Taxi (pinball)

1988 pinball machine

Taxi

version of flyer including Lola

Manufacturer| Williams Electronics
Release date| August 1988
System| Williams System 11B
Players| 1-4
Design| Mark Ritchie, Python Anghelo
Programming| Ed Boon
Artwork| Python Anghelo
Mechanics| Craig Fitpold, Tony Kraemer, Mark Kim
Music| Chris Granner
Sound| Chris Granner
Production run| 7,303

Taxi is a pinball machine designed by Mark Ritchie and Python Anghelo, released in 1988 by Williams Electronics.[1][2]

## Design

[edit]

Originally Mark Ritchie intended the game to be based around Formula 1, a sequel to Steve Kordek's 1976 table Grand Prix. When Gottlieb released the similarly themed Victory in October 1987 that idea was abandoned. He then considered basing the game around airports or airplanes, but during a brainstorming session Python Anghelo conceived of the concept of Taxi with five passengers. They first decided to use Mikhail Gorbachev (shortened to Gorbie in the game), then Mark Ritchie suggested Dracula (shortened to Drac in the game) and Marilyn Monroe, with Python Anghelo adding Santa Claus and Pin-Bot. Using the Kennedy brothers on the drop targets was briefly suggested by Anghelo, but immediately dismissed for being tasteless.[3][4]

### Backbox

[edit]

The name "Taxi" is on the front of the cabinet, and on a small illuminated topper shaped like a sign on top of a Taxi, and is not on the translite. The translite shows a taxi driver based on the artist in a yellow jumper and red cap with three pins, and sitting in his vehicle with a meter. The taxi uses the Williams logo as a car mascot. A real mirror is added just behind where the rear view mirror of the taxi is depicted.[5]

The five potential passengers are prominently shown standing on the pavement hailing the Taxi. The woman is shown beside two cases, one of which has a "Hollywood or bust!" label on it. Gorbachev is shown wearing a hammer & sickle tie. A sign on the building identifies it as Williams pinball palace, with a list of games inside - Cyclone, Pin-Bot, Space Station, High Speed, Banzai Run, Comet, and Big Guns. There is a set of traffic lights on the backglass which illuminate throughout the game.

This is the first Williams game to display four player scores using only two alpha-numeric 16 character displays.[6] The backbox includes an additional display showing the jackpot meter.

### Marilyn

[edit]

Originally the machine featured a passenger named Marilyn, a blonde character in a red dress bearing a resemblance to Marilyn Monroe. When Roger Sharpe checked if permission from Marilyn Monroe's estate had been sought, the Roger Richmond Agency was contacted to try and obtain permission. A high royalty rate was quoted so Williams replaced the Marilyn passenger with a new passenger named Lola to avoid legal problems with the Marilyn Monroe likeness. Lola appears identical to Marilyn, with the exception of her hair; the Lola passenger was pictured brunette and later with red hair where the Marilyn character was blonde. Most of the first sample run of 200 games were shipped to Europe with 'Marilyn' before the change was made. Mark Ritchie named this new character, inspired by the 1970 The Kinks song "Lola" about a transvestite, which fits with her muscular biceps on the backglass.[6][3]

The voice of Marilyn/Lola is performed by Trudy Ritchie, the wife of Mark Ritchie.

There were three versions of the flyer, one showing and naming Marilyn, one showing Marilyn but not naming any character, and the third with the modified artwork and naming Lola.[3]

* Marilyn version

* Lola version

The hand-drawn artwork on the side of the machine shows Mark Ritchie driving the titular taxi, with a depiction of his dog Maggie running alongside the back wheel.[3]

The start button on the left side of the front of the cabinet is a green button with the artwork around it completing the set of traffic lights. The game is the first to use a powered one-way gate which is controlled by a solenoid, improving on the spring steel one-way gate which had been used in earlier machines.

