''Blansky's Beauties'' is an American
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
television series and ostensible
spin-off
Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media
*Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine
* ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
of ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'' that aired on
ABC from February 12 to June 27, 1977. The main character of the series was introduced on an episode of ''Happy Days'', then set in the early 1960s, but the show is set in the present day of 1977.
[However, '' The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present'' doesn't include the series in its list of prime time spin-offs. .] The series was a rare ratings flop for producer
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...
and was cancelled after only 13 episodes.
Synopsis
Nancy Walker played Howard Cunningham's visiting cousin Nancy Blansky from
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
on the February 4, 1977, episode of ''Happy Days''. ''Blansky's Beauties'' premiered the following week, on February 12, 1977.
Nancy Blansky (Walker) was a longtime Las Vegas showbiz vet (since the 1950s) and current den mother to a bevy of beautiful Las Vegas showgirls. In addition to keeping order in the chaotic apartment complex where they all lived, Nancy staged the girls' big numbers at the Oasis Hotel.
Emilio (
Johnny Desmond), the
maître d', was Nancy's boyfriend. To help Nancy defray costs of her apartment, Ethel "Sunshine" Akalino (
Lynda Goodfriend) and Bambi (
Caren Kaye) shared it with her, along with her nephews Joey DeLuca (
Eddie Mekka), a
choreographer
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
, and leering, 12-year-old ("going on 28") Anthony DeLuca (
Scott Baio
Scott Vincent Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on the s ...
). Anthony was forever trying to impress Bambi, who much to his chagrin treated him like a kid brother, as did almost all of Nancy's girls. Also sharing Nancy's apartment was a huge Great Dane named Blackjack who was shown in the opening credits playing
blackjack
Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...
.
Links to parent show and other spin-offs
Eddie Mekka's character Joey DeLuca was a younger cousin to Carmine Ragusa, Mekka's 1950s-era character on ''
Laverne & Shirley
''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Wi ...
''. During the production of ''Blansky's Beauties'', Mekka continued in his starring roles on both series, a rare occurrence of one actor assuming two regular scripted roles, in two different prime-time series, at the same time. The series' star, Nancy Walker, had just finished several seasons of the same situation in which she had co-starred simultaneously in both ''
McMillan & Wife
''McMillan & Wife'' (known simply as ''McMillan'' from 1976 to 1977) is an American police procedural television series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1971, to April 24, 1977. Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in the title roles, ...
'' and ''
Rhoda'', while also maintaining her ongoing role as diner waitress Rosie, the spokeslady for
Bounty paper towels, which she continued during ''Blansky's Beauties''.
In episode 1 ("Blansky's Biking Beauty") Joey introduced Nancy Blansky to stunt motorcyclist
Pinky Tuscadero (
Roz Kelly
Roz Kelly (born Rosiland Schwartz on July 29, 1943) is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli's (Henry Winkler) girlfriend Happy Days#Minor/recurring, Carol "Pinky" Tuscadero on the television series ''Hap ...
), who was instantly hired for Nancy's stage show. Pinky wore the same outfit as in her ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'' episodes, though her hair was now in a '70s-style shag cut.
The show also implied a link to the then-ongoing show ''
Laverne & Shirley
''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Wi ...
''; in the episode "Nancy Remembers Laverne", Nancy recalls working with a clumsy girl named Laverne 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, film director, and producer. She is best known for ...
's character on ''Laverne & Shirley'') back around 1957. She discovered that, despite her clumsiness, Laverne was a great dancer and Nancy offered her a job on the spot, which Laverne declined.
Pat Morita, after the failure of his series ''
Mr. T and Tina'', was added to the cast as Arnold, the character he originated on ''Happy Days''. Here he ran a coffee shop, whereas in ''Happy Days'', he owned the diner. Morita would re-join the cast of ''Happy Days'' five years later, while his replacement on that series,
Al Molinaro, would repeat Morita's career move at that time by joining another ''Happy Days'' spin-off, ''
Joanie Loves Chachi''.
After the end of ''Blansky's Beauties'',
Lynda Goodfriend and
Scott Baio
Scott Vincent Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on the s ...
would join the cast of ''Happy Days'' at the start of the 1977–78 season. Goodfriend and Baio, along with their ''Blansky's Beauties'' co-stars Caren Kaye, Shirley Kirkes, and Elaine Bolton, would appear in a similarly plotted pilot, ''Legs'', for
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
in 1978, using different character names. This project would be revised further and appear on the network as ''
Who's Watching the Kids?'' in the fall of that year, lasting half a season.
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...
, creator of ''Blansky's Beauties'' and the aforementioned ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'', and ''Joanie Loves Chachi'', ''et al.'', had a recurring role as Nancy's employer, the enigmatic Mr. Smith.
Cast
*
Nancy Walker as Nancy Blansky
*
Caren Kaye as Bambi Benton
*
Lynda Goodfriend as Ethel "Sunshine" Akalino (actress later moved back to ''Happy Days'' as Lori Beth Allen, later Lori Beth Cunningham)
*
Johnny Desmond as Emilio
*
Eddie Mekka as Joey DeLuca (actor simultaneously on ''Laverne & Shirley'' as Joey's cousin, Carmine Ragusa)
*
Scott Baio
Scott Vincent Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on the s ...
as Anthony DeLuca (actor later moved to ''Happy Days'' as Chachi Arcola)
*
George Pentecost as Horace "Stubbs" Wilmington
*
Taaffe O'Connell as Hillary S. Prentiss
*
Rhonda Bates as Arkansas
* Bond Gideon as Lovely Carson
*
Gerri Reddick as Jackie Outlaw
*
Shirley Kirkes as Gladys "Cochise" Littlefeather
*
Antoinette Yuskis as Sylvia Silver
*
Jill Owens as Misty Karamazov
*
Elaine Bolton as Bridget Muldoon
*
Pat Morita as Arnold Takahashi (actor and character returned to ''Happy Days'', where character originated)
*
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...
as "Mr. Smith"
Episodes
See also
*
List of television shows set in Las Vegas
References
External links
*
{{MillerBoyett
1977 American television series debuts
1977 American television series endings
1970s American sitcoms
American English-language television shows
Happy Days
Television series about show business
Television series by CBS Studios
Television shows set in the Las Vegas Valley
American television spinoffs
American Broadcasting Company sitcoms