60 Fun Facts About Laverne & Shirley

On which network did Laverne & Shirley run for its eight seasons?

ABC aired Laverne & Shirley for its entire run in the Tuesday half-hour after its parent show, and it was America's most-watched program in the 1977-78 season.

Laverne & Shirley was a spin-off of which sitcom?

Happy Days introduced Laverne and Shirley in a November 1975 episode as dates for Richie and his pal; the spin-off premiered two months later, in January 1976.

What was the name of the fictitious brewery where Laverne and Shirley worked?

Shotz Brewery was invented for the show; Pabst, Schlitz and Blatz were all real brewing companies.

In which city was the show set for its first five seasons?

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the setting for the first five seasons; the sixth season, starting in late 1980, moved the characters west to California.

Which actress played Laverne DeFazio?

Penny Marshall played Laverne DeFazio for all eight seasons and later directed the films Big (1988) and A League of Their Own (1992).

Which actress played Shirley Feeney?

Cindy Williams played Shirley Feeney; before the sitcom she had starred as Laurie in George Lucas's American Graffiti (1973).

What job did the two women do at the brewery?

Bottle-cappers on the brewery's assembly line, the pair lost those jobs in season six when automated capping machines replaced them, prompting the move west.

Michael McKean and David Lander created Lenny and Squiggy while students at which university?

Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh is where McKean and Lander met as drama students in the late 1960s, creating the characters they later performed with the comedy troupe The Credibility Gap.

With which single word, said in a dopey voice, does Squiggy make almost every entrance?

"Hello" is Squiggy's nasal greeting as he and Lenny barge in, usually just as the women finish describing something disgusting.

What is the name of Shirley's beloved stuffed cat?

Boo Boo Kitty is the stuffed toy cat Shirley keeps on her bed and confides in, a running gag throughout the series.

What is Laverne's favourite drink?

Milk and Pepsi, poured together in one glass, was Laverne's signature drink, a quirk the show played for laughs throughout its run.

What was Carmine Ragusa's nickname?

The Big Ragu was the nickname of Carmine Ragusa, Shirley's on-and-off boyfriend, a singer and dancer forever chasing a show-business break.

Which actor played Carmine?

Eddie Mekka played Carmine; a Tony-nominated stage performer, he sang and danced whenever the scripts put the character on stage.

Before the move west, Laverne's father Frank ran which local hangout?

The Pizza Bowl, Frank DeFazio's combined pizzeria and bowling alley, was the gang's regular hangout before the move west.

Who played Edna Babish, the landlady who married Laverne's father?

Betty Garrett played Edna Babish; the actress had earlier starred opposite Frank Sinatra in the MGM musicals Take Me Out to the Ball Game and On the Town (both 1949).

To which California city did the gang move for the sixth season?

Burbank became the setting from season six, with the timeline jumping to the mid-1960s as the pair moved into a new apartment in Southern California.

At which department store did Laverne and Shirley work as gift wrappers in California?

Bardwell's Department Store employed the pair as gift wrappers after the move west, one of the odd jobs that replaced their brewery work in the California seasons.

What is the title of the show's theme song?

"Making Our Dreams Come True" was written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox and, released as a single, peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976.

Which singer performed the theme song?

Cyndi Grecco recorded the theme, and her single version reached the US top 30 in 1976, her best-known recording.

The opening hopscotch chant runs "Schlemiel! Schlimazel!" and then which two-word phrase?

The chant is a Yiddish-American hopscotch rhyme from Laverne's actress's own childhood; schoolchildren recite it in the final season.

How many episodes of Laverne & Shirley were made?

178 episodes aired across the show's eight seasons, beginning in January 1976; Shirley's actress left early in the eighth, so Laverne carried the final run.

Which television producer created the series along with Lowell Ganz and Mark Rothman?

Garry Marshall created the series with Lowell Ganz and Mark Rothman; he had already created the parent show and went on to create Mork & Mindy and direct Pretty Woman (1990).

During which season did the women join the Army Reserve?

The brief stint was enough to inspire an entire Saturday-morning cartoon set in the Army.

What was the nickname of Sgt. Alvinia T. Plout, the drill sergeant played by Vicki Lawrence?

She returned in season six having gone AWOL after a four-star general jilted her.

In the animated spin-off, what kind of animal was the drill sergeant Squealy?

A pig named Sgt. Squealy, a talking porker in uniform, barked orders at the duo in the 1981 Saturday-morning cartoon Laverne & Shirley in the Army.

Which Welcome Back, Kotter actor voiced Sgt. Squealy in the cartoon?

He was best known as Arnold Horshack, the class clown with the wheezing laugh.

Michael McKean's role was cut back in the final season because he was filming which film?

This Is Spinal Tap, shot in 1982 and released in 1984, took McKean away from the set, so Lenny appeared in only a handful of final-season episodes as a guest.

What was the title of the 1979 in-character album released by McKean and Lander?

Lenny and the Squigtones was recorded live and issued by Casablanca Records in 1979, with McKean and Lander staying in character throughout.

Which future rock-mockumentary character, played by Christopher Guest, first appeared on the Squigtones album?

Nigel Tufnel is the name under which Christopher Guest was credited as guitarist on the 1979 album, half a decade before the character's 1984 mockumentary.

For how much did the actress who played Shirley sue Paramount when she left in 1982?

$20 million was the sum of the 1982 suit against Paramount; the actress, pregnant, said the studio had scheduled her to work on her due date, and the case settled out of court.

In the final season, Laverne took a job in which industry?

Aerospace work at a firm called Ajax gave Laverne a steadier job in the eighth season, explaining how she could afford the apartment alone after her roommate left.

