Jeff Conaway was always difficult to deal with on the set of Taxi, though with his good looks, the producers were reluctant to get rid of him. The show never had an easy go of it ratings-wise, so eliminating someone the network thought was vital to the show wasn't seriously considered.
However, when Jeff bailed on a shoot at the last minute, the writers had to re-write things in a hurry. According to staff writer Sam Simon, jokes originally written for Jeff's character had to be re-allocated to the other actors. They were so much better than Jeff at acting and saying the lines that the producers were emboldened. Jeff had to go, they insisted. The network finally agreed.
