Laverne And Shirley -ALL Openings And Closings - Digitally Remastered

I was an infant when this show started, but I would guess that in the first season the show was called Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney. Subsequently, the name of the show was changed and so was the title card.

Factoid I didn’t know until recently: they were actually BOTH Italian IRL.

R2-In real life or on the show?

I-R-L R3

R2- Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams were both of English and Italian descent. Interesting.

I can’t believe they’re both dead.

R6- Everyone from the show except for Michael McKean.

That might have been a syndication title. They also called it "Laverne & Shirley & Company" in some syndicated packages.

According to Mark Rothman, one of the creators of the series, the original title was "Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney." See 5:07 in this interview.

Ed Marinaro was sex on legs! With a better agent and a little more ambition, he could have been the Pedro Pascal of his day.

This remaster doesn't seem to be one of them, but I hate this new YouTube trend of remastering TV show episodes or scenes that are just overly saturated and sharpened.

Carmine was a hot muscle stud.

R10 he could have been Rambo

Phil Foster, the actor who played Laverne's father, was actually a good-looking guy when he was young. Also, his original name was Fivel Feldman.

That last opening is so sad. They basically did a Chrissy Snow where Shirley was not only gone but they cut her out of any past clips like she never existed.

How was Shirley’s exit explained on the show?

Shirley would call from a pay phone on the show while she was on her Mexico trip scouting an abortionist.

Ed Marinaro was hired at Penny's insistence- she was fucking him.

Betty Garrett left two successful series - AITF and L&S. She really was the Sherry Stringfield of her day.

R18 so BEFORE she became a de facto lesbian?

I guess that wasn’t until she got fat and started wearing those tiny glasses half way down her nose.

Was Phil Foster up for the part of Grandpa on the Munsters, he looks like he could have been a shoo-in?

r10, he first appeared in a Milwaukee episode as a cousin of Laverne, I think. He had a giant bulge or VPL going on. I guess the censor on duty that week was a woman or a 'mo.

Sorry the pic is so small.

Who was the hot sailor in that first opening? It wasn't Carmine.

Whoever it was had an ass of death.

It looks like he’s about to fuck Lenny and Squiggy in that photo

I like the sailor in the tight white pants in the first intro.

Did Lenny & Squiggy list after Carmine too?

OP yes, first season only it spelled out the names.

R26 great minds think alike

Ed Mariano married Tracy York. She went to Buckley with Bret Easton Ellis, and the character of Susan is based on her.

Let's get one thing straight- the show was never titled Lavern DeFazio and Shirley Feeney. I recall when it started, the announcer would say "after Happy Days, the premiere of Laverne & Shirley.

It's pretty amazing how quickly those characters caught fire, and the show got produced. I think they first appear on Happy Days in October of 1975. There were no plans to turn it into a series until the episode aired, and was wildly popular.

Somehow, they got the show on the air in early January, 1976.

R31 “somehow,” gee - I WONDER HOW THAT HAPPENED

The only thing I remember about them being on Happy Days before the spinoff is that both of them seemed a bit more trashy and slutty (or the characters were sorta playing at that) in their short appearances there.

Of course they had to be toned down a bit if they were going to be seen weekly.

R33 yeah I recall Penny said “we suddenly became virgins.”

The other thing is, even those involved who weren’t Marshalls, were all Brooklyn/Bronx , Italian/Jewish, Marshall adjacent. So of course they had no idea to write for Shirley. And remember that awful accent she had in the beginning?

Vivian and I did it first and did it better.

r31, see r9 and listen to one of the creators of the show say it.

Originally Cindy Williams turned the series down. She wanted to focus on a movie career. A pilot was shot with another actress in the Shirley role. Has that ever surfaced?

R37 No.

If I remember right, the producer hid the pilot with the other actress after it was filmed, and when Cindy was convinced to do the pilot they claimed an issue with the original and refilmed with Cindy.

(I don't know whether this was after the Happy Days appearance or not....just remembering something that was posted here before.)

R36 it's possible that while filming the first episodes, it was titled with first and last names. But by the time it aired, it was Laverne & Shirley. You want find a single TV listing that has the last names. Or a single early review.