The game was designed to be "easy to understand, but difficult to master".[3]

Several promotional items were produced for the game, including a Post-it note with a monochrome image of the elongated taxi from the plastic just above the shooter lane on the game.[3]

The cover of the November 1988 issue of RePlay showed the design team in yellow Williams Taxi jumpers and red caps around a Taxi machine.[7][3] One of these caps could be won by players at the AMOA expo '88 show if they could start the multiball.[3][8]

## Layout

[edit]

The whirlpool skillshot was designed by Anghelo.[4] This spinout mechanism counts the number of revolutions made by the ball, and is designed with a spring steel flap exit to land the ball in a kicker which knocks the ball to the left into the C-A-B rollovers, centrally located above three jet bumpers.[9] The game includes two crossover ramps with wireform returns; an element of the airport design idea remains with these ramps representing departure and arrival lanes at an airport. Much of the rest of the playfield also shows roads. On the far left there is a patent-protected mechanism[10] which had been used a year earlier on Big Guns; this catapults the ball up the left ramp. In the area between the left ramp and the bumpers there is a saucer, and a round stand-up target. On the right side of the machine there is a short lane leading to a saucer which can hold the ball. There are two banks of three drop targets, one in the centre of the playfield below the bumpers, and the other on the far right.

### Playfield artwork

[edit]

There are various taxi's around the playfield. One has fish in the boot, unintentionally foreshadowing Fish Tales which was not conceived until a few years later. Another near the entrance to the left ramp is shown having just run over a cat, and a cat-screech is heard when the player hits that ramp. In the right outlane is a towing truck for Ken's towing with a damaged taxi, referring to Ken Fedesna, who was a senior executive of Williams at the time.[11]

In common with many Williams machines of this period it includes a cow,[12] this is shown riding in the sidecar of a motorcycle near the right flipper.

The long plastic with an elongated taxi just above the shooter lane shows the driver with all five passengers; Gorbie and Pin-Bot are playing chess, and Drac is biting the woman.

## Gameplay

[edit]

The game is controlled with two flippers and a manual plunger. At the start of each ball the player performs a skillshot to try to launch the ball with the correct force for five revolutions of the spinout bowl to score the maximum 100K points (with applicable multiplier), but avoid a sixth revolution which resets the score awarded to 1K.

The main goal of the game is to pick up five passengers: Pin-Bot, Gorbie, Lola (or Marilyn in the early version), Drac, and Santa Claus who are represented by inserts on the playfield. Drac, Santa, and Gorbie are each located at a particular shot around the playfield, whereas Lola and Pin-Bot are each associated with one of the banks of drop-targets. When one of the potential passengers hails for a taxi, a light behind them in the backbox illuminates. Collecting all five passengers lights the Jackpot, which is available to collect for a few seconds; if the player is unsuccessful Lola gets out of the Taxi and must be picked up again. If "carry passengers" is not lit, all passengers are lost when the ball drains.

Underneath the score display are a series of five awards which can be collected during the game. The game has a two ball multiball.[9]

## Reception

[edit]

The pinball machine appeared in Madonna's Sex book in 1992, with her on top of the playfield in an unusual pose.[13]

## Digital versions

[edit]

Taxi released for various platforms in Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection between 2008 and 2011.[14] The same developer released it for season two of The Pinball Arcade in 2013,[15] and was available until June 30, 2018, when all Williams tables were removed due to licensing issues.[16]

