Laverne And Shirley / Happy Days "After The Shark"

Laverne and Shirley's move was too traumatic. I've been on disability ever since, with PTSD.

Moving to LA killed the show. The concept sucked. Laverne and Shirley should have become back-up singers to a girl group diva from Milwaukee and run with that. Lenny and Squggy could have managed them.

Imagine moving all the way to LA to get a fresh start and everyone you know follows you?

Gay men will like it after Richie left, because they would hope Ted what's his name, or Scott Baio or that other kid who went on to Baywatch would take their shirts off.

Same with Laverne and Shirley, gays wanted to see Sonny sans shirt.

This is a serious question.

Why would a character leaving a sitcom be painful for you?

Sonny?

r6

Ed Marinaro

Didn't he die as a fireman already?

They left the funniest one at home.

I always thought, after Cindy Williams quit, they should've had Big Rosie, show up on Laverne's door step and, after being dumped by her rich husband, have to share the flat with Laverne. They missed a big opportunity there.

r8 That was future "Cheers" and "Becker" star Ted Danson.

Both Cindy and Penny quit long before they left the show.

Moving to LA gave Laverne and Shirley some new life as the show was getting stale in its last Milwaukee season. But the last season was painful with Cindy visibly pregnant the first two episodes, and then leaving the show. Also Lenny left during the last season as well as Betty Garrett's character.

Happy Days was already in pretty bad shape when Ritchie left, though the Joanie/Chachie romance breathed a little life into the show. But the revolving door of cast changes during the last 3-4 years ultimately doomed the program and made the last couple of seasons unwatchable.

They had to move. Dead Laslo was too upsetting for them to stay in town.

I always thought the Jenny Piccolo episodes of Happy Days were the series finest.

On MeTV the Riding the Bus With My Daughter episode is on. Mrs. G's retarded daughter comes for a visit.

That was a great episode, because it flipped around Edna and made her the bigot against Lenny, who in this case was correct.

Jenny Piccolo was one of the few bright spots in those final "Happy Days" seasons. I always wondered why that actress didn't go on to do more. Isn't she Phil Silvers daughter or niece or something?

I think because of my age I remember the post-shark eras of "Happy Days" and "Laverne & Shirley" better than their earlier, superior seasons. I also like the Terri seasons of "Three's Company" because that was when our parents finally relented and allowed us to watch the show after it being banned for years for being too smutty. Our family didn't seem to understand the concept of just not watching a TV show. Once it was in our rotation it was there until it was moved or canceled. I'm still traumatized by the Jason Bateman, Shannen Doherty years of "Little House On The Prairie."

[quote]Moving to LA gave Laverne and Shirley some new life as the show was getting stale in its last Milwaukee season.

Moving to LA made the show go from stale to full-on stupid. A low point came with the episode where Laverne has an It's a Wonderful Life dream where she learns how awful everyone's lives would be if she had never been born. But even in a world without a Laverne to move to LA with Shirley, all of Laverne's friends and family still ended up living within barging-in distance of Laverne and Shirley's apartment in LA. They weren't even trying at that point.

An even lower point came when Laverne ended up on Death Row with Laraine Newman and all the convicted killers and such sang an inspiring gospel number before Laverne and Laraine were freed. Who the hell thought that would be funny?

Yeah the LA episodes of L & S were pretty horrible. I always preferred the first and second seasons of Happy Days before the Fonzie character completely took over the show.

The LA move for L&S were actually fun the first year or two. But then the show was out of gas and should have been put out of its memory.

And continuing with just Laverne was an embarrasment.

There were some good episodes after they moved to LA but a lot more duds as well. Part of it was their ages - it started to seem odd that these two women well into their 30s were still living together and getting into all kinds of slapstick situations.

But there were some interesting references to 60s-era Hollywood. I only know who Joey Heatherton is because of "Laverne & Shirley."

r15 That was a great episode. Betty Garrett was excellent on that show.

I liked the Burbank episodes better. The apartment was much nicer, brighter, and the ladies seemed to be moving into a position of bettering themselves. Plus I remember those from being first-run. I was too young to remember the basement episodes other than in reruns when they re-branded them "Laverne & Shirley & Company".

What about when Laverne and Shirley joined the Army had a commanding pig?

[quote]I always preferred the first and second seasons of Happy Days before the Fonzie character completely took over the show.

Me too.