His nonsense about making fun picky shorter title is neurotic bull pucky.

Wow talk about another era.

I haven't seen that in decades! A prime time (or the modern equivalent) show with blue collar leads employed in industrial manufacturing jobs is literally unthinkable today.

R36 here's the TV Guide ad from the premiere week. It was always called simply Laverne & Shirley. Yes, at some point Rothman may have pushed for the longer title, but no one ever actually called it Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney.

Archie Bunker, kept out of the #1 weekly ratings spot because of out, dubbed it "Levine and Shirley."

The TV Guide is not the creator nor the production company. Look at the freaking title card of the show from the first season.

Plus, while the TV Guide says LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY, this is incorrect. The ampersand is used in both versions of the title on the show's title cards.

[quote]How was Shirley’s exit explained on the show?

Feline AIDS from Boo-Boo Kitty.

R42 Hey idiot. The NETWORK takes the AD out. Not TV guide. The NETWORK provides the listings, NOT TV GUIDE.

The show was NEVER titled LAVERNE DEFAZIO and SHIRELY FEENEY. No one ever called it that. I was around at the time. Stop being stupid, ya moron.

R42 Hey DUMBFUCK! Here's a promo too.

"LAVERNE & SHIRLEY" That what it is when they speak it. That's what it is when they put it on the screen. That's what everyone, and I mean everyone called it at the time.

There may have been an early idea to use the last names, but by the time it aired, that idea was scrapped.

Girls! Girls! You’re all lazy whores!

First of all, OP’s link is not correct. Mrs. Babish wasn’t in Season 1, they had another woman as their landlord. Betty Garrett joined in Season 2. So any intro with BG is not Season 1.

Season 1 did have the title card “Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney.” I’m an eldergay and I watched the entire series in the first run. But I don’t remember anyone calling it by the long name, they just called it “Laverne & Shirley.”

1976 is almost 50 years ago.....

*shits bed*

[quote] First of all, OP’s link is not correct.

Oops, my apologies to OP. I see the Season 1 intro was included. When I watched it, it had skipped the first intro.

Irene Lorenzo was hysterical, Edna Babish not so much

[quote]I recall Penny said “we suddenly became virgins.”

Laverne) Watch it Shirl, I'm Wearing White ___________________________________

Laverne) You vo-de-oh-do

Shirley) I DO NOT vo-de-oh-do

Laverne) You vo-de-oh

Shirley) Once ________________________

Shirley) You mean he thinks we're Loosey Goosey for money?

I think Betty Garrett took a page out of Linda Lavin’s contract because she sings and dances in at least one episode of every season she’s in.

Cindy says Boo-Boo Kitty was an adlib

She said the script called for her to haul random items from under her bed and she didn't know what she was going to pull out. She saw the cat and said something like "Oh look it's Boo-boo Kitty" and the writers kept it in the series from that point on

[quote] I recall Penny said “we suddenly became virgins.”

There’s an episode where Laverne moves in with her boyfriend played by Paul Sand. There is only one bed in the apartment so it’s quite obvious that Laverne has already had sex because their first night together is planned as Sand grading student papers and Laverne trying to figure out how she fits into the apartment (she’s not excited about getting Sand into bed).

It’s also implied early in the show that Carmine is having sex with the married woman he’s teaching dance to. He mentions that she is going to take him to Europe with her.

Carmine and I have an agreement, I'm allowed to date other men and he's allowed to date ugly women

....Shirley Feeney Meeney

In that last season, I don’t know why they didn’t have Shirley marry Carmine and continue the show. Everyone knew moving to California killed the show anyway. Carmine lived upstairs anyway, so Shirley could drop into Laverne’s apartment every day without a lot of plot restructuring. They would have had to limit Cindy’s physical comedy, but Lucille Ball made it work.

This one was on Decades today...

^^^ One of my favorites all time TV episodes, especially when Shirley leaps upon and consumes that cracker and daintily wipes her mouth afterwards.

They were brilliant together, r57.

Someone please watch Season 1 in its entirety and report back if the sailor with the smoking hot ass in the S1 opening actually appears in an episode.

