Laverne & Shirley
Encyclopedia
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy
that ran on ABC
from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983. It starred Penny Marshall
as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams
as Shirley Feeney, roommates who worked in a fictitious Milwaukee brewery called "Shotz Brewery".
The show was a spin-off
from Happy Days
, as the two lead characters were originally introduced on that series as acquaintances of Fonzie
. Set in roughly the same time period as Happy Days, the Laverne & Shirley timeline started in approximately 1959, when the series began, through 1967, when the series ended.
Both shows were made by Paramount Television
and are currently distributed by CBS Television Distribution
(along with the rest of the Paramount TV library). Laverne & Shirley filmed on stage 20 and Happy Days on stage 19.
chant: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer
Incorporated," which then leads into the series' theme song entitled "Making Our Dreams Come True," sung by Cyndi Grecco
. In the sixth and seventh seasons (which were set in Hollywood), the intro featured Laverne and Shirley coming out of an apartment building, but still singing their original chant, and then a re-recordeded version of the original theme song. During the final season after Cindy Williams left the show, the show opened with Laverne watching a group of school children perform the chant before the theme song began.
The opening sequence has been parodied in many pop culture outlets, including the movie Wayne's World
, where Garth and Wayne perform the theme song while visiting Milwaukee. In an episode of The Nanny
entitled "Val's Apartment," Fran and Val say the chant before entering their apartment for the first time, but they stumble over the word "Hasenpfeffer." The sequence has also been parodied in other languages, on Friends in a Spanish-language track under the title Laverne y Shirley, and on Saturday Night Live
, in faux Japanese, under the name Rabun to Shuri.
In the first season, the main title showed the full names of the characters (i.e., "Laverne De Fazio & Shirley Feeney"), but in subsequent seasons this was reduced to just their first names (i.e., "Laverne & Shirley"). During its syndicated run, the series was retitled Laverne & Shirley & Company from 1981 to 1983 due to the series still airing on ABC at the time (at the time, distributors would sometimes change the name of a show for syndication if it was still producing new episodes on a network—such as was the case with Happy Days, when it was retitled Happy Days Again in syndication).
) bottlecappers and best friends, Laverne and Shirley live in a basement apartment on Knapp Street (a real street near the Schlitz Brewery in Milwaukee), where the feet of pedestrians are visible from their front window. The two women communicate with upstairs neighbors Lenny and Squiggy by screaming up the dumbwaiter shaft connecting their apartments instead of using the telephone. Also appearing were Laverne's father, Frank, proprietor of the Pizza Bowl, and landlady Edna Babish. Shirley maintained a stormy romance with dancer/singer Carmine Ragusa ("I can date other men and Carmine can date ugly women", she tells Laverne). During this period, characters from Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley would make occasional guest appearances on each other's shows. During the season, the girls went into the army, and they contended with a mean drill sergeant named Alvinia T. Plout (Vicki Lawrence
). In the next season, she visited the girls.
, with the catalyst behind the move as the girls losing their bottlecapping jobs to new automation installed at Shotz Brewery, and want to start fresh. Their friends and family are inspired by the idea and also pack up to move out west.
Laverne and Shirley took jobs as gift-wrappers at Bardwell's Department Store, Frank and Edna managed a Texas BBQ restaurant called "Cowboy Bill's", and Carmine delivered singing telegrams and sought work as an actor. From this point until the end of the show's run, Laverne & Shirley was set in the mid-1960s. The girls are seen kissing a 1964 Beatles poster in the new opening credits. 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. The opening credits of the California seasons feature the cast toasting at New Year's, and visible on a large banner is the year depicted in that season.
When the show moved to California, two new members joined the cast: Ed Marinaro as Sonny St. Jacques, a stunt man, landlord of the Burbank apartment building, and love interest for Laverne, as well as Leslie Easterbrook as Rhonda Lee, the girls' neighbor and an aspiring actress. Marinaro had previously been cast a year earlier as Laverne's cousin Antonio from Italy (who had a talent for taming wild animals). Marinaro left after one season in California, Betty Garrett left by 1981, Cindy Williams left in 1982, and Michael McKean was missing from the final episodes.