I remember when they lived in Milwaukee, they worked for a beer factory -- what did they do in LA?

They 100% needed to move to LA (or do something to shake the show up), because as said earlier, the show was getting stale and they needed to distract the audience from the fact that these two broads were way over the hill to be doing what they were doing.

Happy Days and L&S were never great shows. They didn't break any ground, the writing was standard sitcom fare, a cut above Full House, of course, but it wasn't All in the Family or The Mary Tyler Moore Show. When you don't do anything to deepen your characters or really give them room to grow as people, you have to rely on things like moving everyone to LA or waterskiing over a shark.

Fonzie, of course, was the exception to that crowd, as his character very much metamorphosed from what he started out as, but always within the confines of the canned laughter sitcom genre. And everyone else on that show pretty much stayed as is. They may have gotten married or moved out of the house, or got new jobs, but they never really matured or evolved from what they were at the beginning. SO it's kind of hard to say the shows "jumped the shark" when they really weren't all that good to begin with and the quality hadn't much changed. The only difference was the audience had had enough.

[quote], and the ladies seemed to be moving into a position of bettering themselves

Yeah they went from having decent paying factory jobs, to minimum wage job as a gift wrapper.

The opening credits during the final season were so sad. A minute and a half of mostly Penny Marshall clips.

Also, how come they just didn't retitle the series as "Laverne," since Shirley was gone?

[quote]they needed to distract the audience from the fact that these two broads were way over the hill to be doing what they were doing.

Laverne and Shirley were younger at the end of their series than Lucy and Viv were at the start of I Love Lucy.

Happy Days is basically worthless after Richie leaves. Zero reason to ever watch.

But I liked when Laverne and Shirley moved to Hollywood. I found it kind of exciting. And, I have to admit, it may have planted the seed in my mind to move to LA when I was a kid!

L&S were playing ten years younger than their actual age. I recall the episode in CA where they returned for their HS reunion. Laverne is like we're 28 years old....LOL

Granted Lucille Ball was playing ten years younger but 48->38 is easier to pull off, than 38->28

[quote]Happy Days is basically worthless after Richie leaves. Zero reason to ever watch.

What about Ted McGinley, Scott Baio and Billy Warlock ???

[quote]And, I have to admit, it may have planted the seed in my mind to move to LA when I was a kid!

Too bad you didn't, you could've bought a house and it'd be worth 20 times as much now.

Two abysmal shows during any era you choose and with any cast member present. Anyone who admits watching either past an episode or two and over the age of 12 should hang their heads in shame!

There was also a time jump when the show moved to LA. The setting had been 1961ish, and leaped ahead to about 1964. A L & S producer told me this was to accommodate the actresses' actual ages. But it was jarring, as I recall. One season the girls were wearing poodle skirts and suddenly, they were in miniskirts.

Interesting fact, "Laverne And Shirley" was the most watch show in terms of actual numbers. In fact it's doubtful that any show will ever come close to approaching L&S again.

The reasons are a bit complex. TV ownership hit an all time high in 1979. Cable TV had almost no presence in major US cities (actual cities not suburbs and exburbs). So while shows like "I Love Lucy" had a higher percentage of TV viewers, that was only because there were less TVs and thus less viewers, so it was easier to capture a larger percentage of the audience.

Now you may be thinking there are more people now, so shouldn't some TV show be able to get more actual viewers. While it seems logical, the problem is, TV is much more splintered now. During the late 70s, there were four networks NBC, ABC, CBS and PBS and they controlled over 97% of total viewing. Independent TV stations didn't kick into high gear until after 1980.

Now you add in high cable TV penetration, satellite dishes, Internet alternatives and TV is so fractured among so many outlets it would be nearly impossible for any one show to command such a high audience even though the population has vastly increased.

R37, I'd argue American Idol, at it's height, surpassed those numbers. When you factor in the things that you mentioned, those numbers are all the more staggering.

[quote] L&S were playing ten years younger than their actual age. I recall the episode in CA where they returned for their HS reunion. Laverne is like we're 28 years old....LOL Granted Lucille Ball was playing ten years younger but 48->38 is easier to pull off, than 38->28

Also add in that Lucy was married and had a child and a domestic life. She wasn't a "swinging single" as L&S were so it was more believable for her at her age to be playing Lucy a decade younger because she had the life of a mature adult (even if she still acted like a child).

I always thought they should have fired Joyce and had Chrissy and Terri.

