''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
television series that played for eight seasons on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...
'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' starred
Penny Marshall
Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...
and
Cindy Williams
Cynthia Jane Williams (born August 22, 1947) is an American actress and producer, known for her role as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1975–1979), and ''Laverne & Shirley'' (1976–1982).
Early life
Williams was bo ...
as Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney, two friends and roommates who work as bottle-cappers in the fictitious Shotz Brewery in late 1950s
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. From the sixth season onwards, the series' setting changed to mid-1960s
Burbank,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in '' Laverne & Shirley'', David St. Hubbins in '' ...
and
David Lander
David L. Lander (born David Leonard Landau, June 22, 1947 – December 4, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout. He was best known for his portrayal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman in the ABC sitcom ''Laverne & Shirl ...
co-starred as their friends and neighbors Lenny Kosnowski and Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman, respectively; along with
Eddie Mekka
Edward Rudolph Mekjian (June 14, 1952 – November 27, 2021), known professionally as Eddie Mekka, was an American actor, best known for his role as Carmine Ragusa on the hit television sitcom '' Laverne & Shirley''.
Early life
Mekka was born in ...
as Carmine Ragusa,
Phil Foster as Laverne's father Frank DeFazio, and
Betty Garrett
Betty Garrett (May 23, 1919 – February 12, 2011) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer. She originally performed on Broadway, and was then signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She appeared in several musical film ...
as the girls'
landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...
Edna Babish.
Featuring regular
physical comedy, ''Laverne & Shirley'' became the most-watched American television program by its third season; in total, it received six
Golden Globe nominations and one
Emmy nomination.
History
The series is a
spin-off from ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...
'', as the two lead characters were introduced on that series as acquaintances of
Fonzie
Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, better known as "Fonzie" or "The Fonz", is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom '' Happy Days'' (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character, but was soon positioned as a lea ...
(
Henry Winkler). The characters were originally "two girls who date the fleet", but for
family hour, they had to be changed and mellowed down, which, in Cindy Williams' opinion, gave the show more depth. Set in roughly the same period, the timeline started in approximately 1958, when the series began, through 1967, when the series ended. As with ''Happy Days'', it was made by
Paramount Television, created by
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...
(along with
Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz (born August 31, 1948 in New York City) is an American screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is the long-time writing partner of Babaloo Mandel.
Ganz grew up in Queens, New York, attending Martin Van Buren Hi ...
and
Mark Rothman) and executive produced by Garry Marshall, Edward K. Milkis, and Thomas L. Miller from
Miller-Boyett Productions
Miller-Boyett Productions (or simply Miller-Boyett) is an American television production company that mainly developed television sitcoms from the 1970s through the 1990s. It was responsible for family-oriented hit series such as '' Happy Days'' ...
.
According to
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
, Cindy Williams had refused to do the ''Laverne & Shirley'' spin-off, so her role was recast with
Liberty Williams (no relation), and a seven-minute screen test was filmed. Between that afternoon shoot and the evening, Cindy Williams was eventually talked into doing the role and she re-filmed the scene that night with Penny Marshall, who became her co-star in the series. Executives wanted to see both versions, but Eisner hid the first reel of film in a closet of the building and said at the screening that the film from the first shoot had got lost, so they only watched the performance of Cindy Williams with Penny Marshall.
Plot
Seasons 1–5
![Laverne and shirley 1976](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Laverne_and_shirley_1976.JPG)
In the opening credits, Laverne and Shirley recite "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer
Hasenpfeffer is a traditional Dutch and German stew made from marinated rabbit or hare, cut into stewing-meat sized pieces and braised with onions and a marinade made from wine and vinegar.
Description
''Hase'' is German for "hare", and ''pfeffe ...
Incorporated," a
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
-American
hopscotch
Hopscotch is a popular playground game in which players toss a small object, called a lagger, into numbered triangles or a pattern of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hop or jump through the spaces and retrieve the object. It is a ch ...
chant, which then leads into the series' theme song, "
Making Our Dreams Come True
"Making Our Dreams Come True" is a 1976 hit single written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. It was recorded by Cyndi Grecco, then an unknown musician. The title track of her debut album, it was also used as the theme song to the 1976–83 tele ...