I liked Rosie Greenbaum a lot. She was like Laverne if Laverne hadn't been dumbed-down to be "palatable."

R60 and “straight.”

Shirley was written off the show in this episode.

They should have had Rosie's husband dump her and leave her penniless. That way she'd have to move in with Laverne after Shirley left That would've worked. L&S wound up it's final season at #25 which is still good.

I don't think Carmine lived upstairs of the girls in California. Lenny and Squiggy did though.

Shirley Feeney Meaney's husband was supposed to get shipped to Vietnam after Shirley got married. Then Shirley would live with Laverne get pregnant (as Cindy Williams was in real life), have a baby and the girls would have a hysterically funny time with that baby.

Was the final season supposed to take place in 1968 ? Also, what year was it supposed to be when the show first started ?

The sailor with the hot ass is probably in his 70s or 80s today, so that ass is now just skin and bone.

Vickie Lawrence said that the L&S set was wild, but wouldn't go into any details. What are the rumors about that set? Drugs? Cuntery? Anyone know?

R66 they hated each other , had huge egos and treated the writers and the other/supporting actors like shit.

Oh my. Thanks R67.

Why did Shirley break up with Carmine?

Was Laverne’s hairstyle in season 8 really a late 60s hairstyle? It looked more early 80s to me.

They really didn't hate each other. Cindy Williams did complain a lot. She felt that she signed on to play a character more like the one in the Happy Days episode when Laverne and Shirley were first introduced. She felt they made Shirley into an innocent idealist, which is true if you ever saw the show, and therefore Penny got more of the funny lines because she was easier to write for as the more cynical Laverne. Cindy even walked off the set a few times demanding writing changes.

Then Cindy Williams married Bill Hudson, Goldie Hawn's ex and Kate Hudson's bio father, and he took control of her career. Cindy got pregnant and battled with producers about her work schedule. Gary Marshall was usually able to smooth over difficulties with Cindy, but with Bill Hudson pushing her, she got into a big fight with producers when Gary wasn't there, walked off the set and encouraged by Hudson, filed a lawsuit against the show. Gary felt betrayed by her. The lawsuit was settled out of court and character of Shirley was written off the show.

Williams eventually divorced Hudson, but she and Penny Marshall had reconciled long before then. They both said they wished they had enjoyed the success of the show more and hadn't fought so much over who got more lines, who had the funniest lines, etc. I'm glad they became friends again.

Cindy’s tribute to Penny when she died in 2018:

[quote] In a statement to ET, 71-year-old Williams says, “What an extraordinary loss. My good friend, Penny Marshall is gone -- one in a million." "Utterly unique, a truly great talent," the statement continues. "And, oh what fun we had! Can’t describe how I’ll miss her.”

[quote]A pilot was shot with another actress in the Shirley role.

That was me.

R72 WOW! I remember Penny said the same thing about Cindy WIlliams when she died a few months ago. I didn't realize Penny plagiarized!

She wrote:

“What an extraordinary loss. My good friend, Cindy Williams is gone -- one in a million." "Utterly unique, a truly great talent," the statement continues. "And, oh what fun we had! Can’t describe how I’ll miss her.”

Apparently, Betty Garrett was told that the show was ending. When L&S was picked up for a final season, Betty had already committed to another project.

Did their pussies stink?

[quote] Vickie Lawrence said that the L&S set was wild, but wouldn't go into any details. What are the rumors about that set? Drugs? Cuntery? Anyone know?

I'm guessing cocaine was involved. Anjelica Huston said that Penny did too much coke, hung out in her basement (AC'd like a morgue), ordering Beanie Babies from QVC.

Troy Donahue on the set of L&S with Ed Marinaro.

[quote] I don't think Carmine lived upstairs of the girls in California. Lenny and Squiggy did though.

When Carmine first arrived in California, he roomed with Sonny who lived upstairs. They never made any mention of him living elsewhere.

[quote] Apparently, Betty Garrett was told that the show was ending. When L&S was picked up for a final season, Betty had already committed to another project.