In the final season, Shirley quickly fell in love and married Army medic Walter Meany (making her Shirley Feeney-Meany), and discovered one episode later that she was pregnant. That episode marked Cindy Williams' final exit. The following week's episode to be shot "The Baby Show" was to feature Shirley going into labor at a funeral and was to be saved for a later airing. With Williams' abrupt departure, the role of expectant mother was given to Vicki Lawrence in a reprisal of her Sgt. Alvinia T. Plout character.
With Shirley gone (her absence was explained in a note left for Laverne that she had left town quickly to join her husband overseas), Laverne tried to go it alone and a new opening was shot with Laverne watching children singing the famous "Schlemiel! Schlemazel!" lines. The show kept the title Laverne & Shirley although the Shirley character was not shown and Cindy Williams' name was not displayed in the opening credits. Laverne began working in an aerospace testing facility and did not need another roommate. Several guest stars were featured in the final season of 1982–83, including Carrie Fisher
, James Belushi
, Larry Breeding, Adam West
, and Louise Lasser
, but faced with the loss of one of its title stars and competition from NBC's The A-Team, the series was canceled while it was in the top 30 in the ratings.
The final episode was produced like a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series, involving Carmine moving away to New York City
to star in the Broadway show Hair. Laverne was seen simply at the beginning and end of the episode. However, there was no spin-off show.
During the run of the main show, an animated spin-off called Laverne & Shirley in the Army
began airing on Saturday mornings. The first program was aired on October 10, 1981. The show featured the voices of Marshall and Williams playing Laverne and Shirley in the Army (much like they had been during their 1979–1980 season) with a talking piglet Drill Sergeant named "Squealy" (voiced by Welcome Back Kotter alum Ron Palillo
). The show was renamed Laverne and Shirley with the Fonz when the Fonz began working in the motorpool as the chief mechanic, and then again renamed The Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour when new segments involving a teenaged Mork & Mindy were added to the mix. The series ran until September 3, 1983.
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. 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.
McKean and Lander also appeared as Lenny & Squiggy on Fernwood Tonight, the satirical late night talk show hosted by Martin Mull
and Fred Willard
. In this appearance they claimed that their characters on Laverne and Shirley were based on their real life personas. The pair also released a live concert album of songs and skits as Lenny & Squiggy.
The theme song from the series (performed by Cyndi Grecco) was released as a single and became a top 30 hit in 1976.
The program was so successful at the time that it spawned a merchandise franchise. Mego
released two models of Laverne and Shirley dolls, and one model of Lenny and Squiggy dolls. Hot Wheels created a Shotz Brewery delivery van, and several novelty toys were sold such as Halloween costumes, a board game, jigsaw puzzles, coloring books, and other toys.
The ratings for the shows seasons are:
As a Top 30 series, Laverne & Shirley has an average rating of 25.5.
The fifth season (1979–1980) didn't break the Top 30, in part because of ABC's decision to move the series from its established time slot of Tuesday night at 8:30 pm, to 8:00 pm on Thursdays. After ratings plummeted, ABC switched the show back to Tuesdays, and the ratings improved somewhat (Ended at #39), but the series never fully recovered from a network decision that had favored the newer sitcom Angie
.
and CBS DVD have released the first 4 seasons of Laverne and Shirley 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.
In 1976, Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams released an album entitled Laverne & Shirley Sing, which contained some original songs along with some 1950s and 1960s standards. The album was released on Atlantic Records
. On November 11, 2003, Collector's Choice released it on CD.
In 1979, Michael McKean and David Lander followed suit with the album Lenny and the Squigtones
, featuring mainly original songs penned by McKean. The album was released on Casablanca Records
.
McKean and Lander also appeared together on American Bandstand
performing the song "King of the Cars", which was released as the only single from the LP.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that ran on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983. It starred Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams
Cindy Williams
Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams is an American actress best known for starring in the television situation-comedy series Laverne & Shirley, in the role of "Shirley Feeney", and for her role as Laurie Henderson in the classic film American Graffiti.-Early life:Williams was born in Van Nuys,...
as Shirley Feeney, roommates who worked in a fictitious Milwaukee brewery called "Shotz Brewery".
The show was a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
from Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, as the two lead characters were originally introduced on that series as acquaintances of Fonzie
Fonzie
Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom Happy Days . He was originally a secondary character, but eventually became the lead...
