela Lansbury) supporting an effort to preserve a New York brownstone where Ernest Hemingway once wrote a novel. At the center of the conflict is a feud between Jessica's editor and a powerful land developer. Murder enters the scene when the brother of the man who opposes destroying the building is killed. And it is a bad kill. And nobody is dreaming about the lions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Star Wars saga costar Billy Dee Williams once more takes to the Great Beyond in Alien Intruder. The film is set in the future and the plot concerns a malevolent extraterrestrial virus which insinuates itself upon the Earth. Cleverly, the virus takes the shape of voluptuous Tracy Scoggins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Dee Williams, Melinda Armstrong, (more)
- 1992
A couple of wealthy young California sisters decide to hit a few birds with one stone when they, with the help of some homeless folks, hold a talent show/bikini contest. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Dom DeLuise's son Michael holds the directorial reins in the direct-to-video Almost Pregnant. Onetime "Charlie's Angel" Tanya Roberts plays a woman who'll do anything to become pregnant. Since her hubby Jeff Conaway can't deliver the goods, she decides to rely upon a surrogate. Her first new partner turns out to have had a vasectomy-and this is only the beginning. The director's dad makes an amusing appearance in this strident but undeniably funny bedroom farce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John Garfieldesque leading man Robert Forster plays a cop in The Banker. The title character is above-suspicion financier Duncan Regehr, whom Forster suspects of being a serial killer of prostitutes. Such is the banker's power that Forster is threatened with unemployment, or death, or both if he acts upon his suspicions. The detective is forced to use the "give him enough rope" ploy-and nearly ends up with his own neck in the noose. Old favorites Richard Roundtree, Leif Garrett, Jeff Conaway, and E. J. Peaker dot the supporting cast of this contemporary Jack-the-Ripper chiller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Forster, Duncan Regehr, (more)
- 1989
Valerie Breiman and Claudia Christian play the two sisters of the title. Containing very little dialogue, the film details the ambitions and sensual yearnings of the two heroines. The whole production has the rhythm and texture of a poem--and for good reason. Tale of Two Sisters was based on a poem written Charlie Sheen, which, like most of his verse, has made the Hollywood rounds several times without ever actually being published. Sheen also "stars" in Tale of Two Sisters, albeit only as offscreen narrator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie Breiman, Claudia Christian, (more)
- 1988
Made for television, this is the third sequel to the popular war adventure. This time, a group of rag-tag soldiers must somehow shape up and take on a group of Nazi soldiers who are riding the Orient Express to Istanbul to establish their latest empire. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This slow-moving occult thriller has Pamela Sue Martin and hubbie Tim Matheson menaced by a coven of witches when they move to an island off the coast of Massachusetts. Director Carl Schenkel -- who went on to make the interesting Knight Moves -- does the best he can with a tedious script and a lot of miscasting, but it doesn't make the movie any more interesting. It looks like a who's who of '80s sitcoms, with Woody Harrelson, Jeff Conaway, and Inga Swenson along for the evil doings, but some viewers will be rolling on the floor when they see Leave It to Beaver's Barbara Billingsley as a 300-year-old witch. The highlight of the film is an exploding church, which may just be loud enough to wake you up so you can rewind the tape. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Pamela Sue Martin, (more)
- 1986
Jessica's niece Victoria (Genie Francis) and the girl's husband Howard (Jeff Conaway), previously introduced in the first-season episode "Birds of a Feather", make return appearances here--and, as before, the couple promptly embroils Jessica (Angela Lansbury) in a murder case. This time, the victim was Victoria's advertising-executive boss, a notorious womanizer. Victoria falls under suspicion when it turns out that her late boss had intended to "lend" her to his newest client, the hedonistic owner of a questionable fast-food chain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Ghostwriter was based on the 1979 Philip Roth novel, part of his unofficial "Zuckerman trilogy". Based loosely on an incident in Roth's own youth, the story, set in 1956, centers around 23-year-old novelist Nathan Zuckerman (Mark-Lynn Baker). Nathan's insistence upon writing about the Holocaust brings forth a warning from his father that too much dwelling on the past might rekindle anti-Semitism. In response, Judge Leopold Wapter (Joseph Wiseman) advises Nathan