That’s not quite true. Garrett left at the end of Season 6. There were still two more seasons after that and I think they only decided to end the show when Cindy Williams left. Happy Days ran for 11 seasons and I have no doubt that if Cindy hadn’t left, they would have pushed L&S to at least 10 seasons.

Actually, they'd worked out a deal for Cindy to return for season 9. But those plans were scuttled with the network canceled the show.

Even Penny Marshall was refusing to show up after November 1982. You'll notice that several episodes of season 8 focus on Carmine and or Squiggy. They were able to coax Marshall back in January 1983 to film one more episode, one with Louise Lasser as a nun. At that time, they also filmed additional segments with her that were later inserted into the Carmine/Squiggy episodes.

[quote] Even Penny Marshall was refusing to show up after November 1982.

Because she knew that the dynamic of the show depended on Cindy Williams being with her. The two of them matched very well together. But it really started going downhill when they moved to California.

R82, how did they explain all of them moving to Hollywood? I can see Laverne and Shirley moving, but the rest of the cast too? That makes no sense.

The California move was fatal.

California move was a classic jump the shark. They were totally out of ideas and made the show about LA.

I read somewhere Louise “Liberty” Williams was in that pilot, but I’m not positive. It seems she missed out on big roles including Rhoda’s sister.

[quote] how did they explain all of them moving to Hollywood?

Frank & Edna moved out there to buy a restaurant franchise.

Laverne & Shirley lost their jobs at the brewery, so Frank told them to come out to California.

Lenny & Squiggy drove Laverne & Shirley to California and never went back.

It was kind of muddled why Carmine came out. He may have gone out to visit Shirley and just stayed, but since he was a dance instructor, he was the only one that made sense for being in California. And I don’t know why he could own a dance studio In Milwaukee but couldn’t get one started in California.

The California episodes were so bad because they dumped everything they had already established. Laverne talked a lot about her Italian relatives in NYC, and there were even two early episodes where she goes to visit them. In California, no mention of New York relatives or Italian.

Rosie Greenbaum was hilarious in her episodes. Yet, she’s never mentioned. Rhonda’s self-centered flitting is no comparison to the energy Rosie brought to the show. Same with the old lady Mrs. Kolcheck. It was hilarious that Shirley thought she was deaf and would speak very loudly and it was just that Mrs. Kolcheck kept ignoring Shirley. All of that funny creativity was lost when they moved and they didn’t have enough energy to build it back.

Additionally, they put more of a sunny disposition on California. Their apartment was much nicer than Milwaukee. They took them from the blue collar working girls they were in Milwaukee and tried to make them Gidget-like Californians which didn’t work.

One person who auditioned was Susan Blakely.

It's funny how the whole point of thier characters on Happy Days was that Fonzie knew they were "sure things." Hos objective was to get Ritchie laid.

So then, they made Shirley a virginal goody two shoes. But not only that, soon after it was revealed that Laverne too was a virgin! Which is ABSURD. Penny Marshall was 33 when the show began.

Not sure if Laverne & Shirley ever wound up officially losing it, but I certainly hope so.

The move to California also failed in its early promise that we’d see a shirtless Ed Marinaro in every episode. That was really the only reason I was still tuning in at that point. They phased his character out pretty quickly.

I vaguely remember it just got to silly and interesting.

In interviews both Penny and Cindy say they argued against the plan to relocate the show’s setting to California but Garry Marshall insisted on it. I’m sure after 5 seasons it was getting hard to come up with new script ideas and he thought a change of location would breathe new life into the show. The California episodes aren’t great but I don’t think they’re any worse than later run Happy Days with Ted McGinley and Crystal Bernard. A low bar for sure…

I addition to the L&S theme song, Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel co-wrote the theme songs to Angie, Wonder Woman and Happy Days. They also wrote “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (Roberta Flack), “Ready Take A Chance Again” (Barry Manilow) and “I Got A Name” (Jim Croce)

I like the LA episodes. Those, and the Lucy in Hollywood episodes were the reasons I moved to LA.

R92 funny you mentioned because last time I watched Foul Play I realized it’s was from all the same L&S/Happy Days producers (Miller/Milkis/Boyett etc) and also (of course) a Paramount production (but then again what big film from the 70s wasnt)

Musical moment.