What was the name of the Texas barbecue restaurant Frank and Edna ran in California?

Cowboy Bill's was the Western-themed barbecue restaurant Frank and Edna ran in the California seasons, the couple's replacement for the hangout they had left behind.

What did Lenny and Squiggy call the business they set up in California to represent performers?

Squignowski Talent Agency takes its name from the pair's surnames, Squiggman and Kosnowski, squashed together into one word.

Ed Marinaro, who played landlord Sonny St. Jacques, left the show to star in which series?

Hill Street Blues gave Marinaro the role of Officer Joe Coffey from 1981; Sonny, intended as Laverne's love interest, was written out after a handful of episodes.

Who played Rhonda Lee, the aspiring-actress neighbour who spoke in the third person?

Leslie Easterbrook played Rhonda Lee; she later became a familiar face as Sgt. Debbie Callahan in the Police Academy films.

What was Frank DeFazio's pet name for his daughter?

Muffin was Frank DeFazio's pet name for Laverne; for all his temper, the widower had raised her alone and was written with a heart of gold.

What was Squiggy's name when Lander and McKean first created the character?

Anthony Squiggliano was the character's original name in Lander and McKean's college act; only a new surname, Squiggman, survived into the sitcom.

In the final episode, Carmine heads to Broadway to star in which musical?

Hair was the musical; in the series finale, 'Here Today, Hair Tomorrow', Carmine leaves for New York to join the cast of the rock musical.

Which script letter is monogrammed on Laverne's shirts and sweaters?

L, in looping cursive, appears on nearly every sweater and blouse Laverne wears, making that roommate instantly identifiable on screen.

During its final season, Laverne & Shirley struggled against which NBC series in the ratings?

The A-Team, which NBC launched in the Tuesday 8 p.m. hour midway through the sitcom's eighth season, drew away much of its audience.

In which year did Laverne & Shirley air its last episode?

1983 was the year of the finale, broadcast on May 10 after eight seasons; the sitcom had lost its co-star the previous autumn.

Where did Laverne grow up before her family moved to the Midwest?

Her Italian immigrant parents relocated the family, and her mother died after the move.

Shirley becomes a devoted fan of which teen idol?

Fabian, the Philadelphia teen idol behind 'Tiger' and 'Turn Me Loose', was the object of Shirley's devotion throughout the series.

What was the name of Squiggy's lookalike sister introduced in the final season?

Squendoline, Squiggy's look-alike sister, was played by David Lander himself in drag during the eighth season, while Lenny was largely absent.

Childhood nemesis Rosie Greenbaum married a rich doctor of which speciality, amusing the women?

Rosie needled Laverne by calling her a "bimbo" and returned in the season-seven reunion episode "Class of '56".

Which Paramount executive hid the first screen-test reel so producers saw only the pairing that became the show?

He told the screening room the first reel had been lost; he later ran Disney for two decades.

How did Laverne and Shirley communicate with Lenny and Squiggy in their first apartment building?

Screaming up the dumbwaiter shaft worked because the women rented the basement apartment and the boys lived upstairs in the same Knapp Street building.

How many Golden Globe nominations did the series receive?

It also earned a single Emmy nomination despite topping the Nielsen ratings for two seasons.

Which Italian singer recorded a separate English-Italian theme when the show launched in Italy in 1980?

Half of the duo Al Bano and Romina Power, she released it as a single but it failed to chart.

Which 1976 album did the two stars record in character, featuring the single "Sixteen Reasons"?

Laverne & Shirley Sing was released by Atlantic Records in 1976, with the two stars covering oldies such as Connie Stevens's 'Sixteen Reasons' in character.

Which toy company released Laverne and Shirley dolls at the height of the show's popularity?

Mego issued 12-inch Laverne and Shirley dolls in 1977 and a companion Lenny and Squiggy set, in the same era as its Star Trek and superhero figures.

In the parent sitcom, Laverne and Shirley first appeared as acquaintances of which character?

Fonzie set Richie up with the pair in the November 1975 episode 'A Date with Fonzie', their first appearance before the spin-off launched in January 1976.

The show's original setting was chosen as the home town of which executive producer?

Thomas L. Miller ran Miller-Milkis Productions with Edward K. Milkis; the brewery town was his home city, and he had already set the parent show there.

Which actor played Laverne's gruff father, Frank DeFazio?

Phil Foster, a veteran nightclub and television stand-up comedian, played Laverne's father Frank DeFazio throughout the series.

Lenny thinks his surname, Kosnowski, is Polish for what?

Help, there's a hog in my kitchen is Lenny's proud translation of Kosnowski, one of the running gags about his dim grasp of his own Polish heritage.

How does Shirley try to hold back a laugh?

Her overbearing mother Lily was played by Pat Carroll.

Why did the producers change Squiggy's original surname before the show aired?

Too many Italians in the show already was the producers' worry, given the DeFazios and Ragusa, so Squiggy's original surname was swapped for the German-sounding Squiggman.

Shirley eventually marries a man with which rhyming surname?

Meeney was the surname of Walter Meeney, whom Shirley married late in the series, leaving her with the rhyming name Shirley Feeney-Meeney.

Against which CBS drama was the show scheduled when ABC moved it to Thursdays in 1979?

The Waltons, CBS's Thursday 8 p.m. family drama, was the opposition when ABC moved the sitcom there in autumn 1979; ratings fell and it returned to Tuesdays in 1980.

What is Squiggy's given first name?

Andrew is Squiggy's given name, the character's full name being Andrew Squiggman, just as Lenny is short for Leonard Kosnowski.