. Set in roughly the same time period as Happy Days, the Laverne & Shirley timeline started in approximately 1959, when the series began, through 1967, when the series ended.
Both shows were made by Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
and are currently distributed by CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
(along with the rest of the Paramount TV library). Laverne & Shirley filmed on stage 20 and Happy Days on stage 19.
Opening sequence
At the start of each episode, Laverne and Shirley are seen skipping down the street, arm in arm, reciting a Yiddish-American hopscotchHopscotch
Hopscotch is a children's game that can be played with several players or alone. Hopscotch is a popular playground game.- Court and rules :- The court :...
chant: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer
Hasenpfeffer
Hasenpfeffer is a traditional German stew made from marinated rabbit or hare, cut into stewing-meat sized pieces and braised with onions and wine in a marinade thickened with the animal's blood...
Incorporated," which then leads into the series' theme song entitled "Making Our Dreams Come True," sung by Cyndi Grecco
Cyndi Grecco
Cyndi Grecco was an American singer who sang the theme tune to the popular 1970s American television show, Laverne & Shirley. Titled "Making Our Dreams Come True," the song was also put out as a single and charted at #25 on July 25, 1976. The song came out on the small Private Stock label...
. In the sixth and seventh seasons (which were set in Hollywood), the intro featured Laverne and Shirley coming out of an apartment building, but still singing their original chant, and then a re-recordeded version of the original theme song. During the final season after Cindy Williams left the show, the show opened with Laverne watching a group of school children perform the chant before the theme song began.
The opening sequence has been parodied in many pop culture outlets, including the movie Wayne's World
Wayne's World (film)
Wayne's World is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Penelope Spheeris and starring Mike Myers in his film debut as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, hosts of the Aurora, Illinois-based Public-access television cable TV show Wayne's World...
, where Garth and Wayne perform the theme song while visiting Milwaukee. In an episode of The Nanny
The Nanny (TV series)
The Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
entitled "Val's Apartment," Fran and Val say the chant before entering their apartment for the first time, but they stumble over the word "Hasenpfeffer." The sequence has also been parodied in other languages, on Friends in a Spanish-language track under the title Laverne y Shirley, and on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, in faux Japanese, under the name Rabun to Shuri.
In the first season, the main title showed the full names of the characters (i.e., "Laverne De Fazio & Shirley Feeney"), but in subsequent seasons this was reduced to just their first names (i.e., "Laverne & Shirley"). During its syndicated run, the series was retitled Laverne & Shirley & Company from 1981 to 1983 due to the series still airing on ABC at the time (at the time, distributors would sometimes change the name of a show for syndication if it was still producing new episodes on a network—such as was the case with Happy Days, when it was retitled Happy Days Again in syndication).
Characters
- Laverne De Fazio (Penny MarshallPenny MarshallPenny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
) Known for being a tough-talking tomboy, Laverne Marie De Fazio grew up in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, with her Italian immigrant parents and grandmother; Laverne's parents moved to Milwaukee, where her mother died and was buried. Laverne works alongside best friend and roommate Shirley and is known for being the cynic of the pair. Despite her cynicism, she was also known for being hurt easily. Laverne enjoys dating tough guys of the "Purple Fiends" gang and picking up sailors at the dock with old lady neighbor Mrs. Colchek. (The show's dialogue was always clear, however, that both Laverne and Shirley were "good girls" according to the standards of the 1950s.) Laverne is also a fan of the TV show Sea HuntSea HuntSea Hunt was an American adventure television series that was aired in syndication by Ziv Television Programs from 1958 to 1961 and was popular in syndication for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced...
and enjoys 3-D Monster Movies, such as The Bride of Bwana Devil. Milk and PepsiPepsiPepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
was Laverne's infamous favorite drink (Penny Marshall drank milk and Pepsi in real life and added it to her character). Along with her poodle skirtPoodle skirtA poodle skirt is a wide swing felt skirt of a solid bold color displaying a design appliquéd or transferred to the fabric. The design was often a coiffed French poodle. Later substitutes for the poodle patch included flamingos, flowers, and hot rod cars...
s, her trademark was the letter "L" monogrammed on her shirts and sweaters (another idea introduced by Marshall). - Shirley Feeney (Cindy WilliamsCindy WilliamsCynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams is an American actress best known for starring in the television situation-comedy series Laverne & Shirley, in the role of "Shirley Feeney", and for her role as Laurie Henderson in the classic film American Graffiti.-Early life:Williams was born in Van Nuys,...
