Celebrities that used to be Cabbies

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Written By James Parkinson

While cabbies are no stranger to ferrying celebrities to-and-fro, there are a few celebrity ex-cabbies out there as well. For those with aspirations in show business, it seems that being a cabbie often provides them with the flexibility they need to pursue their other dreams. Here we’ve put together just a few of the most famous ex-cabbies out there.

Danny Glover 

Danny Glover is most well-known for his role as the cop who was just ‘too old for this...’ in Lethal Weapon. What is less known is that he spent his early career working as a cab driver in San Fransisco before becoming an actor.

Glover actually used his experience as a cab driver to help campaign against cab drivers discriminating against black passengers in New York City. Glover regularly uses his platform as an actor to campaign for a variety of causes and has been a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF since 2004.

Paul Stanley 

It is not uncommon for aspiring musicians to have a more reliable source of income. In the case of Kiss's painted frontman, that income came from working as a cabbie in New York. While his parents might not have had much faith in his rock and roll aspirations, Stanley always believed he would make it as a star. In an interview with Arizona Central, he reminisced on his early days: 

“I was a cab driver in New York City, and I remember driving people to Madison Square Garden to see Elvis Presley. I remember sitting in that front seat thinking, ‘One of these days, people are going to be coming here to see me. So, to go from that cab to the stage was a pretty good walk." 

Robert De Niro 

De Niro was launched into stardom playing the titular role in the 1976 film Taxi Driver. But what you might not know is that he actually got licensed as a cabbie in New York to prepare for the role. De Niro worked for around a month, ferrying passengers across New York in a yellow taxi.

A few years ago, the Taxi and Limousine Commission tweeted a copy of De Niro’s licence. As you can see, it expired on 31st May 1976, four months after the film’s release.

Larry David 

 Larry David is an American writer, actor and comedian responsible for bringing ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ to our screens. Before making it big with his comedic chops, he had a number of jobs. This included being a paralegal, a bra salesman, and a cabbie.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, David revealed he felt an affinity for De Niro’s character in Taxi Driver. He said, “I sat through Taxi Driver and went, ‘That’s me, I’m Travis... I didn’t feel like a murderous psychopath, but I did feel, at times, psychopathic. It wasn’t uncommon for me to get in a big fight on the street, a screaming fight about something stupid.” From the sounds of it, it’s probably a good job he went into comedy!

Vladimir Putin 

So, we understand that politicians aren’t exactly celebrities. However, you can’t deny that the Russian head of state is an international household name.  

The BBC recently tweeted the above image showing Putin trying out a Lada taxi back in 2010, alongside the quote '“I moonlighted as a taxi diver in the 1990s’. It turns out that following the fall of the Soviet Union, Putin, wasn’t exactly well off.

In a documentary, aired on Russian state television on Sunday, Putin says, “Sometimes I had to earn extra money... by car, as a private driver. It’s unpleasant to talk about to be honest, but unfortunately that was the case,”

Putin didn’t expand on his experiences but it is believed he would have been working as a cabbie in his native St Petersburg during the early 1990s. While he might have been short of cash at the time, the Russian president has come a long way since then. His current fortune is estimated to be around £150bn, making him one of the wealthiest people on the planet. But, for some reason, it’s incredibly hard to verify his wealth, so no one really knows.

Bonus 

While the above all drove taxis to make money, the iconic London Cab is a popular vehicle. The list below includes a number of individuals who have owned and driven black cabs as a personal vehicle: 

  • Prince Phillip 

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger 

  • Kate Moss 

  • Noel Edmonds 

  • Stephen Fry 

  • Sid James 

  • Laurence Olivier 

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James Parkinson
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