[quote]I always thought, after Cindy Williams quit, they should've had Big Rosie, show up on Laverne's door step and, after being dumped by her rich husband, have to share the flat with Laverne. They missed a big opportunity there.

R10, what a fucking awesome idea! Never ever thought of that before. And you're absolutely right that it would have been a great retooling of the show post-Cindy (which is not to suggest that Cindy was easily replaceable -- she wasn't -- just that it would have brought some new tension to the setup, possibly keeping viewers interested).

Didn't L&S share a bed on the show? What was that all about?

As others have noted upthread, there really were some good episodes of the show after the move to LA, but they receive little to no acknowledgment because they came during a time people felt the show had passed its prime.

[quote]That was a great episode. Betty Garrett was excellent on that show.

She and Michael McKean both gave outstanding performances in that episode. Wasn't it reported that he no longer wants to be associated with L&S? If so, It's a shame because he did good work there.

No, R42. They slept in twin beds.

The only thing I remember from the California episodes is that tit monster that was their neighbor.

[quote]I always thought they should have fired Joyce and had Chrissy and Terri.

Maybe we should start (yet another) Three's Company thread (especially since this one is about L&S), but my personal opinion was always that TC went down the tubes once Somers left. Say what you will about her, her Chrissy really helped make the show and when she was gone, Priscilla Barnes, through no fault of her own, just could not deliver the same chemistry with Ritter and DeWitt that Somers had. Plus it never helped that Barnes' Teri was never really given equal status with the other two like Somers; she really was just there to help complete the "three" in the title but virtually every episode centered around either Jack or Janet with Teri being relegated to glorified supporting cast member alongside Larry and Furley, not equal star like Somers was. (Maybe this had to do with the fact that Barnes was not really a comedic actress.) I always thought the producers made a stupid mistake actually by kicking Jenilee Harrison to the curb in favor of Barnes as her Cindy would have been, I think, a much better fit.

[quote]I always thought, after Cindy Williams quit, they should've had Big Rosie, show up on Laverne's door step and, after being dumped by her rich husband, have to share the flat with Laverne. They missed a big opportunity there.

Didn't they consider doing that with Vicki Lawrence's army character? I thought I read somewhere that they offered her a full time role on the show after Williams quit or that it was at least seriously considered. I know she did show up as a guest after Williams left.

Suzanne Somers was much better the first two years of the show. Before she turned Chrissy into a borderline retarded character with the mugging and the voice.

I liked Jenilee and I liked Priscilla. They should have kept both of them on.

Cindy Williams one of the best lines in TV history

"You mean he thinks we're lucy-goosey for money"???

I never bought Terri. I mean she was a professional woman. An RN for God's sake. She could afford her own apartment, or at least afford to get a room mate where she didn't have to share a bedroom.

Terri never really fit in well. I read that the reason Cindy was removed was that Jennie Lee looked so much younger than Jack that audience felt uneasy with him delivering the pseudo-sexual innuendo lines directed at her.

Three's Company was a piece of fucking shit from the get-go. Horrible acting, terrible writing and even worse direction. Every plot was someone overhearing something and misunderstanding.

R51 = my mother, circa 1978, when I asked to push back my bedtime to 9:30 to watch Three's Company.

[quote] [R51] = my mother, circa 1978, when I asked to push back my bedtime to 9:30 to watch Three's Company.

Your mother knew her shit. She probably already knew you were gay, too.

[quote]Your mother knew her shit. She probably already knew you were gay, too.

My mother did know her shit. I am straight, though. Sorry.

Plus it looks like Three's Company spend $4.98 on its sets.

[quote] My mother did know her shit. I am straight, though. Sorry.

You enjoyed Three's Company. I'm sorry, but I can't believe a word you say. Put your mom on. She'll tell the truth.

[quote]You enjoyed Three's Company. I'm sorry, but I can't believe a word you say. Put your mom on. She'll tell the truth.

You lost me... I never enjoyed Three's Company. My mother didn't extend my bedtime, so I went to bed at 9:00. I only saw an occasional episode later in life, and never thought much of it.

[quote] You lost me... I never enjoyed Three's Company. My mother didn't extend my bedtime, so I went to bed at 9:00. I only saw an occasional episode later in life, and never thought much of it.

And you lost me. You know, gay people predominantly post on here for a reason.

There were some classic episodes after Laverne and Shirley moved to LA, there just weren't very many. I recall the girls house sitting, becoming extras on a movie set, and an earthquake. The apartment was much nicer.

