"Laverne & Shirley" (1976) TV series 1976-1983

Creators:

Lowell Ganz
Garry Marshall
Mark Rothman

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Release Date:

27 January 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

The misadventures of two single women in the 1950's and '60's.

Plot Keywords:

Brewery | 1950s | Roommate | 1960s | Pepsi

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Penny Marshall	...	Laverne DeFazio (178 episodes, 1976-1983)
Cindy Williams	...	Shirley Feeney (159 episodes, 1976-1983)
David L. Lander	...	Andrew 'Squiggy' Squiggman (155 episodes, 1976-1983)
Michael McKean	...	Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski / ... (149 episodes, 1976-1983)
Eddie Mekka	...	Carmine 'The Big Ragoo' Ragusa (147 episodes, 1976-1983)
Phil Foster	...	Frank DeFazio (147 episodes, 1976-1983)
Betty Garrett	...	Edna Babish / ... (96 episodes, 1976-1981)
Leslie Easterbrook	...	Rhonda Lee (50 episodes, 1980-1983)

Also Known As:

Laverne & Shirley & Company (USA) (syndication title)
Laverne & Shirley & Friends (USA) (syndication title)
Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney (USA) (first season title)

Runtime:

30 min (178 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | USA:TV-G | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Miller-Milkis Productions

Trivia:

After "The Odd Couple" (1970) ceased production, the apartment set on that show was modified to become Laverne and Shirley's apartment.

Quotes:

Squiggy: I woulda worn my tuxedo but my polo pony ate it!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blue Thunder (1983)

Soundtrack:

Making Our Dreams Come True

I like L&S better than Lucy and Ethel...

...because, as a friend once pointed out, these are two girls who don't have to rely on men and respond to the world so neurotically. (Only Lucy, actually... the egomaniac) "Laverne and Shirley" was about two best girl friends who were always trying to make the best of their blue collar existence. And they had so much fun along the way! They were not, like Lucy, histrionic and over-grown kids. They were kids, I suppose, in the sense that having a good time was a priority, but they were not obnoxious whiners. (Lucy really gets on my nerves sometimes!) They were extremely real (despite some of the show's slapstick) - vulnerable, hopeful, loyal and good hearted people. I guess that must part of their appeal: they were underdogs and completely capable of laughing at themselves and being silly. They were never presented as larger than life, like the beautiful people who inhabit a very unreal "real" world on "Friends". Also kind of ironic because the characters on that show are quite mean to each other, only showing themselves to be "friends" whenever it provided them with an opportunity to be melodramatic and narcissistic. Uggghhh... The more I think about that show, the more I really do not like it. (Except Lisa Kudrow, who is brilliant.) Not so with this show. These two girls are so authentic in the way they relate to each and their love for each other (paralleling this is the relationship between Lenny and Squiggy - so rare to see affection between two men) It is so real. It can be touching, almost on a regular basis. Remember when they encountered that crazy maniac on the train and Laverne thought he tossed Shirley out of the car and to her death and Laverne responds - "You killed Shirley! You killed my best friend!" and her hearty punch knocks the nut (who is in drag) across the room and she showed her bloomers or whatever she was wearing? I laughed and admittedly got teary-eyed at the same time. Or the song that one sings to the other when she is feeling down? "Laverne and Shirley" is unpretentious in the very BEST sense of the world. It's a very comforting show, much more so than its parent show "Happy Days", which was too clean for my taste. boring. I love these girls, and they complement each other beautifully... Laverne was the slightly more physically aggressive, more reality-bound girl whereas Shirley was the soft-hearted, slightly perky dreamer. And she is absolutely adorable. I love Boo-Boo Kitty!!! And the way Shirley can make everything so precious and cute - like her sneakers and her scooter pies! Or was that Laverne??? I guess if I were hard pressed to choose, I would go the lesser route and pick Shirley as my favorite, but I'd rather not have to... The show also has a barely perceptible bittersweet quality in the realistically naive, yet optimistic, outlook of these two great characters. Very warm and very funny at the same time.