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Laverne & Shirley [8.4]

Laverne & Shirley Plot Summary

Laverne and Shirley debuted as a mid-season replacement in January of 1976 and was an instant hit ranking number three in the Nielsen ratings for the 1975-1976 season.

On Happy Days, Laverne De Fazio and Shirley Feeney were two girls who were love interests for Richie Cunningham and Fonzie. Their occasional appearances led to their own series which takes place in the same city as Happy Days: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the 1950s and 1960s.

Laverne and Shirley are lower-society girls who share an apartment and work together at the Shotz Brewery as bottlecappers. Laverne and Shirley are very different people. Laverne is feisty, quick-tempered, and man-hungry while Shirley is more naive and trusting and quite inexperienced when it comes to romance.

Others in the cast includ Laverne's gruff father, Frank De Fazio, who runs the Pizza Bowl where Laverne and Shirley work on occasion. Edna Babish is the girls' landlady who later marries Frank. Carmine "The Bag Ragu" Ragusa is a singer/dancer who has an on-again, off-again romance with Shirley. The other two main characters of the series are the male counterparts of Laverne and Shirley. Lenny Kosnowski and Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman live upstairs in the same apartment building as Laverne and Shirley and, also, work at the brewery. They constantly enter the girls' apartment with an annoying "hello."

In 1980, the series changed scenery. The girls want something new so they decide to move to California. Lenny and Squiggy follow them along with Frank, Edna, and Carmine. The girls want to get into movies while Frank and Edna open a restaurant, Cowboy Bill's. New characters included stuntman and apartment building manager Sonny St. Jacques and neighbor and model Rhonda Lee.

In 1982, Cindy Williams left the series with her character marrying Walter Meany, a military man who was assigned overseas.

Main Title Theme Song

"Making Our Dreams Come True" - written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox; performed by Cyndi Grecco

ABC Broadcast History

January 27, 1976 - July, 1979 ---- Tuesdays ---- 8:30 P.M.

August, 1979 - December, 1979 ---- Thursdays ---- 8:00 P.M.

December, 1979 - February, 1980 ---- Mondays ---- 8:00 P.M.

February, 1980 - May, 1983 ---- Tuesdays ---- 8:30 P.M.

Nielsen Ratings - Top 30

Season 1 (1975-1976) #3 (27.5)

Season 2 (1976-1977) #2 (30.9)

Season 3 (1977-1978) #1 (31.6)

Season 4 (1978-1979) #1 (30.5)

Season 5 (1979-1980) Not In Top 30

Season 6 (1980-1981) #20 (tie) (20.6)

Season 7 (1981-1982) #20 (19.9)

Season 8 (1982-1983) #25 (17.8)

Emmy Awards Nominations

Outstanding Costume Design for a Series

1979 - Alfred E. Lehman

(source: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences)

Golden Globe Awards Nominations

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy

1977

1978

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

1978 - Cindy Williams

1978 - Penny Marshall

1979 - Penny Marshall

1980 - Penny Marshall

First Telecast: January 27, 1976

Last Telecast: May 10, 1983

Episodes: 178 color episodes plus one reunion special



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