Taxi: Louie, Latka And The Cast List Of TV's Best Sitcom 1979-81

TAXI - "Latka's Cookies" which aired on February 05, 1981. (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images) DANNY DEVITO; ANDY KAUFMAN

Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Judd Hirsch, Andy Kaufman, Jeff Conaway and Marilu Henner -- was there ever a better cast for a sitcom than Taxi? Throw in Christopher Lloyd and Carol Kane, both of whom joined the show after it was underway, and you've got a group of comedy all-stars suited to the show's downtown-New York, anything-goes mayhem. The talent delivered results: During its five-year run, Taxi won 18 Emmys, including three for best comedy.

In 1978, after The Mary Tyler Moore Show finished its seven-season run, James L. Brooks set his sights on a new project. Inspired by an article in New York magazine, entitled “Night Shifting for the Hip Fleet,” he was inspired to create Taxi. The show focused on the everyday lives of New York City cab drivers and their dispatcher who work for the Sunshine Cab Company. Each of the drivers considered the job only temporary, working the night shift while chasing their dreams. In one episode, “The Road Not Taken,” the characters reminisce about the choices that led them to their jobs as cab drivers.