A version with optional animations released for Pinball FX on August 14, 2025.[17]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Taxi". The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 5 Oct 2013.
2. ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Taxi". August 24, 2013.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Joosten, Jonathan (2016). "Taxi". Pinball Magazine. No. 4\. pp. 74–83\. ISBN 978-90-816266-5-1.
4. ^ a b Ciaravino, Joe (2024). "Cocaine Cats & Pinball Sex: Part II of The Unauthorized Hagiography of Python Anghelo". Nudge Magazine. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
5. ^ "Taxi random thoughts & pictures". www.jeff-z.com. 2018. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
6. ^ a b Shalhoub, Michael (2012). The pinball compendium: 1982 to present (revised and expanded 2nd ed.). Atglen, Pa: Schiffer Publishing. p. 102\. ISBN 978-0-7643-4107-6.
7. ^ "Taxi". RePlay Magazine. Vol. 14, no. 3\. November 1988. p. 1.
8. ^ "AMOA Expo '88". Play Meter. Vol. 14, no. 11\. December 1988. pp. 88, 120.
9. ^ a b "Taxi rules & strategies". www.jeff-z.com. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
10. ^ EP 0294923, Ritchie, Mark D & Joos, Joseph, "Catapult play feature for a pinball machine.", published 1988-04-13, issued 1988-12-14
11. ^ Saucier, Jeremy (2019-07-12). "Ken Fedesna Donation Documents Video Game Developer and Publisher Midway Games". The Strong National Museum of Play. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
12. ^ Patterson, Jeff (April 5, 2018). "11 Cool Easter Eggs in Pinball Machines". Kineticist. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
13. ^ Guedes, André (October 21, 1992). Madonna • SEX Book. p. 24\. ISBN 978-84-406-3117-6.
14. ^ Harris, Craig (2009-09-18). "Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection Review [PS3/Xbox 360]". IGN. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
15. ^ Broida, Rick (March 25, 2013). "The most fun I had all weekend: Pinball Arcade". CNET. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
16. ^ Lawson, Aurich (2018-05-08). "The Pinball Arcade is losing its classic tables; grab them while you can". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
17. ^ "NOW AVAILABLE - Williams™ Pinball Volume 9". Zen Studios. 2025-08-14. Retrieved 2025-08-15.

## External links

[edit]

* IPDB listing for Taxi

* v
* t
* e

Marilyn Monroe

* Performances and accolades
* Death

Songs|

* "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"
* "Happy Birthday, Mr. President"
* "Heat Wave"
* "My Heart Belongs to Daddy"
* "That Old Black Magic"
* "You'd Be Surprised"

Clothes|

* Pink dress
* White dress
* John F. Kennedy birthday dress

Artworks of|

* Marilyn Diptych (1962)
* Gold Marilyn Monroe (1962)
* Shot Marilyns (1964)
* Marilyn Monroe portfolio (1967)
* Marilyn Monroe mural (1981)

Films about|

* Marilyn (1963 documentary)
* The Legend of Marilyn Monroe (1966 documentary)
* Goodbye, Norma Jean (1976 film)
* This Year's Blonde (1980 film)
* Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980 film)
* Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn (1989 film)
* Marilyn and Me (1991 film)
* Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996 film)
* Blonde (2001 film)
* My Week with Marilyn (2011 film)
* Love, Marilyn (2012 documentary)
* The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (2015 film)
* Blonde (2022 film)

Popular
culture|

* "Candle in the Wind" (1973 song)
* Marilyn (1980 opera)
* Insignificance (1985 film)
* Taxi (1988 pinball machine)
* Calendar Girl (1993 film)
* Marilyn Forever Blonde (2007 play)
* Marilyn and Ella (2008 play)
* Forever Marilyn (2011 statue)
* "Marilyn Monroe" (2012 song)
* Smash 2012 TV series
* Bombshell
* Norma Jeane Baker of Troy (2019 play)
* "Nxde" (2022 song)
* Smash (2025 musical)

Related|

* James Dougherty (first husband)
* Joe DiMaggio (second husband)
* Arthur Miller (third husband)
* Gladys Pearl Baker (mother)
* Berniece Baker Miracle (sister)
* John F. Kennedy document hoax
* The Last Sitting
* 12305 Fifth Helena Drive