) Shirley Wilhelmina Feeney is the perky, positive one. She also tends to be meek, while Laverne is more outspoken and athletic; this doesn't mean that Shirley is a wimp or a pushover, as she is quite capable of standing up for herself when necessary—she just isn't quite as aggressive about it as her friend is. One of Shirley's most prized possessions is "Boo Boo Kitty", a large stuffed cat which sits next to her bed. Her favorite song is Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's "High HopesHigh Hopes (1959 song)"High Hopes" is a popular song first popularized by Frank Sinatra, with music written by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was introduced in the 1959 film A Hole in the Head, nominated for a Grammy and won an Oscar for Best Original Song at the 32nd Academy Awards.-Description:The song...
" and that song is featured in several episodes, often used by one of the girls to cheer the other up. Shirley later becomes a huge fan of teen-idol FabianFabian (entertainer)Fabiano Anthony Forte , known as Fabian, is an American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.-Early life:Fabian was the son of Josephine and Domenic...
. She has an overbearing mother named Lily (Pat CarrollPat Carroll (actress)Patricia Ann “Pat” Carroll is an American actress. She performed in numerous stage productions, and portrayed the roles of "Bunny Halper" on CBS's The Danny Thomas Show, Shirley Feeney's mother on ABC's Laverne and Shirley, and is the voice of the villainous Ursula in The Little Mermaid film...
) who had moved to California, and an alcoholic sailor brother Bobby (Ed Begley, Jr.Ed Begley, Jr.Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...
). In episode 32, "Buddy Can You Spare a Father?" (which aired on 1977-02-15), Shirley's father Jack Feeney was played by Scott BradyScott BradyScott Brady was an American film and television actor.Born as Gerard Kenneth Tierney, he was the younger brother of fellow actor Lawrence Tierney. Brady served in the Navy during World War II, where he was a boxing champ...
(who turned down the role of Archie BunkerArchie BunkerArchibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
on All in the FamilyAll in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
). Shirley dotes on her never-seen nieces, nephews, and cousins and adores her "Feeney Family Photo Album". Shirley is also well-known as a conservative in her personal life: for example, "a little vo-dee-o-doe-doe" was an early catchphrase. In an early exchange, Shirley insists that "I don't vo-dee-o-doe-doe" to which Laverne replies, "You vo-dee-o". After a beat, Shirley's response is a deadpan "Once", followed by a bit of babbling about the special circumstances. Shirley also has a diary which she jealously guards from any prying eyes. In the series' earliest episodes, Cindy Williams used a coarser accent for her character, but it was soon softened considerably. (This speech pattern had been previously used by Williams in a commercial for Foster GrantFoster GrantFoster Grant, or FosterGrant, is a brand of eyewear founded by Sam Foster in 1919. The FosterGrant brand is a subsidiary company of FGX International, a consumer goods wholesaler with headquarters in Smithfield, Rhode Island, USA....
sunglasses.) - Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski (Michael McKeanMichael McKeanMichael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St...
), a lovable goof who pesters Laverne and Shirley along with his best friend and roommate Squiggy (who both live upstairs from Laverne and Shirley's basement apartment). Lenny works as a truck driver at the Shotz brewery. Raised by his father after his mother abandoned them, during the series it was learned that Lenny was the 89th in line to the Polish Throne. Lenny says that, while he is not completely sure, he thinks his last name (Kosnowski) is Polish for "Help, there's a hog in my kitchen". - Andrew "Squiggy" Squigman (David LanderDavid LanderDavid L. Lander is an American actor, comedian, composer, musician, and baseball scout. David is also the Goodwill Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.- Biography :...
) The most obnoxious of the bunch, and the greasiest. Squiggy works and lives with childhood friend Lenny. Squiggy grew up with neglectful parents, and is often scheming to get rich or succeed by somewhat devious means. For some reason, he collects moths, and prizes a stuffed iguana named Jeffrey. Squiggy, like Lenny, loves the chocolate-flavored drink Bosco Chocolate SyrupBosco Chocolate SyrupBosco Chocolate Syrup is a brand of chocolate syrup first produced in 1928. The company that produces it is based in New Jersey, and it is sold throughout the United States, Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East.-Production process:...