2002 reunion.

In 1982 the season was set in 1967.

That would be like if a season was made today and took place waaaay back in 2008.

😳

Time is so stagnant now.

The 60s, were very different from the 50s as were the 70s, 80s and 90s.

It seems like once the millennium hit things haven't really changed...or I'm just getting old.

This will make you feel old. The premiere of Laverne and Shirley was 10 years closer to Gone with the Wind than it is to today,

A person who was my age when I was born would've been born in 19 motherfuckin' 17. How am I supposed to DEAL with that?

To put it in Levine and Shirley (as A. Bunker would say) terms, a person who is currently the age I was when it premiered would've been born in 2018.

I hate being old. HATE. IT.

[quote]Laverne & Shirley lost their jobs at the brewery, so Frank told them to come out to California.

I swear they didn't lose their jobs but everyone else got fired because of mechanization but Laverne and Shirley were allowed to stay because they were the only employees who never got a promotion or something like that, and then Shirley talked Laverne into following her father

Laverne and Shirley the characters were 10 years younger than the actual ages of their character. Just like Lucille Esmeralda McGillicuddy Ricardo was ten years younger than Lucy O'Ball

[quote]Laverne too was a virgin! Which is ABSURD.

Watch it Shirl, I'm wearing white.

[quote] Laverne and Shirley the characters were 10 years younger than the actual ages of their character.

This sort of brought up the lesbian issue. When Laverne & Shirley were just out of high school, it made sense for them to room together. But each season was a new year and year after year, they’re still rooming together. Shirley could definitely marry Carmine. In one season, they even bought a car together. Why aren’t they working towards at least getting a two bedroom apartment?

I bet Boo Boo Kitty saw a lot of sick shit go down in that bedroom!

It was Michael Eisner, who said in an Emmy Legends interview that Cindy refused to do the spin-off, so they replaced her with Liberty Williams.

I really doubt that. I mean the girls were already established from Happy Days, unless they planned on making her a different character.

Eisner said, Cindy wouldn't do it so they shot a screen test with Liberty and Penny that was 7 minutes.. Then after that was done Cindy changed her mind and they reshot another screen test with Cindy and Penny.,

That makes no sense. The girls were already established from Happy Days, they wouldn't need a screen test from Cindy WIlliams and Penny Marshall as they appeared in five episodes..

Perhaps he meant BEFORE Cindy was cast as Shirley on Happy Days.

Garry Marshall said, he told his sister he had a great role for her on Happy Days and she should ask that "friend" of hers (meaning Cindy) if she wanted to play Shirley. Then said, "If not, choose someone else you want to work with."

[quote]This sort of brought up the lesbian issue. When Laverne & Shirley were just out of high school, it made sense for them to room together.

No more odd than Janet and Terri sharing a bedroom on Three's Company.. I mean Terri was a registered nurse, she could've had her own flat or at least afforded a roommate situation with her own bedroom.

[quote] Eisner said, Cindy wouldn't do it so they shot a screen test with Liberty and Penny that was 7 minutes.. Then after that was done Cindy changed her mind and they reshot another screen test with Cindy and Penny.

Cindy didn’t want to commit to the tv series because she was working on a movie career.

I thought they said Penny and the other actress shot the entire pilot and they were going to go with that, but at the last minute Garry talked Cindy into it (see what I did there?). So Penny reshot the pilot with Cindy.

I recently watched the entire series and was surprised how many storylines there were about Laverne & Shirley dating married men they didn’t know were married.

As far as changing Shirley post Happy Days - I think you needed the contrast - a lot of the dynamic between Laverne & Shirley was very “female Odd Couple” - of course, another Marshall show - but that’s a tried and true formula that works (see also: Two and a Half Men).

People always talked about how awful the writing, but I actually thought the VERY early seasons (like the first two, really) the writing could be pretty good and clever at times. Then that all kind of went to hell and solely relied on the physical bits to keep it afloat.

R106 The thing was that in the Happy Days episode, it was mostly the girls interacting with Richie and Fonzie. There was nothing of just L & S alone together.