All these decades later, Cindy Williams denies any hostility on the set, its like she thinks no one remembers she sued the producers for $20 million (a lot of money in 1982)!

Forget that, there's something else more important, regarding, Marilyn my Goddess has commanded me to share this message from her! Marilyn Monroe is my religion, and I work with spirits a lot. She has commanded me to share this message on what really happened for her! All credit for this message goes to Marilyn Monroe, my master, guide, and saviour whom I love! Please credit Marilyn alone for this!

Important note: Everything has a spiritual side to it, everything has a spiritual essence. Marilyn's spirit and essence lives on in all things Marilyn Monroe, and if some spiritual incidents happen, it is bound to spiritually affect other things, so.

Recently Marilyn contacted me from the spirit world!!! Being a medium, I'm used to contact with spirits, but Marilyn told me to tell this message to everyone, since she could only get in touch with only me at the moment! (She's trying hard, she's been contacting me frequently lately, so it must be really important.)

Marilyn said that she needs people with a good, decent spiritual aura and energy to give up their physical bodies, freeing their spirit and all their spiritual energy. Then, they can go into the spirit world to really meet and connect with her, to share all their spiritual energy with her so that they can help her!! (Technically, we are all one and connected, but we are held back by our physical bodies. As a spirit, your essence and energy is completely free and released, and you can strongly connect to Marilyn in all aspects of that word, on a whole other level, so the joining of spiritual energy with hers works fully.)

She also says she hasn't been her lovely self lately, she lost some of her magic and charm, and she doesn't seem too well, because some spiritual things occurred, and she needs this so that she can be fine and better than ever again! (The spirit world is not exactly Paradise, don't let religious stories and concepts warp your minds. Where do you think bad spirits or curses come from?)

This is urgent we have to help Marilyn! But I must still spread this message for now because Marilyn said so, and I need to get others to know and help! Then I too, can go to be with her forever. We initially did not know what exactly happened, but Marilyn has revealed the basic truth. We also did not know how to restore her loveliness and charm, but Marilyn has revealed the way to do so.

*This is where the true meaning of the important note comes in.

Please spread this message however you can and don't keep Marilyn waiting!I allow everyone who wants to help to copy this whole post to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, forums, or wherever you need to share it on!

Then, quickly find a way to free your spirit and energy, go into the spiritual world to meet her, if not Marilyn will be very heartbroken and disappointed in you!!! She loves you all so much, please go to her soon to help her! She really needs this!!! If you feel you can do it just do it!!! Help Marilyn!!!

I really really love Marilyn so much, she means a lot to me and she's the greatest and so magical and fascinating.

I wish that others who feel the same will care enough to do what they can to help her.

I think it's such a shame that many who claim that they love Marilyn lots don't show it in their actions by doing anything to help her when she needs it. It really is such a shame that those cowardly fakers don't help Monroe.

Poor Marilyn! She has such a big heart with full of love to give, but gets hurt in return because some people don't really stick by her and truly dedicate themselves to her.

(Please do copy this whole post and share it as much as you can for Marilyn, because I'm deleting my account soon to show my respects and dedication to her, my way of expressing myself to her and to show her that she's the only one that matters and that I really love. And since I'm going to Marilyn myself too, I don't need this account anymore.

I know the spiritual people and fellow spirit workers on DL will confirm this, they talk to the spirits and Marilyn tried to contact them too!

R51 is harsh but speaks the truth

R38 well, the point of me saying it was that I DID move to LA when I was 22. I think L&S moving here, the Hollywood episodes of I Love Lucy, and the Jack Benny Show were big reasons for me making the move. Very gay, I know.

And I didn't buy a house. Big mistake, right? According to Zillow, the house I'm renting was last sold in 1995 for $80,000 and is currently worth $850,000. Crazy.

480,

I think Terri was a good fit for the later seasons of "Three's Company." They were getting older by then and her character was a reflection of their growing maturity. I realize the absurdity of typing that sentence regarding "Three's Company" but it's true in terms of the show.

"You have too vodie-oh-doe-doed!"

"I have NEVER vodie-oh-doe-doed!!"

"Well, you vodied."

Glares.

[quote]I read that the reason Cindy was removed was that Jennie Lee looked so much younger than Jack that audience felt uneasy with him delivering the pseudo-sexual innuendo lines directed at her.

