Ghost Dad 1990

Elliot Hopper, Bill Cosby is a workaholic widower on the verge of clinching a career-changing deal that could earn him a promotion and a brand-new company car. After he forgets his daughter Diane’s birthday, he promises that she can have his car once the deal closes on Thursday. When his coworkers urge him to seal the deal now, he agrees to give the car early and hails a taxi from the office, the ride led by Raynor Scheine as Curtis Burch, a driver whose reckless, erratic style hints at trouble. In a panic to stop the cab, Elliot blurts out that he is Satan and tries to hand over his wallet, but Burch floors it and plunges off a bridge into the river.

Elliot wakes to a world where he is unseen by the living; a police officer fails to notice him and a speeding bus passes straight through him. When he gets home, he discovers that his three children can see him only in a completely dark room, and sometimes they cannot hear him at all. He struggles to explain what happened while the family goes through their routines, until paranormal researcher Sir Edith Moser, Ian Bannen, arrives from London with a startling diagnosis: Elliot is a ghost who has not yet entered the afterlife because “they screwed up.” His soul will not cross over until Thursday, and the revelation sets the stage for a blend of supernatural mystery and domestic comedy that will test his love for his family and his loyalty to his job.

The pressures of work and family life give way to a lively string of misadventures as Elliot fights to protect his loved ones while navigating a world where the living cannot truly hear or see him. He tries to renew his life insurance and push through his company merger so his family will be provided for once he crosses over. He faces a crucial choice: stay in a high-stakes meeting or help his son Danny, [Salim Grant], with a magic trick at school. He walks out on his furious boss, Mr. Collins, [Barry Corbin], and is fired, a turn that deepens his resolve to put family first. He even confides in his would-be love interest, Joan, [Denise Nicholas], whose initial shock gradually gives way to sympathy as she comes to understand his strange predicament.

Edith’s return from London adds urgency to the search for Elliot’s body, so his spirit can once again belong to the living. The ordeal intensifies when Diane accidentally trips on a pair of skates Amanda, [Brooke Fontaine], left on the stairs and is seriously injured. The family rushes to the hospital, where Elliot’s and Diane’s spirits move in and out of the bodies in a tense race against time. Diane re-enters her father’s body just as the hospital inadvertently identifies the wrong patient due to a wallet swap performed by Curtis Burch, throwing the living world into chaos. Elliot manages to re-enter his body, and Diane follows suit, restoring a heartbeat to the family’s fragile hope.

As they leave the hospital, Elliot spots a yellow taxi waiting outside and approaches it with renewed curiosity. He peeks inside and sees Curtis Burch again behind the wheel. Delighted to confront his “Evil Master,” Elliot commands Burch to go to hell and sit on red-hot coals waiting for him, “until it snows.” Burch agrees with a wicked enthusiasm and drives off, while the Hopper family walks away from the hospital into a future that feels just a little brighter—healthier, closer, and suddenly more aware of what truly matters.