1976: America's Favorite Female Comedy Duo: Laverne and Shirley

One of the greatest buddy comedies of the ’70s premiered on January 27th, 1976, when America officially fell in love with Laverne & Shirley. The show, which chronicled the adventures of Milwaukee’s Shotz Brewery workers/roommates Laverne De Fazio and Shirley Feeney, was a spinoff of the hit TV show Happy Days, where their characters—famously played by Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams—were first introduced as love interests for Fonzie and Richie Cunningham. Laverne & Shirley was huge hit with viewers and a ratings winner for ABC during its seven seasons on the air. In honor of its premiere, DoYouRemember takes a look back at other Happy Days spinoffs. Laverne & Shirley (1976) Click "Next" To Continue Blansky’s Beauties (1977) This short-lived Garry Marshall sitcom was built around Nancy Walker’s “Nancy Blansky” character, who was the cousin of Howard Cunningham from Happy Days. The show featured Nancy as a showbiz vet in charge of a group of Las Vegas showgirls who perform at a failing hotel. Also featured on the show were Eddie Mekka, who simultaneously played Carmine Ragusa on Laverne & Shirley, and Scott Baio, who is best known as Fonzie’s cousin, Chachi Arcola. Click "Next" To Continue Mork & Mindy (1978) Robin Williams and Pam Dawber played the title characters in this series set in Boulder, Colorado, which focused on an alien named Mork (Williams) from the planet Ork, who travels to Earth to observe human behavior and is befriended by an emotionally stressed woman named Mindy (Dawber). Mork’s appearance in a fifth-season episode of Happy Days was such a hit with audiences creator Garry Marshall knew that he could carry his own show. It was recently announced that Williams and Dawber would reunite on his CBS sitcom, The Crazy Ones. Click "Next" To Continue Out of the Blue (1979) Whether or not this sitcom was actually a spinoff of Happy Days depends on whom you ask. Some television historians feel that since it actually aired for the first time one week prior to the lead character’s appearance on an episode of Happy Days, it doesn’t fit the criteria. However, since the angel Random (played by Jimmy Brogan) did appear on the episode “Chachi Sells His Soul,” the tie-in was firmly established in the eyes of others. Unfortunately, the show was a complete flop and only nine of the 13 episodes shot were ever aired. Joanie Loves Chachi (1982) Chronicling the lives of Happy Days’ teenage lovebirds, Joanie Cunningham and Chachi Arcola, this show was a ratings hit during its first season on the air. It followed the pair as they relocated from Milwaukee to Chicago in hopes of following their dreams of making it big in rock ’n’ roll. Unfortunately, viewers grew tired of their act and Joanie and Chachi went on permanent hiatus following its second season on the air. The couple eventually returned to Happy Days for that show’s last season and were married in the series finale. Click "Next" to find out some fun facts you never knew about the show! Here are some fun facts you probably never knew about the two funny gals: The show never received a single Emmy, ever! In 1976 Cindy Williams (who played Shirley Feeney) angrily walked off the set to protest Penny Marshall getting all the good lines. She would inevitably return two days later. When Cindy Williams did depart again during the 1982-1983 season it was due to pregnancy. In the show, her absence was simply explained by having Shirley move out of the apartment to be with her husband Walter after he was transferred out of the country.T There was a certain amount of intersections between the characters of this show and the well known Happy Days (1974), partially due to the fact that both shows were set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After The Odd Couple (1970) ended its run, the apartment set on that show was recycled and modified to become Laverne and Shirley's apartment. Boo-Boo Kitty, the cloth cat was Shirley's good luck charm. Shirley's middle name, Wilhemina, is taken from her dead grandmother. Laverne always wears the letter "L". Sometimes she has one "L" on her skirt and another "L" on her blouse. Wherever the "L" is placed, it is so the audience can tell the difference between her and Shirley. Laverne's favorite drink was milk and Pepsi, taken from a real life personal story: her mother would mix pepsi and milk lazily in a cup for her when she was growing up. For the first couple of seasons of the show, the full title was officially "Laverne Defazio and Shirley Feeney." Do you know any fun facts about Laverne and Shirley? Tell us in the comments section below. Related: What Happened To These Forgotten 80s’ Saturday Morning Cartoons? ABC Shows And The Casts That Made Them DYR Fans Favorite Funny Females on TV

1976: America’s Favorite Female Comedy Duo: Laverne and Shirley

by K. Gitter
Published May 16, 2017

Blansky’s Beauties (1977)