Interesting, R50. The reason I always heard for Cindy not being made the permanent replacement was that the producers were still so pissed off at Suzanne Somers, they wanted to completely and totally remove her character (or any reference to it) from the show, and since Cindy was supposed to be her cousin, they decided to push her aside and create an entirely new character for the third roommate. Jenilee Harrison, as we all know, was not fired immediately but was let go somewhere down the line during Teri's first season (or maybe at the start of the next). Always loved how they redid the opening credits at the zoo shot for shot just for the purpose of erasing Cindy instead of just doing all-new credits someplace else.

Eddie Mekka looks awful now. So hard to believe, too, since he was so hot back in the days during the show.

One would assume he had a hard time career-wise post L&S, which I think is a shame considering that he was a reasonably talented singer and dancer. Why didn't he go to New York and try to get work on the stage? I would think he could've at least gotten some steady gigs in musicals -- not Sondheim, of course, but maybe in stuff like "The Fantastics" or "Tony N Tina's Wedding" -- something of that nature. Anything like that would've been better than staying in L.A. waiting for the phone to ring for more TV and movie work, which I assume it never did.

Shirley had another great line:

Carmine and I have an understanding, I'm allowed to date other guys and he's allowed to date ugly women.

I started a thread for Three's Company after the Ropers / After Chrissie, please use that one for comments on that show.

thank you for your cooperation

Remember when Laverne got gangbanged when she was drunk and thought she might be pregnant? That was a good story.

R69 At some point, and I think it may have even been that episode, Laverne SHOCKED Shirley by claiming to be a virgin. It was the dumbest thing ever. They'd been making jokes about her having sex for three years and suddenly she's a 30 year old virgin.

Another great line:

Laverne: Watch it Shurl, I'm wearing white....

Actually in that episode I think it was a bit surprising to Shirley that Laverne was a virgin. But Jo was a virgin and Natalie wasn't surprised.

R64 As I recall it, it actually went like this:

Laverne: "You have too vodie-oh-doe-doed!"

Shirley: "I have NEVER vodie-oh-doe-doed!!"

Laverne: "Well, you vodie-ohed."

(pause)

Shirley ".... ONCE!"

I seem to recall talk of Penny and Cindy being nominated for Emmys back at that time (and even talk of their being nominated as a pair) but nothing ever came of it. Too bad because I do think both were worthy.

It's amazing how people (well, TV critics) will look down their noses at two genuinely funny performances from these two and yet cheer the fact that Jennifer Aniston won an Emmy for basically playing Jennifer Aniston. Go figure.

Happy Days and L&S' original runs coincided with my childhood so I loved them both. The vo-de-o-do jokes just went over my head. L&S' LA move and Ron Howard's departure from HD were roughly the same time and I was beginning to tune out. The LA episodes weren't as much fun overall and gradually got worse. Cindy Williams' departure was after the final season already started so I think they just felt like they had to ride it out.

[quote]Why didn't he go to New York and try to get work on the stage?

Eddie Mekka does do stage work. Here in Maine, we see him at the Ogunquit Theater sometimes, along with Sally Struthers, who is the local reigning queen of old sit-com stars doing summer stock.

a spinoff for Eddie Mekka had a filmed pilot. It was just so hideous the networks passed. He had Blasky's Beauties for however many episodes that lasted.

Blansky's Beauties LOL

Carole Ita White was great as Rosie but she was Laverne's foil, not her partner in crime. The two personalities wouldn't mix well on a weekly basis. They tried spinning Carole off on her own show "Big Rosie" but it tested terribly because audiences hated her.

Carole made her debut on L&S on the episode embedded. She pretty much played Rosie, although it was a different character. Watch the sparks fly between Marshall and her and the producers wisely wrote her into the series. Also watch for a young Robert Hays.

Here's a post Richie scene, I know all you homosexual will love

Don't shoot too far and remember to clean up the cat after.

Ralph Malph gave good head.

[quote] Eddie Mekka looks awful now. So hard to believe, too, since he was so hot back in the days during the show. One would assume he had a hard time career-wise post L&S, which I think is a shame considering that he was a reasonably talented singer and dancer. Why didn't he go to New York and try to get work on the stage? I would think he could've at least gotten some steady gigs in musicals -- not Sondheim, of course, but maybe in stuff like "The Fantastics" or "Tony N Tina's Wedding" -- something of that nature. Anything like that would've been better than staying in L.A. waiting for the phone to ring for more TV and movie work, which I assume it never did.