, and makes nearly every entrance with his trademark "Hello" said in a slightly dopey voice. In the final season, we learn Squiggy has a lookalike sister named Squendoline. - Frank De Fazio (Phil FosterPhil FosterPhil Foster was an American actor and performer. He is best known for playing Frank De Fazio on the television sitcom Laverne & Shirley.- Biography :...
) Laverne's Italian-born father who runs the Pizza Bowl, a local hang out featuring pizza, beer, and bowling and then later Cowboy Bills in Burbank, California. Although he could be harsh and lose his temper, he did have a heart of gold. He loved Laverne very much, having been her only parent for years; his pet name for his daughter was "Muffin". - Carmine "The Big Ragu" Ragusa (Eddie MekkaEddie MekkaEddie Mekka is an American actor most famous for his role as Carmine Ragusa on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley.-Life and career:...
) Shirley's high school sweetheart and on-again, off-again romance. His nickname for Shirley was Angel Face. Carmine's occasional lady companion was wealthy divorcee Lucille Lockwash, which made Shirley jealous. "The Big Ragu" is a part-time boxer and former Golden GlovesGolden GlovesThe Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
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 HairHair (musical)Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
, at last landing a major role on Broadway. - Edna Babish De Fazio (Betty GarrettBetty GarrettBetty Garrett was an American actress, comedienne, singer and dancer who originally performed on Broadway before being signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
) The landlady who eventually marries Laverne's father, Edna occasionally sings and dances in the local Brewery talent shows. Edna has had five divorces, and eventually divorces Frank too, towards the end of the series (when Garrett opted to leave the show at the beginning of the final season). In one episode, Edna's daughter Amy is introduced. She has been away at "school" and it is implied she is handicapped or a slow learner. It appears she has led a sheltered life, more due to her mother protecting her. Laverne and Shirley help her to adjust and come out of her shell. - Big Rosie Greenbaum (Carole Ita WhiteCarole Ita WhiteCarole 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 Cohn. Her father was a character actor, appearing in dozens of films and TV programs for more than 50 years...
) A snob, and the girls' childhood nemesis. She married a rich doctor and rubs this in the girls' faces, though they make fun of the fact that he is a proctologistProctologyColorectal surgery is a field in medicine, dealing with disorders of the rectum, anus, and colon. The field is also known as proctology, but the term is outdated in the more traditional areas of medicine...
. 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 seventh-season episode Class of '56. - Rhonda Lee (Leslie EasterbrookLeslie Easterbrook-Early life:Easterbrook was born in Los Angeles and adopted by a family in rural Nebraska, where she was raised. Her father later earned a Ph.D and became a voice/trumpet professor at University of Nebraska at Kearney...
) a ditzy blonde actress / singer / dancer / model trying to make it big, she is Laverne and Shirley's neighbor and a regular character after they move to Burbank. - Sonny St. Jacques (Ed MarinaroEd MarinaroEd Marinaro is an American former football player turned actor.-Football career:Marinaro played high school football in New Milford, New Jersey, for the New Milford High School Knights....
) A stuntman and Laverne and Shirley's building manager in Burbank.
Setting: Milwaukee
For the first five seasons, from 1976 to 1980, the show was set in Milwaukee (executive producer Thomas L. Miller's home town), taking place from roughly 1959 (one early episode involves the girls' three-year high school reunion of the Fillmore High Class of 1956) through the early 1960s. Shotz Brewery (a fictitious analog of the Joseph Schlitz Brewing CompanyJoseph Schlitz Brewing Company
The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was once the largest producer of beer in the world. Its namesake beer, Schlitz, was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was famously advertised with the slogan "When you're out of Schlitz,...