So, after the "Arnold Gets Married" episode of Happy Days, Penny and Cindy shot a 14 minute "pilot" in front of that audience. The audience went WILD, and at that point, they knew they had a hit.

R110 I watched one- I think it was the first episode of the second season titled ANGELS OF MERCY- they are firing on ALL comedic cylinders in that episode. The chemistry between everyone is just blazing comedically. There's a bit where Laverne opens the refrigerator, and this BLINDING LIGHT washes everything out- she reveals to her father that the original light went out and all they had was a 300 watt job. Later on, after you've forgotten about, you see Shirley put on a pair of sunglasses, and then open the refrigerator again. Just hysterical.

They say Happy Days was an easy, quiet set. On L & S everyone was constantly fighting over scripts, and how to do stuff right- I think it shows. Happy Days is pretty awful. You can tell on L & S they cared more about the craft of comedy.

Penny and Cindy were writing partners working on a special when Garry Marshall called and asked if they wanted to guest star on Happy Days. I think the two were just very in-tune with each other and because of their writing background were probably 'tough' on the writing staff of L&S. They also have both said they would get general ideas from the writers for the physical bits and then they would build on them. Happy Days, though it did have 'break-out' stars was much more of an ensemble show than L&S and the pressure on the two leads in the latter was much more significant. As a kid, I loved Laverne, but having watched a few reruns recently as an adult, Williams talent really shines through. Her reactions, line-delivery and timing are just first rate.

Plus you had David L. Lander and Michael McKeon- they were tough on the writers as well.

I learned on today's episode that Shirley had a neglectful con as a father.

1 Emmy nomination only and not for Best Actress?

And 3 Golden Globes nominations for Penny versus 1 Golden Globes nomination for Cindy. I’m sure that contributed to the tension on the set.

R116 Cindy was the much better actress. Not that that took very much - but yeah that should have been reversed. I think we can all guess why it wasn’t.

Mrs. Babish could dance

Somewhat, r118...

Cindy said that she had to prove that she could do physical comedy in order to be cast.

In retrospect, Penny had a charmed life. She never really had to waitress or do casting couch shit. She could just pick out who she wanted to work with. She lived a pretty long life, got to party (coke) right up to the end. The only bad thing would be being a closeted lesbian (if she was a lesbian, like I think she was).

Bill Hudson sounds like an insufferable control freak.

[quote]Bill Hudson sounds like an insufferable control freak.

Actually, I'll have you know he is quite a gentleman and scholar.

R120 actually speaking of stuff like that - one of the better things about doing network television is you didn’t have to deal with sleazy producers agents etc pressuring you into doing nudity, certain types of sex scenes, etc - since it wasn’t an option! So in a way it was a “safer haven” for women than film.

R95 that's lovely. Never saw it before. Also, very sad, as Michael McKeon is the only one still left. Look at Eddie Mekka and Betty Garrett dancing there- so happy and full of life and talent. Seemingly without a care in the world. Now, they're just... gone. I love that on a hot day, Edna and Frank play cards outside.

Peace, everyone.

[quote]There's nothing we won't try. Never heard the word impossible...

Does that include taking bbc?

Was Carmine a big ‘mo? He just hangs around with his BFF Shirley and never dates any women.

R126- I don't Eddie Mekka was straight in real life in spite of marriage, kids etc.

When I was in Junior High School in 1978 I was on the first lunch shift which was RIDICULOUSLY early. It started at 10:47am. I must have been starving by the time I got home from school around 2:45pm, anyway in the lunchroom they had a repeat episode of Happy Days playing on a television while the kids ate lunch. I guess it was to placate/distract the us from acting up or something.

I love the story about Cindy Williams going into Garry Marshall's office with a laundry list of problems with the show. She finishes he spiel, and Marshall goes "Cindy.. TAKE THE MONEY!"

[quote] I don't Eddie Mekka was straight in real life in spite of marriage, kids etc.

He was married to DeLee Lively.

But he did have a great ass.

Penny and Cindy in 2016 in this clip.

My God it's awfully sad how quickly we lost the entire younger cast/creator. 5 gone from 2016 till now.

It actually would have been an interesting upheaval if instead of moving them to California, L&S stayed in Milwaukee and were given black boyfriends.