" performed by
Cyndi Grecco
Cyndi Grecco (born May 19, 1952) is an American singer best-known for performing the theme tune to the popular 1970s American television show ''Laverne & Shirley''.
The theme to ''Laverne & Shirley'' was titled "Making Our Dreams Come True," in ...
. In the final season without Cindy Williams, the chant is recited by a group of schoolchildren. The hopscotch chant is from Penny Marshall's childhood.
![Happy Days Fonzie Superstar 1976](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Happy_Days_Fonzie_Superstar_1976.JPG)
For the first five seasons, from 1976 to 1980, the show was set in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
(executive producer Thomas L. Miller's home town), taking place from roughly 1958–59 through the early 1960s. Shotz Brewery bottle cappers and best friends, Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney, live in a basement apartment, where they communicate with upstairs neighbors Lenny and Squiggy by screaming up the
dumbwaiter
A dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator or lift intended to carry food. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial, public and private buildings, are often connected between multiple floors. When installed in restau ...
shaft connecting their apartments. Also included in the show are Laverne's father, Frank DeFazio, proprietor of the Pizza Bowl, and Edna Babish, the apartment building's landlady, who later married Frank. Shirley maintained an off-again on-again romance with dancer/singer/boxer Carmine "The Big Ragoo" Ragusa. During this period, characters from ''Happy Days'' and ''Laverne & Shirley'' made occasional guest appearances on each other's series.
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in '' Laverne & Shirley'', David St. Hubbins in '' ...
and
David Lander
David L. Lander (born David Leonard Landau, June 22, 1947 – December 4, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout. He was best known for his portrayal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman in the ABC sitcom ''Laverne & Shirl ...
created the characters of Lenny and Squiggy while both were theater students at
Carnegie Mellon University in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
video:
Squiggy on Marijuana
." Lander told an interviewer in 2006 that they created the characters while high on
marijuana.
After graduating, they continued to perform the characters in live comedy routines before joining the show's cast.
![Laverne and shirley new years eve 1977](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Laverne_and_shirley_new_years_eve_1977.JPG)
During the fifth season, the girls went into the
Army Reserve
A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...
, and they contended with a tough-as-nails
drill sergeant
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors.
Australia
A ...
named Alvinia T. "The Frog" Plout (
Vicki Lawrence
Vicki Ann Lawrence ( Axelrad; born March 26, 1949), sometimes credited as Vicki Lawrence Schultz, is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for her character Mama (Thelma Harper). Lawrence originated multitudes of charact ...
). While their time in the Army Reserve was brief in the live action series, it did inspire an animated series with the duo in the army contending with their immediate superior, a commanding pig named Sgt. Squealy who was voiced by
Ron Palillo
Ronald Gabriel Palillo (April 2, 1949 – August 14, 2012) was an American actor and teacher. He was best known for his role as the endearingly dim-witted character Arnold Horshack on the ABC sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979).
Ear ...
(best known for his role as Arnold Horshack on ''
Welcome Back, Kotter
''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class called the "Sweathogs." Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the seri ...
'') who is always threatening to report them to Sgt. Turnbuckle (voiced by Kenneth Mars).
Seasons 6–8
For the sixth season in 1980, Laverne and Shirley and their friends all moved from Milwaukee to
Burbank, California. Laverne and Shirley took jobs at Bardwell's department store as gift wrappers. Frank and Edna managed a Texas barbecue restaurant called Cowboy Bill's, Carmine delivered singing telegrams and sought work as an actor, and Lenny and Squiggy started a talent agency called Squignowski Talent Agency. From this point until the end of the series' run, ''Laverne & Shirley'' was set in the mid-1960s. In one of the shots in the show's new opening sequence, the ladies are seen kissing a 1964 poster of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
. With each season, a new year passed in the timeline of the show, starting with 1965 in the 1980–81 season, and ending in 1967 with Carmine heading off for Broadway to star in the musical ''
Hair''. When the series' setting changed to California, two new characters are added: Sonny St. Jacques, a stunt man, landlord of the Burbank apartment building and love interest for Laverne; as well as Rhonda Lee, the ladies' neighbor and an aspiring actress.