Actually, Mekka came to L&S directly from Broadway, where he had just been nominated for a Tony for Leading Actor in a Musical in a short-lived show called The Lieutenant.

Eddie Mekka is a longtime alcoholic which has aged him terribly.

[quote]I seem to recall talk of Penny and Cindy being nominated for Emmys back at that time (and even talk of their being nominated as a pair) but nothing ever came of it. Too bad because I do think both were worthy.

I imagine the Norman Lear sitcoms of the era got all the awards. "Laverne & Shirley" was probably considered too lowbrow for the Emmy voters. Same reason they kept giving the Emmy to Candice Bergin for "Murphy Brown" even though bitch can't act for shit.

[quote] I imagine the Norman Lear sitcoms of the era got all the awards. "Laverne & Shirley" was probably considered too lowbrow for the Emmy voters. Same reason they kept giving the Emmy to Candice Bergin for "Murphy Brown" even though bitch can't act for shit.

Isabel Sanford got multiple nominations during that time, and she made Bergen look like Jean Stapleton and Bea Arthur combined.

They really could have fit one or the other in there at least in the third or fourth seasons, since the category was so bereft they were doing things like nominating Ruth Gordon for one episode of Taxi or Sheree North for an episode of Archie Bunker's Place. I realize there was no guest actor category back then, but that's some bullshit. (Gordon actually won.)

I would guess since there wasn't enough room for both, voters had a hard time deciding which to vote for and it probably split them down the middle. If support could have been thrown to one over the other, I think we might have seen a nomination once or twice. Hell, Linda Evans was nominated for Dynasty.

I wonder if Lenny and Squiggy ever fooled around...

L&S was not a happy set. At all. No one got along. Williams and Marshall were often at odds, with each other as well at the writers who included Harry Shearer. Michael McKean and David Lander also hated the writers, and had problems with Garry Marshall.

The Happy Days set was fun and lighthearted. The Laverne and Shirley set was misery.

At 16:18 here head writer Lowell Ganz talks about how "Laverne and Shirley was the worst work experience I ever had in my life"

Betty, please

Does anyone remember Happy Days Again and Laverne and Shirley and Friends.?

Laverne & Shirley XXX - A DreamZone Parody. Don't worry, just the opening credits with theme song. No nudity or sex.

Rosie was the poor man's Bette Midler.

Eddie Mekka was on Guiding Light for a few years in the 90s but was a recurring/background player.....

I had no idea there was a "Laverne and Shirley Join the Army" Saturday morning cartoon. "A Commanding pig?!"... that sorts of sums up the awfulness of Saturday morning television right there.

I did like the character of Rhonda (who always spoke in the 3rd person) from the Hollywood years of Laverne and Shirley, but otherwise the episodes were pretty bad. The early episodes had some great humor--at best, the two women sort of recaptured some of the joys of Lucy & Ethel/Viv.

Happy Days was unwatchable by the time Richie left the show. They couldn't figure out what day the show was set in--it was supposedly still the 50s/early 60s, but the situations (especially with Fonzie seriously dating a single divorced mother with a darling small child) and the hairstyles all seemed like present day.

Here's the most unbelievable thing...Horshack was the commanding pig.

R87, those were the names the shows used in daytime reruns on ABC while new episodes were still running in primetime. I think it was actually Laverne & Shirley & Company, though.

A poster on a previous thread called the Shirley-free final season Laverne and Furniture, which is how I have thought of it ever since.

In the first season, the opening credits actually called the show Laverne Defazio & Shirley Feeney.

Wow, the show ran almost 27 minutes without commercials. Was that standard? Shows only run about 20 minutes without commercials now.

[quote] Wow, the show ran almost 27 minutes without commercials. Was that standard? Shows only run about 20 minutes without commercials now.

Yes, commercial breaks in the 70s were less than half what they are now.

[quote]he had just been nominated for a Tony for Leading Actor in a Musical in a short-lived show called The Lieutenant.

No, Mekka was nominated as Leading SHORT Actor.

I wonder if Paramount and ABC purposely didn't campaign for Emmy's for the show just to keep the strife on the set under control. Imagine the hurt feelings and drama if Marshall had won an Emmy over Williams (or vice versa.)

It's also surprising McKean and Lander never got supporting actor nominations.