It was the 60s by then so there would have been all the underlying tension, MLK, Malcolm, JFK...

Plus Mr. DeFazio would have blown his gasket.

Lenny & Squiggy could have been freedom riders.

[quote] if instead of moving them to California, L&S stayed in Milwaukee and were given black boyfriends.

I love me some Milk & Pepsi.

It strange to think that Penny Marshall aka Laverne DeFazio was in real life married to the MEATHEAD from All In The Family Michael Stivic aka Rob Reiner.

[quote] I love me some Milk & Pepsi.

Penny Marshall started drinking that because growing up her mother would give her milk and then Pepsi and never rinse the cup.

Mrs. Marshall sounded like a lazy cunt.

It's like this, r137...

R135, does anyone know if there was ever a sex tape? I would think a vid of the two of them knocking boots would be huge!

R132 it was a very heavy drug set (for all of them) so not surprising

R139- At least we've still got

Rosie Greenbaum

Did anyone watch the final season?

Michael McKean did Gilbert Gottfried's podcast, and talked about how the final season of this show was total shit. Penny was off becoming a director, and Cindy was pregnant, and Michael was making "Spinal Tap," so many episodes were just Squiggy and Laverne's dad.

I watched it during its original run and yes the final season was shit. Michael McKean did a few episodes but Squiggy was mostly solo and even he was absent quite a bit. Betty Garrett had been MIA for the entire previous season but they only addressed it in the final season for some reason which only served to draw attention to how many cast members were no longer around. They brought in a lot of guest stars and Leslie Easterbrook got a bit more to do but it was a slow painful death to a once fun show.

The yearly "new years party" shot is just pitiful for that last season. It's well after midnight for that one.

Every time Carmine Ragusa sang "I go from rags to riches" I wanted to slam my nuts in the trunk of a Studebaker. God that was awful.

Cindy Williams insisted they do another season because she dreamed it'd be great and then she bailed at the third episode. Penny Marshall had to finish the run or she'd get sued.

The first year title card did say "Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney" and one of the creators insists that was the official name of the show so they wouldn't make fun of the name "Laverne & Shirley" on the late night shows.

It went way downhill the last season in Milwaukee (season 5?) when they refilmed the closet door collision, the lost beer off the platter, and other scenes for that year's opening.

I know too much shit about this show.

In the Milwaukee opening credits, when Laverne pops out of the closet, you can see her looking at the director thinking, "Are we done yet? How long do I have to hold this pose?"

In the California opening credits, when they walk in off the balcony, someone must have told Cindy to relax because all of a sudden she gives a little smirk.

I am watching the second to last season and it's amazing how many episodes don't have Laverne & Shirley in them. There are at least three episodes where they begin the show, say five lines and then are gone for the rest of the show. What were they doing?

They were having coffee and coke with Suzanne Somers, r145.

[quote] In the Milwaukee opening credits, when Laverne pops out of the closet, you can see her looking at the director thinking, "Are we done yet? How long do I have to hold this pose?" In the California opening credits, when they walk in off the balcony, someone must have told Cindy to relax because all of a sudden she gives a little smirk.

Those side-by-side poses were staged to ensure that Marshall and Williams got equal billing. The challenge was how to deal with their names. If one name appeared on top of the other, it would indicate that the name on the top got top billing. But if their names appeared side by side, it would appear that the name on the left got top billing. So Marshall's name was always on the left but at the bottom, and Williams' name was on the right but at the top.

Great idea!

r142 r145 Penny Marshall was the only cast member to appear in all 178 episodes of the show.

R149 How many episodes was BooBoo Kitty in?

R147 they could have just been billed like that in a clip that didn’t show them (ie a shot of Milwaukee or something) Those staged things were dumb and how they recreated certain clips as the seasons went on was really stupid. And we all knew who was really first billed anyway, that was fooling no one.

I feel very smug in the knowledge that I have never seen even one episode of this show.

I loved L&S, but it is daunting to watch now because I cannot handle all their high-pitched screaming. I am an elder gay and did not remember how much screaming they did until my husband and I rewatched the episodes. Too much! We still love them, screaming and all.