Classic TV: Laverne & Shirley (1976)

The runaway success of Happy Days prompted ABC executives to commission another series from creator Garry Marshall, set in the same era.

Laverne & Shirley was the first of six total spin-offs from Days, only two of which (Blansky's Beauties & Out of The Blue) failed to get past their first seasons. Launched as a mid-season replacement in the winter of 1976, Laverne ran for 8 seasons total (1976-83), finishing a year before Days did. Penny Marshall (ex-The Odd Couple), Garry's sister, was cast as tomboy Laverne DeFazio. The belief I had was that Laverne might've been a transplant from New York, given her accent. Best bud Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams, "American Graffiti") seemed happiest around her high school sweetheart, boxer-entertainer Carmine Ragusa (Eddie Mekka). And, then, you had the goofiest comedy team this side of Martin & Lewis, Lenny & Squiggy (Michael McKean & David L. Lander). Squiggy rocked the stereotypical greaser look, but was about as sharp as a dull switchblade. Lenny, a truck driver by trade, was also a songwriter and guitarist, which McKean also was in real life. Betty Garrett came over from All in The Family as landlady Edna Babish, who'd later become Laverne's stepmother after marrying Laverne's father, Frank (Phil Foster).

The series spawned not one, but two albums, one each by Lenny & The Squigtones and by Marshall & Williams. Both are hard to find today if they're not on CD (and by now they should be). Unfortunately, there was also an animated series out of continuity from the show, taking instead a cue from an episode that had the girls in boot camp. Instead of bringing back Vicki Lawrence to reprise her guest role, the girls were given a pig as a commanding officer (Ron Palillo, ex-Welcome Back, Kotter). The cartoon ended around the same time Laverne & Shirley did.

While Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams reprised their roles in the cartoon, it would mark the beginning of the end of their partnership. Williams left the series, leaving Laverne all alone in California (where the gang had relocated in season six). Reportedly, the finale was meant to spin Carmine into his own series, but ABC had decided to close the books instead.

For what it's worth, and since it's Wikipedia, probably nothing more than a grain of salt, the producers had reportedly auditioned Louise "Liberty" Williams when Cindy Williams initially turned down the role of Shirley. Louise, of course, would miss out on another iconic sitcom role later in '76 with the failed pilot for Tabitha, and in between contributed to the "Bugsy Malone" soundtrack.

Here's a sample clip:



Given the accents on Laverne and Squiggy, I wonder if there was a Brooklyn-esque section of Milwaukee.....!

Singer Cyndi Greco charted with the theme, "Making Our Dreams Come True", and also recorded the theme for Blansky's Beauties, but that failed to chart.

Rating: A-.