) bottlecappers and best friends, Laverne and Shirley live in a basement apartment on Knapp Street (a real street near the Schlitz Brewery in Milwaukee), where the feet of pedestrians are visible from their front window. The two women communicate with upstairs neighbors Lenny and Squiggy by screaming up the dumbwaiter shaft connecting their apartments instead of using the telephone. Also appearing were Laverne's father, Frank, proprietor of the Pizza Bowl, and landlady Edna Babish. Shirley maintained a stormy romance with dancer/singer Carmine Ragusa ("I can date other men and Carmine can date ugly women", she tells Laverne). During this period, characters from Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley would make occasional guest appearances on each other's shows. During the season, the girls went into the army, and they contended with a mean drill sergeant named Alvinia T. Plout (Vicki Lawrence
Vicki Lawrence
Vicki Lawrence is an American actress, comedienne, and Billboard Hot 100 #1 singer, who was frequently a game show panelist in the 1970s and 1980s...
). In the next season, she visited the girls.
Setting: Burbank
For the sixth season in 1980, the current cast moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, CaliforniaBurbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, with the catalyst behind the move as the girls losing their bottlecapping jobs to new automation installed at Shotz Brewery, and want to start fresh. Their friends and family are inspired by the idea and also pack up to move out west.
Laverne and Shirley took jobs as gift-wrappers at Bardwell's Department Store, Frank and Edna managed a Texas BBQ restaurant called "Cowboy Bill's", and Carmine delivered singing telegrams and sought work as an actor. From this point until the end of the show's run, Laverne & Shirley was set in the mid-1960s. The girls are seen kissing a 1964 Beatles poster in the new opening credits. 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. The opening credits of the California seasons feature the cast toasting at New Year's, and visible on a large banner is the year depicted in that season.
When the show moved to California, two new members joined the cast: Ed Marinaro as Sonny St. Jacques, a stunt man, landlord of the Burbank apartment building, and love interest for Laverne, as well as Leslie Easterbrook as Rhonda Lee, the girls' neighbor and an aspiring actress. Marinaro had previously been cast a year earlier as Laverne's cousin Antonio from Italy (who had a talent for taming wild animals). Marinaro left after one season in California, Betty Garrett left by 1981, Cindy Williams left in 1982, and Michael McKean was missing from the final episodes.
Laverne without Shirley
In August 1982, Williams reportedly felt that the show's producers were uncooperative and using her pregnancy as an excuse to ease her off the series altogether. Williams stormed off the set and filed a $20,000,000 lawsuit against Paramount Pictures (later settled out of court).In the final season, Shirley quickly fell in love and married Army medic Walter Meany (making her Shirley Feeney-Meany), and discovered one episode later that she was pregnant. That episode marked Cindy Williams' final exit. The following week's episode to be shot "The Baby Show" was to feature Shirley going into labor at a funeral and was to be saved for a later airing. With Williams' abrupt departure, the role of expectant mother was given to Vicki Lawrence in a reprisal of her Sgt. Alvinia T. Plout character.
With Shirley gone (her absence was explained in a note left for Laverne that she had left town quickly to join her husband overseas), Laverne tried to go it alone and a new opening was shot with Laverne watching children singing the famous "Schlemiel! Schlemazel!" lines. The show kept the title Laverne & Shirley although the Shirley character was not shown and Cindy Williams' name was not displayed in the opening credits. Laverne began working in an aerospace testing facility and did not need another roommate. Several guest stars were featured in the final season of 1982–83, including Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
, James Belushi
James Belushi
James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
, Larry Breeding, Adam West
Adam West
William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
, and Louise Lasser
Louise Lasser
Louise Lasser is an American actress. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. She was married to Woody Allen and appeared in several of his films.-Personal life:...
, but faced with the loss of one of its title stars and competition from NBC's The A-Team, the series was canceled while it was in the top 30 in the ratings.
The final episode was produced like a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series, involving Carmine moving away to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to star in the Broadway show Hair. Laverne was seen simply at the beginning and end of the episode. However, there was no spin-off show.
Animated spin-off
During the run of the main show, an animated spin-off called Laverne & Shirley in the Army
Laverne & Shirley in the Army
Laverne & Shirley in the Army is a 1981 Hanna-Barbera cartoon series based on the TV show Laverne & Shirley, with the title characters voiced by Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams. The show aired on Saturday mornings for one season of 13 episodes on ABC...
began airing on Saturday mornings. The first program was aired on October 10, 1981. The show featured the voices of Marshall and Williams playing Laverne and Shirley in the Army (much like they had been during their 1979–1980 season) with a talking piglet Drill Sergeant named "Squealy" (voiced by Welcome Back Kotter alum Ron Palillo
Ron Palillo
Ronald Gabriel "Ron" Palillo is an American television and film actor, perhaps best known for his role as high school student Arnold Dingfelder Horshack on the ABC sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, which aired from 1975 to 1979....