* v
* t
* e

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Universe

| Characters|

* Count Dracula
* Abraham Van Helsing
* Jonathan Harker
* Mina Harker
* Lucy Westenra
* Arthur Holmwood
* Dr. John Seward
* Quincey Morris
* Renfield
* Brides of Dracula

|

Publications|

* Dracula (1897)
* Powers of Darkness (1899)
* Icelandic
* "Dracula's Guest" (1914)
* Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914)

| Dacre Stoker|

* Dracula the Un-dead (2009)
* Dracul (2018)

|

Possible inspirations|

* Vlad II Dracul
* Vlad Călugărul
* Vlad the Impaler

Castles|

* Castle Dracula
* Bran Castle
* Poenari Castle
* Corvin Castle

Films

| Universal
productions|

* Universal series
* (Dracula (1931 English-language) * Dracula's Daughter (1936) * Son of Dracula (1943) * House of Frankenstein (1944) * House of Dracula (1945))
* Dracula (1931 Spanish-language)
* Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

|

Hammer Horror|

* Dracula (1958)
* The Brides of Dracula (1960)
* Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)
* Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)
* Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
* Scars of Dracula (1970)
* Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
* The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
* The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

Dracula 2000|

* Dracula 2000 (2000)
* Dracula II: Ascension (2003)
* Dracula III: Legacy (2005)

Nosferatu films|

* Nosferatu (1922)
* Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
* Vampire in Venice (1988)
* Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
* Nosferatu (2023)
* Nosferatu (2024)

Hotel
Transylvania |

* Hotel Transylvania (2012)
* Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
* Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)
* Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022)

Parodies|

* Transylvania 6-5000 (1963)
* Mad Monster Party? (1967)
* Batman Fights Dracula (1967)
* Dracula (The Dirty Old Man) (1969)
* Mad Mad Mad Monsters (1972)
* Blood for Dracula (1974)
* Vampira (1974)
* Son of Dracula (1974)
* Dracula in the Provinces (1975)
* Dracula and Son (1976)
* Dracula Sucks (1979)
* Love at First Bite (1979)
* The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979)
* Fracchia contro Dracula (1985)
* Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
* The Monster Squad (1987)
* Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)
* Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
* Monster Mash (1995)
* Monster Mash (2000)
* Zora the Vampire (2000)
* Monster Family (2017)

Other|

* Drakula halála (1923)
* The Return of the Vampire (1943)
* Drakula İstanbul'da (1953)
* Blood of Dracula (1957)
* The Return of Dracula (1958)
* Batman Dracula (1964)
* Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966)
* Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969)
* Santo en el tesoro de Drácula (1969)
* Count Dracula (1970)
* Los Monstruos del Terror (1970)
* Cuadecuc, vampir (1971)
* Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
* Hrabe Drakula (1971)
* Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)
* Blacula (1972)
* Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1974)
* Count Dracula's Great Love (1974)
* Deafula (1975)
* Dracula's Dog (1977)
* Count Dracula (1977)
* Doctor Dracula (1978)
* Dracula (1979)
* Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula (1979)
* Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned (1980)
* Dracula's Widow (1988)
* To Die For (1989)
* Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
* Nadja (1994)
* Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000)
* Bara no Konrei ~Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku~ (2001)
* Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002)
* Dracula (2002)
* Van Helsing (2004)
* Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004)
* The Vulture's Eye (2004)
* Dracula 3000 (2004)
* Blade: Trinity (2004)
* The Batman vs. Dracula (2005)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse (2006)
* Dracula (2006)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula's Guest (2008)
* The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008)
* House of the Wolf Man (2009)
* Young Dracula (2011)
* Dracula Reborn (2012)
* Dracula 3D (2012)
* Saint Dracula 3D (2012)
* Dracula 2012 (2013)
* Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013)
* Dracula Untold (2014)
* The Invitation (2022)
* Renfield (2023)
* The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
* Abigail (2024)
* Abraham's Boys (2025)
* Dracula: A Love Tale (2025)
* Dracula (2025)