to see the Broadway production of Diary of Anne Frank. Nathan is so impressed with the story that he begins to fantasize that Anne Frank is still alive. Later, during a visit to the New England farm of his idol, author E. I. Lonoff (Sam Wanamaker), Nathan meets a gamin-like stranger (Paulette Smit) whom he imagines to be Anne Frank in the flesh. Philip Roth adapted his own novel (with director Tristam Rogers) for the made-for-TV Ghostwriter. Originally slated for telecast over the BBC, the film eventually became a coproduction of the BBC and America's Public Broadcasting System, and had its American debut on PBS' American Playhouse on January 17, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) arrives in San Francisco to attend the wedding of her niece Victoria Brandon (Genie Francis) to a handsome but rather secretive young man named Howard Griffin (Jeff Conaway). Her first meeting with Howard occurs under strange circumstances, as he scrambles over her table at a nightclub, dressed in female drag--after having stumbled across the body of club owner Al Drake (Martin Landau). Naturally, Howard is accused of the murder, obliging Jessica to investigate the situation herself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Joan Collins tops the cast of the made-for-TV The Making of a Male Model. No, silly: Joan doesn't play the title role. Rather, she is cast as the barracudalike owner of a top modelling agency, while Jon-Erik Hexum (at the time, a real-life male model) costars as a Nevada rancher whom Joan selects for stardom-or, if you prefer, hunkdom. Watch for Rosemary Stack, the wife of actor Robert Stack, in a juicy cameo as Collins' chief rival. Making of a Male Model was originally telecast October 9, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Former Taxi regular Jeff Conaway returns to the series as erstwhile actor Bobby Wheeler. Freshly arrived from Hollywood, Bobby uses the garage as his unofficial headquarters while he awaits news as to whether or not his TV pilot has been sold to a network. Certain that the show is a "go," Bobby throws a party for all of his old friends -- and of course, whenever something like that happens on Taxi, at least one of the characters is riding for a fall. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1981
A curious pure-entertainment offering from the same team responsible for the "Classics Illustrated" TV movies of the 1970s and 1980s, Nashville Grab stars Jeff Conaway as country-western singer Buddy Walker. While rehearsing for a prison concert, Buddy is kidnapped by female convicts Maxine (Betty Thomas) and Rita (Mari Gorman), who force him to accompany them on a cross-country escape in an old van. Adhering to the formula established by the theatrical feature Sugarland Express, the fugitives are hotly pursued by a variety of colorful characters, including Buddy's mercenary agent Ross (Slim Pickens) (who hopes to "merchandise" the kidnapping), the singer's ex-partners Frank (Gary Sandy) and Laurel (Cristina Raines, a goofy detective, a SWAT team, and a TV news crew. Played for laughs--and occasionally getting a few--Nashville Grab debuted October 18, 1981 on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Veteran comedy specialist Hal Kanter milks every chuckle, chortle and guffaw of Stanley Ralph Ross' teleplay for For the Love of It. The story gets under way when the bad guys surreptitiously plant top-secret documents on a model (Deborah Raffin) and a med student (Jeff Conaway). He's crazy about her, while she can't stand him. Even so, the two protagonists are compelled to join forces when the bad guys start pursuing them. The bulk of the film is a zany, Mack Sennett-style chase, replete with goofy sight gags. In addition, this may be the first made-for-TV movie to tap the comedy potential of Elvis imitators. For the Love of It was originally telecast September 26, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Although Taxi had built up a loyal band of followers and accumulated several industry awards during its first two seasons on ABC, the ratings had steadily declined, prompting the network to mark the series' third season by moving the show from Tuesdays at 9:30 to Wednesdays at 9:00, opposite NBC's Diff'rent Strokes and a weekly CBS movie. Developments during season three included another rift in the rocky relationship between Louie DePalma (Danny DeVito), the obnoxiously dictatorial dispatcher of the Sunshine Cab Company, and his erstwhile girlfriend Zena Sherman (played by DeVito's real-life Significant Other Rhea Perlman); an uncomfortable reunion between cabbie Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch) and his oppressively neurotic ex-wife Phyllis (Louise Lasser); a hilarious romantic triangle involving cabbie Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner), her co-worker Tony Banta (Tony Danza) and her new boyfriend Kirk (John David Carson) (it so happened that Kirk would rather have linked up with macho Tony than