). The show was renamed Laverne and Shirley with the Fonz when the Fonz began working in the motorpool as the chief mechanic, and then again renamed The Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour when new segments involving a teenaged Mork & Mindy were added to the mix. The series ran until September 3, 1983.
Lenny & Squiggy
Michael McKean and David Lander created the characters of Lenny & Squiggy while both were theater students at Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. 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.
McKean and Lander also appeared as Lenny & Squiggy on Fernwood Tonight, the satirical late night talk show hosted by Martin Mull
Martin Mull
Martin Mull is an American actor who has starred in his own television sitcom and acted in prominent films. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist...
and Fred Willard
Fred Willard
Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...
. In this appearance they claimed that their characters on Laverne and Shirley were based on their real life personas. The pair also released a live concert album of songs and skits as Lenny & Squiggy.
Ratings and merchandising
Laverne & Shirley premiered in January 1976, and by its second season it had become the most-watched American television program, even surpassing the ratings for Happy Days. At the time Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams were among television's best-paid actresses. Laverne & Shirley kept the top spot for two seasons but fell from #1 to below the top #30 during the 1979–1980 season.The theme song from the series (performed by Cyndi Grecco) was released as a single and became a top 30 hit in 1976.
The program was so successful at the time that it spawned a merchandise franchise. Mego
Mego Corporation
The Mego Corporation was a toy company that dominated the action figure toy market during most of the 1970s. The Mego Corporation was founded in the early 1950s by David Abrams and was mostly known prior to 1971 as a producer of dime store toys.-Golden age:...
released two models of Laverne and Shirley dolls, and one model of Lenny and Squiggy dolls. Hot Wheels created a Shotz Brewery delivery van, and several novelty toys were sold such as Halloween costumes, a board game, jigsaw puzzles, coloring books, and other toys.
The ratings for the shows seasons are:
| Season | Year | Ranking | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1976 | #3 | 27.5 |
| 2 | 1976–1977 | #2 | 30.9 |
| 3 | 1977–1978 | #1 | 31.6 |
| 4 | 1978–1979 | 30.5 | |
| 5 | 1979–1980 | #39 (Nielsen Ratings listed in Variety) | N/A |
| 6 | 1980–1981 | #21 | 20.6 |
| 7 | 1981–1982 | #20 | 19.9 |
| 8 | 1982–1983 | #25 | 17.8 |
As a Top 30 series, Laverne & Shirley has an average rating of 25.5.
The fifth season (1979–1980) didn't break the Top 30, in part because of ABC's decision to move the series from its established time slot of Tuesday night at 8:30 pm, to 8:00 pm on Thursdays. After ratings plummeted, ABC switched the show back to Tuesdays, and the ratings improved somewhat (Ended at #39), but the series never fully recovered from a network decision that had favored the newer sitcom Angie
Angie (TV series)
Angie is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast by the ABC network from February 1979 until October 1980.-Premise:Philadelphia coffee shop waitress Angie Falco starts a romance with customer Bradley Benson...
.
