Randall Carver is an American actor. Carver started his acting career in the late 1960s, and had roles in films and television. Notably, he portrayed John Burns throughout the first season of Taxi.
Carver appeared in minor roles, including his uncredited debut in the 1969 filmMidnight Cowboy. His first major appearance was the 1973 drama filmTime to Run as Jeff Cole, an environment enthusiast who attempts to sabotage his father's nuclear power plant. He portrayed Jeffrey DeVito, gangster husband of Cathy Shumway, in the 1977–78 television series Forever Fernwood. He also made guest appearances in other television series, like Emergency!, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Waltons, and appeared in stage plays and in made-for-television films during the 1970s.
''Taxi''
In the first season of the television sitcom series Taxi, Carver portrayed John Burns, "a who lands in the taxi business more by default than design." Marley Brant in his book Happier Days praised Carver's acting but found his character John not well developed, even with his wedding subplot. Carver said, His character was written out after the first season, not returning for the second season.
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" 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. He portrayed a killer in the 1980 made-for-television film Detour to Terror. He portrayed Lieutenant Vaughn Beuhler, the "doltish program director," one of principal characters in the 1980 sitcom The Six O'Clock Follies, set in the television station in Saigon, South Vietnam, in 1967. He also appeared in The Norm Show and Malcolm in the Middle in late 1990s and 2000s. Carver portrayed Mr. Bankside in the 2007 filmThere Will Be Blood.
Personal life
Carver is married to writer Shelley Herman.
Selected filmography
Films
Midnight Cowboy, uncredited role
Time to Run, Jeff Cole – Carver's first major role
Detour to Terror, Nick – killer
There Will Be Blood, Mr. Bankside
Television series
Emergency!, various roles
The Waltons, Monty Vandenberg – "The Deed"
The Six Million Dollar Man, PFC Robert E. Barris – "Survival of the Fittest"
Forever Fernwood, Jeffrey DeVito – rebranded title of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Taxi, John Burns
The Love Boat, Elmar Fargas – Season 3, Episode 18–19