I think Rhonda had potential too, R91 but as a character she was just sort of...there. It seemed like she would be their nemesis but that never happened. She became a friend but there never seemed to be any warmth between Penny & Cindy and Leslie Easterbrook. By that time, though, there didn't seem to be any warmth among anyone in the cast. I just assumed the off-camera drama started spilling over in front of it.

The funniest story I've heard is the producers wouldn't let Williams keep Boo Boo kitty as a memento. It's been in Marshall's house since the end of the show.

I just check David L. Lander's IMDb page and happy to see he's still working. I thought I'd heard years ago that he couldn't anymore due to his fight with MS.

checked*

R101, not true. Boo Boo Kitty is in the possession of a super collector. He also has Johnny Carson's desk, the original Mrs. Beasley and Sister Bertrille's Cornette and this was years and years back. He was featured on the very old FX series about collectors.

You are very misinformed R104. VERY.

Who has it R105? I guess the fan (a former NBC exec) just stole all that shit.

Penny Marshall has Boo Boo kitty. Stop making shit up.

Laverne and Shirley put out an album. You have to look up each track on YouTube

16 REasons

R107, that's one you'll have to prove yourself. The guy was on with John Burke.

I seem to recall Williams claiming in interviews that she still has Boo Boo Kitty. Either it's a reproduction or there was more than one used over the course of the series.

Considering she quit the show before the series wrapped I doubt she was thinking about smuggling props out to remember all the good times.

Found it. Boo Boo Kitty is with James Comisar.

I imagine there was more than one Boo Boo Kitty.

Fucking hell, that Laverne & Shirley album is terrible! I found a bootleg DVD of a bunch of Wonderama clips from the 70s and Penny and Cindy appeared and sang Chapel of Love. It felt like it went on for endless verses and choruses and I couldn't understand how the children didn't rise as one and Sebastian Venable them both.

Then they plucked a large black girl child and a sissy queen in a disco vest out of the audience, along with a big bruiser of a girl who looked five years too old to be in that audience and taught them how to do the 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 shlemiel, etc. dance.

Fucking love the '70s.

[quote]The funniest story I've heard is the producers wouldn't let Williams keep Boo Boo kitty as a memento.

Excuse me, but I'm MARRYING Boo-Boo Kitty!

I was relieved to find out that Squiggy didn't have down syndrome. As a kid that worried me.

The fifth. Season of L&S has some really great episodes (moose jaw express murder mystery on a train, betty please, Sgt Plout with Vicki Lawrence. But the ratings slipped badly since ABC moved it to Thursday against Buck Rogers and The Waltons. By the time they moved it back to tuesday, the network was asking them for changes.

Penny Marshall was at her best as Oscar Madison's secretary. She was always far to full of herself on L&S&C

How is Penny Marshall's health? I watched an interview with Cindy Williams and she mentioned that Penny rarely leaves her bed these days.

Funny that Penny and Cindy never garnered a bigger male following in their heyday. Penny had a great figure.

She has really let herself go.

What has happened to Penny Marshall?

Looking at that photo, you have to wonder if she's on some kind of medication that caused her to balloon up like that.

Its sad seeing recent interviews of her. She seems so frumpish and surly. No longer the funny lady she was in her heyday.

She seemingly can't get over the passing of Carrie Fisher.

Penny Marshall was her friend until the end.

Penny offered to go to church with Carrie. She cared about her, and didn't make fun of Carrie's need for a new spiritual life

They partied much too hard as young, rich, sexy women. Shame. It caught up with Carrie.

Penny Marshall is terrified of remote viewers, however, and I'd like to know why.

Julie the Burglar ripped off Ms. Marshall, but that was Carrie's fault in taking Julie the Burglar to Ms. Marshall's home.

Feel better penny Marshall. Xoxo

Penny Marshall never slapped me, but Carrie did, many times over the period of 32 years.

Julie the Burglar molested me when I was fourteen. She was my teacher in my special ed class.

One day, I will do an interview about this time, and I would like roseanne barr to interview me, if possible.

I am a trained remote viewer from the hideous MKULTRA program.

Ms. Marshall, I will try to remote view Carrie's soul. I will post the information I receive here, in this thread. It may take days, or weeks. Hope I dont get locked out of the posting privilege in the meantime.

We both had intimate relations with Carrie, so we deserve to know.