Broadcast History
| Season | Time Slot | In-Between |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (1976) | Tuesday at 8:30 pm | 8:00 pm: Happy Days Happy Days Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America.... 9:00 pm: The Rookies The Rookies The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It followed the exploits of three rookie police officers in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department .-History:... |
| 2 (1976-1977) | 8:00 pm: Happy Days 9:00 pm: Rich Man, Poor Man Book II Rich Man, Poor Man Book II Rich Man, Poor Man Book II is an American television miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes at 9:00pm ET/PT on Tuesday nights between September 21, 1976 and March 8, 1977... (March 8, 1977); Eight Is Enough Eight Is Enough Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name... (March 15 - April 5, 1977) |
|
| 3 (1977-1978) | 8:00 pm: Happy Days 9:00 pm: Three's Company Three's Company Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House.... |
|
| 4 (1978-1979) | ||
| 5 (1979-1980) | Thursday at 8:00 pm (September - December 13, 1979) Monday at 8:00 pm (January 7 - February 11, 1980) Tuesday at 8:30 pm (February 26 - May 13, 1980) |
7:30 pm: Various Programming 8:30 pm: Benson Benson (TV series) Benson is an American television sitcom which aired from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986, on ABC. The series was a spin-off from the soap opera parody Soap ; however, Benson discarded the... ; Angie Angie (TV series) Angie is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast by the ABC network from February 1979 until October 1980.-Premise:Philadelphia coffee shop waitress Angie Falco starts a romance with customer Bradley Benson... (January 14 - February 11, 1980) 8:00 pm: Happy Days 9:00 pm: Three's Company |
| 6 (1981-1982) | Tuesday at 8:30 pm | 8:00 pm: Happy Days 9:00 pm: Three's Company |
| 7 (1982-1983) | ||
| 8 (1983-1984) |
Dramatic episodes
Although generally viewed as a slapstick comedy, a number of episodes included more dramatic storylines:- In Episode #103, "Why Did The Fireman..?", Laverne mourns her boyfriend's death. The episode guest starred Ted DansonTed DansonEdward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...
as Randy Carpenter, a Milwaukee firefighter and Laverne's steady boyfriend, who heroically dies in the line of duty the night before he intended to propose to her. Laverne, completely in shock, refuses to accept his death and waits up all night for him to return home from his shift. The father-daughter scene between Penny Marshall (Laverne) and Phil Foster (Frank De Fazio) in which he gently consoles his daughter with the hard truth is an example of the dramatic acting uncharacteristic of the series. This episode was directed by Joel ZwickJoel ZwickJoel Zwick is an American film, television and theatre director. He is best known for his work on Perfect Strangers, Full House, Family Matters and well as directing the films My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Second Sight and Fat Albert.Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was educated at Brooklyn College...
and was written by Roger Garrett. - In the Season 3 episode "The Slow Child", the girls befriend Mrs. Babish's mentally challenged daughter, Amy. Mrs. Babish does not care for how they treat her daughter as one of the girls, especially when Amy and Lenny begin to date.
- In Episode #21, "Look Before You Leap", Laverne is sick and thinks she might be pregnantPregnancyPregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
. This is because of an incident the previous month where she comes home wearing men's underwear. Lenny asks her to marry him, but she gently declines. When Frank comes to the apartment, Laverne tells him about the situation. He comforts her and takes her to the hospital to see if she is pregnant. When Laverne whispers in everybody's ear, they start singing HallelujahHallelujahHallelujah, Halleluyah, and the Latin form Alleluia are transliterations of the Hebrew word meaning "Praise Yah". The last syllable is from the first two letters of the name of God, YHWH, written JHVH in Latin). Hallelujah is found primarily in the book of Psalms...
, implying that she is not pregnant. - In the Season 4 episode, "A Visit to the Cemetery", Laverne has a fight with Frank about Laverne not wanting to visit her mother's grave. Shirley tries to fix it, but only makes it worse, to the point where Frank does not want to see Laverne anymore. After Lenny gives Laverne some surprisingly wise advice and tells her that he does not have a mother himself, she decides to make up with her father and go to the cemetery.
DVD releases
Paramount Home EntertainmentParamount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
and CBS DVD have released the first 4 seasons of Laverne and Shirley 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.
| DVD Name | |Release Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 4 | ||
| The Complete First Season | 15 | August 17, 2004 | March 4, 2008 |
| The Second Season | 23 | April 17, 2007 | September 4, 2008 |
| The Third Season | 24 | November 27, 2007 | February 5, 2009 |
| The Fourth Season | 24 | April 22, 2008 | N/A |
Albums
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. On November 11, 2003, Collector's Choice released it on CD.
In 1979, Michael McKean and David Lander followed suit with the album Lenny and the Squigtones
Lenny and the Squigtones
Lenny and the Squigtones is a fictional musical group headed by Michael McKean and David Lander, the two actors who played the characters Lenny and Squiggy on the television series Laverne & Shirley. Recorded live at the Roxy in Hollywood, they perform parodies of 50's rock ballads...
, featuring mainly original songs penned by McKean. The album was released on Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...
.
McKean and Lander also appeared together on American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
performing the song "King of the Cars", which was released as the only single from the LP.