In March 1982, Cindy Williams became pregnant with her first child. In August, two episodes into production of the series' eighth season, Williams left the show and filed a $20 million lawsuit against Paramount after they demanded Williams work on her scheduled due date. The case was later settled out of court and Williams was released from her contract.
The series' final season continued with two episodes with Williams still playing Shirley, then it was just Marshall as Laverne, who now worked for an aerospace company. Ratings dipped but were strong enough for the show to be considered for a ninth season. Marshall agreed based on the agreement that the show would move production to New York City. Faced with the high cost of such an endeavor, ABC opted not to renew the series and it quietly faded from the schedule in May 1983.
Characters
Main
![Laverne and Shirley cast 1976](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Laverne_and_Shirley_cast_1976.JPG)
* Laverne Marie DeFazio (
Penny Marshall
Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...
) is known for being a tough-talking tomboy. She grew up in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, with her Italian immigrant parents. Laverne's parents moved to Milwaukee, where her mother died. Laverne works alongside best friend and roommate Shirley. Milk and
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi wa ...
is Laverne's favorite drink. Her trademark is the script letter "L" monogrammed on her shirts and sweaters, an idea Marshall got from seeing a vintage sweater in the wardrobe department with an initial sewn in the upper left corner, something that would help the audience remember that she is Laverne. She is the only character to appear in all 178 episodes of the series.
* Shirley Wilhelmina Feeney (
Cindy Williams
Cynthia Jane Williams (born August 22, 1947) is an American actress and producer, known for her role as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1975–1979), and ''Laverne & Shirley'' (1976–1982).
Early life
Williams was bo ...
) is the perky, positive one. She also tends to be meek, while Laverne is more outspoken. She later becomes a huge fan of teen-idol
Fabian. Her overbearing mother Lily (
Pat Carroll
Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's '' Laverne & Shirley'', and NB ...
) expects more from Shirley than she can give. Shirley is sensitive and tends to overreact. When she tries to hold back a laugh, she bites her knuckle on her index finger. Shirley works at Shotz brewery with Laverne. She has a special relationship with her stuffed cat Boo Boo Kitty, a name Williams gave the toy after forgetting a line in rehearsal, and was the name of her mother's cat.
* Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski (
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in '' Laverne & Shirley'', David St. Hubbins in '' ...
) is a lovable goofball
greaser who pesters Laverne and Shirley, along with his best friend and roommate Squiggy, both of whom live upstairs from Laverne and Shirley's lower-level apartment. Lenny works as a truck driver at the Shotz brewery. Lenny says that, while he is not completely sure, he thinks his last name is Polish for "Help, there's a hog in my kitchen".
* Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman (
David Lander
David L. Lander (born David Leonard Landau, June 22, 1947 – December 4, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout. He was best known for his portrayal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman in the ABC sitcom ''Laverne & Shirl ...
) works and lives with childhood friend Lenny. Squiggy, who is a greaser like Lenny, makes nearly every entrance (as a
running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...
, they usually enter just as Laverne and/or Shirley are describing something unpleasant) with his trademark "Hello" said in a comically dopey voice. In the final season, Squiggy's lookalike sister Squendoline is introduced. Originally created by Lander and McKean as Anthony Squiggliano, the character's name was changed to German because the producers believed there were already too many Italians in the show.
* Carmine Ragusa (
Eddie Mekka
Edward Rudolph Mekjian (June 14, 1952 – November 27, 2021), known professionally as Eddie Mekka, was an American actor, best known for his role as Carmine Ragusa on the hit television sitcom '' Laverne & Shirley''.
Early life
Mekka was born in ...