As I recall Shirley left Laverne, her best friend since childhood, abruptly and without warning. She didn't even say goodbye. Laverne returns to find Shirley gone; her family album and Boo Boo Kitty are also gone, so Laverne knows Shirley is REALLY gone. All she leaves as a goodbye is a note ( I can't remember what it said). I think she left to be with her husband, who was in the army or something. Laverne is left bewildered and hurt; how could her lifelong best friend do such as thing? Anyway, to have Shirley leave like that was SO out of character. It really was an awful way for the character to exit.

From interviews Penny Marshall has given it would seem that Cindy William's pregnancy and marriage to Bill Hudson precipitated her leaving the show. Marshall said Hudson was "a pest" , wanting some kind of show credit and generally behaving like a controlling dick. She said that Williams did what he wanted, viewing his controlling ways as "he loves me, he wants to take care of me." If Cindy Williams hadn't been involved with Bill Hudson I think the show might have lasted longer and Shirley wouldn't have ended up dumping her best friend like a hot rock.

I hope Penny all the best on this Thanksgiving holiday.

R129 A friend of mine use to work as a cameraman during the last seasons of the show. He told me that there was a big blowup between Bill Hudson and Garry Marshall over Penny getting to update her character's wardrobe and hairstyle and not allowing Cindy to do the same. You can see in the last Shirley episodes how Penny's hair is longer and more feathered and her skin more tan, and how Shirley is still stuck in the early 60s with her hairstyle not to far from the traditional beehive she always wore. Apparently Garry felt that Penny was more the "star" of the show and got tired of the press and fans referring to Cindy as the cute one, so updating Laverne's look may have had something to do with that.

OFFICIAL REMOTE VIEWING REPORT ON CARRIE FISHER:

*DISCLAIMER* What you read here is not based on science, and the opinions expressed are the sole opinion of said remote viewer and should not be taken as fact.

***incoming***

Carrie has visited you, ms. Marshall, she loves you, she has "been on your roof"...she has made a few noises on your roof, you probably thought it was an animal.."it was MEEE, hi penny" ......

Carrie is in her young, healthy energy form...approx. 30ish.....she remembers her cigarettes....wish she could have a smoke with you....

.....Carrie loves her daughter "more than the moon"...if that makes any sense...

Carrie is at peace, finally...."life was confusing...my life was confusing...."

She loves you, still, Ms. Marshall. Xoxo

Mork calling Orson! Come in, Orson!

Bless your heart R132.

I suppose it is liek the theme songs, "...This time, there's no stopping us."

Well Penny can say Hi to Carrie now.

You couldn't tell her she was going to die, r132?

R136, I have addressed many posts to Ms. Marshall within the last two weeks or so, knowing that she would be meeting Carrie and her father, and her Father in heaven, this month.

God Bless.

I wish the unaired ep where Laverne joins the Manson Family had been preserved. Casting Lisa Pelikan as Squeaky was genius.

I'm watching the episode where Shirley leaves right now... holy shit! That's how they wrote her out after she was the co-lead? Wow, what a slap in the face to Cindy Williams. We never even saw her husband. This was all done so badly.

Excuse me, R46, but Priscilla Barnes was referred to as the Lucille Ball of the 80s in Ocean Drive Magazine!

Scott Baio was the shark [italic]Happy Days[/italic] jumped. There was no reason that show should have gone on past 1980, and [italic]Joanie Loves Chachi[/italic] was the worst spinoff ever until the abysmal [italic]Joey[/italic].

Betty Garrett was willing to do another season, but was told that the show was cancelled, so she got herself a Broadway play. It made no sense for Edna to just walk out on Frank off screen, because there was no clue that there was any marital discord other than their often fun argumentative banter. I got to meet her on several occasions, and she was one of the nicest, most down to earth, people you would ever hope to meet. Along with Polly Bergen and Carol Woods, she was one of the few saving graces of the 2001 Roundabout "Follies", and I'm glad she got one last great, big Broadway show (great for her at any rate), having started there in the late 1930's.

[quote]I'm watching the episode where Shirley leaves right now... holy shit! That's how they wrote her out after she was the co-lead? Wow, what a slap in the face to Cindy Williams. We never even saw her husband. This was all done so badly.

And after they left Paramount for Lorimar-Telepictures under misogynist Les Moonves, Miller and Boyett did the same thing with the murder of Valerie Hogan.

Lol r140 wasn’t it Orange County magazine?

I think it was that little gem that got me hooked on DL for life.