with flustered Elaine!); Tony's decision to retire from the ring (at least temporarily) after enduing one too many KOs; and a few surprising glimpses into the past of zoned-out former hippie "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd). Undoubtedly the most memorable plot twist involved Sunshine Cab's sweet-natured immigrant mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman), who after undergoing a spectacular personality change re-emerged as slimy swinging bachelor-about-town Vic Ferrari! In a related development, Carol Kane made her first appearance as Simka Dahblitz, Latka's countrywoman and eventual sweetheart. Season three's by-now obligatory two-part "retrospection" episode was "On the Job," in which the cab company briefly closed shop, forcing the cabbies to look for "civilian" work. The fact that Taxi's overall ratings continued to decline during its third season was mitigated somewhat when the series took home six Emmy Awards in the spring of 1981. ~ All Movie Guide
Securely imbedded as the ninth most popular program on American television, Taxi inaugurated its second season on the same network (ABC), but in a new timeslot (Wednesday rather than Thursday). A few changes had been made in the cast as well. Randall Carver, who spent all of season one playing cabdriving college student/newlywed John Burns, was suddenly written out of the series with no explanation as to where his character had gone. Filling the breach was Christopher Lloyd, repeating the role of burned-out hippie minister Reverend Jim Ignatowski that he'd originated in the first-season episode "Paper Marriage." Yanked off the streets by the compassionate cabbies of the Sunshine Cab Company, Reverend Jim himself became a driver -- and a permanent cast member -- in the third episode of season two. This was also the season that introduced a handful of semi-regulars. Rhea Perlman, longtime significant other (and later wife) of Taxi co-star Danny DeVito, made a brace of appearances as Zena Sherman, the deceptively sweet-natured girlfriend of the cab company's terrible-tempered dispatcher Louie DePalma (DeVito, of course). Also, Carol Kane was seen for the first time as Simka Dahblitz, countrywoman and sweetheart of Sunshine Cab's foreign-born mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman), a relationship that would culminate in marriage at the end of season three.
In addition, Marc Anthony Danza, the son of Taxi regular Tony Danza, appeared twice as Brian Sims, a nine-year-old orphan who befriended kindhearted cabbie-cum-boxer Tony Banta (Danza). Basking in the success of the previous season's two-part episode "Memories of Cab 804," the producers of Taxi served up a couple of additional two-parters during the second season. The first, "Shut It Down," found the cabbies going on strike, a situation that could only be remedied if "shop steward" Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) made the supreme sacrifice and agree to date the despicable Louie (an earlier episode had intensified the relationship between Elaine and fellow cabbie Alex Rieger [Judd Hirsch], establishing a "will they or won't they?" situation that would permeate the remaining seasons). And in the season finale, "Fantasy Borough," the entire Taxi gang indulged in some elaborate wishful thinking prompted by a set of publicity photos left in one of the cabs by Fantasy Island star Herve Villechaize. Although Taxi would pick up two more Emmy Awards during the 1979-1980 season, the series' move to Wednesdays proved detrimental to the ratings -- which explains the shift to a new Thursday-night slot when the next season got under way. ~ All Movie Guide
In addition, Marc Anthony Danza, the son of Taxi regular Tony Danza, appeared twice as Brian Sims, a nine-year-old orphan who befriended kindhearted cabbie-cum-boxer Tony Banta (Danza). Basking in the success of the previous season's two-part episode "Memories of Cab 804," the producers of Taxi served up a couple of additional two-parters during the second season. The first, "Shut It Down," found the cabbies going on strike, a situation that could only be remedied if "shop steward" Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) made the supreme sacrifice and agree to date the despicable Louie (an earlier episode had intensified the relationship between Elaine and fellow cabbie Alex Rieger [Judd Hirsch], establishing a "will they or won't they?" situation that would permeate the remaining seasons). And in the season finale, "Fantasy Borough," the entire Taxi gang indulged in some elaborate wishful thinking prompted by a set of publicity photos left in one of the cabs by Fantasy Island star Herve Villechaize. Although Taxi would pick up two more Emmy Awards during the 1979-1980 season, the series' move to Wednesdays proved detrimental to the ratings -- which explains the shift to a new Thursday-night slot when the next season got under way. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, (more)