) is Shirley's high-school sweetheart and on-again, off-again romance. "The Big Ragoo" is a part-time boxer and former
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...
champion who owns a dance studio and is constantly working to make it big as a dancer and singer. In the final episode of the series, he auditions for the musical ''
Hair'', at last landing a major role on Broadway.
* Fabrizio "Frank" DeFazio (
Phil Foster) is Laverne's father who runs the Pizza Bowl, a local hang out. He later opens up Cowboy Bills in Burbank, California. Although he could be harsh and lose his temper, he did have a heart of gold. He loves Laverne very much, having been her only parent for years. His pet name for his daughter is "Muffin". Frank is also protective of Shirley, becoming somewhat of a surrogate father to her since her family was far away.
* Edna Babish DeFazio (
Betty Garrett
Betty Garrett (May 23, 1919 – February 12, 2011) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer. She originally performed on Broadway, and was then signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She appeared in several musical film ...
, seasons 2–6) is the five-time-divorced
landlady
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the t ...
who eventually marries Laverne's father. In season 2, she was dressed quite plainly, and Garrett's then-long hair was put under a more conservative wig, but in the third season, a new wardrobe worker suggested that she should be more "jazzy", with her real hair and colorful costumes, and this change fleshed out the character. Edna occasionally sings and dances in the local brewery talent shows. When the series was extended beyond the intended final season, Garrett had already committed to another project necessitating Edna be written out as having left Frank.
* Rhonda Lee (
Leslie Easterbrook
Leslie Easterbrook is an American actress and producer. She played Sgt./Lt./Capt. Debbie Callahan in the '' Police Academy'' films and Rhonda Lee on the television series '' Laverne & Shirley''.
Early life
Easterbrook was adopted when she was n ...
, seasons 6–8) is a tall, voluptuous, somewhat ditzy blonde actress/singer/dancer/model trying to get discovered and make it big in Hollywood. She is Laverne and Shirley's neighbor and a regular character after they move to Burbank. Rhonda, who also comes off as rather narcissistic about her good looks and self-obsessed, always refers to herself in the
third person
Third person, or third-person, may refer to:
* Third person (grammar), a point of view (in English, ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', and ''they'')
** Illeism, the act of referring to oneself in the third person
* Third-person narrative, a perspective in p ...
, by her first name. Rhonda often bursts into Laverne and Shirley's apartment (occasionally at inopportune times, much like Lenny and Squiggy often do) to borrow things without really asking and to brag about her social engagements or romantic dates with desirable men with the intention of making the girls envious.
* Sonny St. Jacques (
Ed Marinaro
Ed Marinaro (born March 31, 1950) is an American actor and former NFL player. In 1971, he was a unanimous All-American and finished as a runner-up to Pat Sullivan for the Heisman Trophy, and from 2010 to 2011 starred in the football comedy s ...
, season 6) is a
stuntman and Laverne and Shirley's landlord in Burbank. A tall, handsome, muscular man, Sonny is often seen with his shirt off or open. He was intended as a love interest for Laverne. After several episodes in Burbank, Sonny was written out of the show and rarely, if ever, mentioned again. (In reality, Marinaro left the series to star in ''
Hill Street Blues
''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
''.)
Notes
Recurring
* (Big) Rosie Greenbaum (
Carole Ita White
Carole Ita White is an American television and film actress.
Early life
Carole Ita White was born in New York City to actors Jesse White and Celia ("Simmy") Cohn. Her father was a character actor, appearing in dozens of films and TV programs ...
) is Laverne and Shirley's childhood nemesis. She married a rich doctor and rubs this in the ladies' faces, though they make fun of the fact that he is a
proctologist. She is Laverne's rival and upsets her by calling her a "bimbo". Big Rosie and fellow Milwaukee classmate Terri Buttefuco both return in the season-seven episode "Class of '56".
* Terri Buttefuco (Judy Pioli) is a former classmate of Laverne and Shirley. She is tough and athletic and has a better relationship with Laverne and Shirley than they do with Rosie Greenbaum. Pioli also wrote and acted as a script consultant for the series.