Television

| Series|

* Monster Squad (1976)
* Draculas ring (1978)
* Cliffhangers (1979)
* Drak Pack (1980)
* Count Duckula (1988–1993)
* Dracula: The Series (1990–1991)
* Little Dracula (1991–1999)
* Monster Force (1994)
* Ace Kilroy (2011–2012)
* Young Dracula (2006–2014)
* characters
* Dracula (2013–2014)
* Penny Dreadful (2014–2016)
* Decker (2014–2017)
* Van Helsing (2016–21)
* Hotel Transylvania: The Series (2017–2020)
* Castlevania (2017–21)
* Dracula (2020)

|

Episodes|

* "Dracula" (Mystery and Imagination) (1968)
* "Buffy vs. Dracula" (2000)
* Young Dracula episodes (2006–2014)
* Penny Dreadful episodes (2014–2016)
* Hotel Transylvania: The Series episodes (2017–2020)

| The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror|

* "Treehouse of Horror IV" (1993)
* "Treehouse of Horror XXI" (2010)

|

Other media

| Novels|

* The Dracula Tape and sequels (1975–2002)
* Anno Dracula series (1992–present)
* Anno Dracula
* The Bloody Red Baron
* Dracula Cha Cha Cha
* The Revenge of Dracula (1978)
* Little Dracula (1986)
* Dracula the Undead (1997)
* The Historian (2005)
* The Book of Renfield (2005)
* Bloodline (2005)
* Young Dracula and Young Monsters (2006)
* Fangland (2007)
* Out of the Dark (2010)

|

Radio|

* Dracula (1938)

Plays|

* Dracula (1924)
* Dracula (1995)
* Dracula (1996)

Musicals|

* Dracula (Czech musical) (1995)
* Dracula: A Chamber Musical (1997)
* Dracula, the Musical (2004)
* Dracula – Entre l'amour et la mort (2006)
* Dracula – L'amour plus fort que la mort (2011)

Comics|

* Crossover
* Dracula (Marvel Comics)
* The Tomb of Dracula
* X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula
* Captain Britain and MI13: Vampire State
* Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos
* Dracula (Dell Comics)
* Don Dracula
* Dracula Lives!
* Hellsing
* Sword of Dracula
* Batman & Dracula trilogy
* Victorian Undead
* Wolves at the Gate
* Purgatori

Video games|

* The Count (1979)
* Dracula (1983)
* Ghost Manor (1983)
* Castlevania series
* 1986–present
* Dracula
* Dracula (1986)
* Dracula the Undead (1991)
* Drac's Night Out (unreleased)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (handheld) (1993)
* Dracula Unleashed (1993)
* Dracula: Resurrection (2000)
* Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary (2000)
* Dracula: Crazy Vampire (2001)
* Van Helsing (2004)
* Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon (2008)
* Dracula: Origin (2008)
* Vampire Season Monster Defense (2012)
* Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon (2013)
* Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy (2013)
* The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (2013)
* Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood (2023)

Pinball|

* Dracula (1979)
* Taxi (1988)
* Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)
* Monster Bash (1998)

Tabletop games|

* The Fury of Dracula

Albums|

* Dracula
* Dracula 2000
* Iubilaeum Anno Dracula 2001
* Perfect Selection: Dracula Battle
* Transylvania
* Van Helsing

Songs|

* "Love Song for a Vampire"

Audio dramas|

* Son of the Dragon

Original characters

| Alternative versions
of Dracula|

* Alucard (Hellsing)
* Count Alucard
* Dracula (Castlevania)
* Dracula (Marvel Comics)
* Count Orlok

|

Relatives of Dracula|

* Alucard (Castlevania)
* Vampire Hunter D
* Eva
* Janus Dracula
* Lilith Dracula
* Shiklah Dracula

Other|

* Blade
* Count von Count
* Simon Belmont

Related

* Lugosi v. Universal Pictures
* Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories
* Count Dracula in popular culture
* Transylvanian Society of Dracula
* Dracula Daily
* Dracula Society
* Dracula tourism
* Bibliography of works on Dracula

* Category (Dracula)
* Category (derivatives)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template