* Sgt. Alvinia T. Plout (
Vicki Lawrence
Vicki Ann Lawrence ( Axelrad; born March 26, 1949), sometimes credited as Vicki Lawrence Schultz, is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for her character Mama (Thelma Harper). Lawrence originated multitudes of charact ...
) is a tough-as-nails drill sergeant Laverne and Shirley met when they went into the Army. She returns in Season 6 having gone AWOL from the Army after falling in love with a four-star general who jilted her.
* Officer Norman Hughes (Bo Kaprall) is a police officer and love interest for Laverne.
* Mr. Hildebrand (
Norman Bartold
Norman Hillman Bartold (August 6, 1928 – May 28, 1994) was an American film and television actor. He played Mr. Brody in eight episodes of the American television sitcom '' Teachers Only''. He also played the District Attorney Donahue in the ...
) is Laverne and Shirley's boss at Bardwell's Department Store.
* Mrs. Kolchek (Rose Mitchum) is a neighbor living in Laverne and Shirley's Milwaukee apartment building and appeared in 5 episodes from 1977 to 1980. She rarely has speaking roles, but when she does speak, she only speaks to Laverne, as she is annoyed at Shirley for always yelling at her because Shirley thinks she is very hard of hearing, which she isn't, and because she is also interested in Carmine in spite of their age differences.
* Chuck (
Charles Fleischer
Charles Fleischer (born August 27, 1950) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, musician, and writer, best known for appearing in films such as ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'', '' The Polar Express'', '' Rango'', '' ...
) is Laverne's co-worker in season 8.
Episodes
Broadcast history and ratings
''Laverne & Shirley'' debuted in the 1975–76 TV season, with its first episode airing in January 1976, in the Tuesday night time slot after ''Happy Days''. By its third season, it had become the most-watched American television program according to
Nielsen ratings. In August 1979, before the start of its fifth season, ''Laverne & Shirley'' was moved to Thursdays at 8 pm opposite ''
The Waltons
''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...
'' on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
and ''
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. By the end of the fifth season, ratings fell sharply and the sitcom failed to make the list of the top 30 programs. In an effort to improve the show's ratings, ABC moved ''Laverne & Shirley'' to Mondays at 8 p.m. in December 1979. The ratings fared no better, so in February 1980 the network moved the series back to its familiar Tuesday-night berth, where it remained for the next three years. Between 1980 and 1982, the ratings improved considerably, but, despite having regained its original time slot and changing its format, ''Laverne & Shirley'' never regained the popularity it had attained during its first four years on the air and during its final season struggled against ''
The A-Team
''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court ma ...
'' on NBC. By the time of its cancellation in 1983, the series ranked at number 25 for the season.
Animated spin-off
During the run of the main show, an animated spin-off called ''
Laverne & Shirley in the Army
''Laverne & Shirley'', also known as ''Laverne & Shirley in the Army'', is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Paramount Television broadcast on ABC from October 10, 1981, to November 13, 1982. It is a ...
'' began airing on Saturday mornings. The first program was aired on October 10, 1981, and featured the voices of Marshall and Williams playing Laverne and Shirley in the Army with a talking piglet drill sergeant named "Squealy" (voiced by
Ron Palillo
Ronald Gabriel Palillo (April 2, 1949 – August 14, 2012) was an American actor and teacher. He was best known for his role as the endearingly dim-witted character Arnold Horshack on the ABC sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979).
Ear ...
). The show was renamed ''Laverne & Shirley with Special Guest Star The Fonz'' when the Fonz began working in the motorpool as the chief mechanic, and then again renamed ''
Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour
''Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour'' is a 1982–1983 American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Ruby-Spears Enterprises in association with Paramount Television, featuring animated versions of characters ...
'' when new segments involving a teenaged
Mork & Mindy
''Mork & Mindy'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of ''Happy Days'', "My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extraterrest ...
were added to the mix. The series ran until September 3, 1983.
Merchandise
The program was so successful at the time that it spawned a merchandise
franchise
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
.
Mego released two models of Laverne and Shirley dolls, and one model of Lenny and Squiggy dolls.
Matchbox
Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc.
Matchbox
A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designe ...
created a Shotz Brewery delivery van, and several novelty toys were sold such as
Halloween costumes
Halloween costumes are costumes worn on Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. An early reference to wearing costumes at Halloween comes from Scotland in 1585, but they may pre-date this. There are many references to the custom durin ...
, a
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a co ...
,
jigsaw puzzles
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaiced pieces, each of which typically has a portion of a picture. When assembled, the puzzle pieces produce a complete picture.
In t ...
,
coloring books
A coloring book (British English: colouring-in book, colouring book, or colouring page) is a type of book containing line art to which people are intended to add color using crayons, colored pencils, marker pens, paint or other artistic media. ...
,
video slot machine
A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
and other toys.
Home media
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
and (starting with season 2)
CBS DVD
CBS Home Entertainment (formerly CBS Video Enterprises, Inc., MGM/CBS Home Video, CBS/Fox Video and CBS Video, currently branded as CBS DVD for DVD releases and CBS Blu-ray for Blu-ray releases) is a home entertainment company owned by Paramoun ...
have released the entire series of ''Laverne and Shirley'' on DVD in
Region 1, albeit with music substitutions and scene deletions.
On June 16, 2015, CBS DVD released ''Laverne & Shirley – The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1.
Season 1 has also been released on DVD in Region 2.
The first three seasons have been released on DVD in Region 4 by Paramount.
Music
The theme song from the series ("
Making Our Dreams Come True
"Making Our Dreams Come True" is a 1976 hit single written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. It was recorded by Cyndi Grecco, then an unknown musician. The title track of her debut album, it was also used as the theme song to the 1976–83 tele ...
" as performed by
Cyndi Grecco
Cyndi Grecco (born May 19, 1952) is an American singer best-known for performing the theme tune to the popular 1970s American television show ''Laverne & Shirley''.
The theme to ''Laverne & Shirley'' was titled "Making Our Dreams Come True," in ...
) was released as a single from Cyndi's LP by the same name and became a radio favorite, becoming a top-30 American hit in 1976.
In 1976, Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams released an album, performed in character, titled ''Laverne & Shirley Sing'', which contained some original songs along with some 1950s and 1960s standards. The album was originally released on
Atlantic Records. On November 11, 2003,
Collector's Choice released it on CD. The single ''Sixteen Reasons'' reached #72 in Canada.
In 1979, Michael McKean and David Lander followed suit with the album ''
Lenny and the Squigtones
Lenny and the Squigtones is a fictional musical group headed in character by Michael McKean and David Lander, the two actors who played Lenny and Squiggy on the U.S. television series '' Laverne & Shirley'', which is set primarily in the 1950s. The ...
'', also performed in character, featuring mainly original songs penned by McKean. The album was released on
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label current ...
.
In July 1979, McKean and Lander also appeared together (in character) on ''
American Bandstand'' performing the song "King of the Cars", the single released from their ''Lenny and the Squigtones'' album. They also performed "Love Is A Terrible Thing", another song from the album.
In 1980,
Romina Power
Romina Francesca Power (born October 2, 1951) is an American actress and singer born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of Hollywood matinée idol Tyrone Power and actress Linda Christian. With then-husband Albano Carrisi, she fo ...
(of
Al Bano and Romina Power fame) recorded a separate theme tune for the show when it was introduced to the Italian market. The track, simply titled "Laverne & Shirley" featured verses in English and Italian. Released as a single in the same year, the track failed to chart.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laverne and Shirley
1970s American sitcoms
1976 American television series debuts
1980s American sitcoms
1983 American television series endings
American television spin-offs
American Broadcasting Company original programming
English-language television shows
Happy Days
Nielsen ratings winners
Television duos
Television series by CBS Studios
Television series set in the 1950s
Television series set in the 1960s
Television shows set in Los Angeles
Television shows set in Milwaukee
Television shows set in Wisconsin