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Even in a golden age for sitcoms that churned out fan favorites from All in the Family to Taxi, Laverne & Shirley was a breath of fresh air, an anything-goes romp featuring a pair of female leads willing to get down and dirty in a way not seen since the heyday of Lucille Ball. Aided by a pair of lovably goofy upstairs neighbors, a pizza-slinging dad, and a singing boxer (among others), Laverne & Shirley became an instant hit in January 1976 and continued going strong into the ’80s, until the curtain finally dropped following an eight-season run.
Although series creator Garry Marshall lamented the behind-the-scenes stress of the show in his memoir My Happy Days in Hollywood, there was nothing but magic when the cameras rolled on Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams playing off one another as Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney. So let’s sit back with a glass of milk and Pepsi and take a look at the makings of a show about a couple of feisty Milwaukee ladies who did it their own way.
Laverne and Shirley Were Inspired by Garry Marshall’s Brawling Date
As with Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley originated with the characters’ guest roles on Happy Days, in this case as tough-talking dates for the Fonz and an overwhelmed Richie. According to Garry Marshall’s memoir, when seeking to fill out the backstory of these “girls from the wrong side of the tracks,” he thought back to a night out in Brooklyn in the late 1950s, when his date responded to a rude comment from another woman by engaging her in a full-blown fistfight. That “tough-as-nails quality” permeated his vision of Fonzie’s lady friends, and the favorable audience reaction from that November 1975 episode convinced Marshall that his little sister Penny and her writing partner had the star quality for a spinoff.
Williams Was Reluctant To Co-Star in the Series
While Penny Marshall was ready to take direction from her big brother, Williams was ambivalent about accepting the offer to co-star in a new sitcom. As a result, producers ended up auditioning others for the part of Shirley, even taping a test scene with another actress named Liberty Williams, although everyone seemed to agree that the original Shirley was the best. Hoping to tip the scale in the right direction, ABC executive Michael Eisner deliberately hid the Liberty Williams test tape and showed the Cindy Williams footage to his bosses for consideration. Meanwhile, the latter finally ended the suspense and agreed to do the series, paving the way for Laverne & Shirley‘s quick launch a few weeks later.
Penny Marshall Created the Show’s Signature Drink and Chant
Laverne & Shirley‘s creator wasn’t the only one who saw his formative influences funneled into the show’s fabric. According to Penny Marshall’s autobiography My Mother Was Nuts, the milk and Pepsi concoction was spawned after a stint at a Jewish summer camp, where kosher dietary restrictions prevented the pairing of milk and meat for meals and most kids drank Pepsi instead. Forbidden to drink Pepsi at home until her milk was finished first, Marshall eventually found that she enjoyed combining the two. Additionally, the distinct “Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!” chant that kicks off the intro was one that was oft-repeated by Marshall and her friends as they walked to school in the Bronx, although the actress had no clue where the Yiddish-infused sing-along came from.
Boo Boo Kitty Was Born From a Missed Line
Not to be left out, Williams also had a real-world-inspired contribution to the proceedings when she forgot a line early in the show’s run. As told in her own memoir, Shirley, I Jest, during one rehearsal she was supposed to comment on the pile of dust beneath a bed, but instead pulled out a stuffed cat that was lying there, had a flashback to one of her mother’s pets, and exclaimed, “Oh, look what I found, Laverne. It’s Boo Boo Kitty!” The stuffed animal soon became a series stalwart, but that created an entirely new problem, as producers were unable to find a backup version in case the regular one was lost or destroyed. It wasn’t until an autograph signing years later, when two women approached with their own Boo Boo Kitty dolls, that Williams learned that the playthings were sold along with pajama bags at J.C. Penney in the 1960s.
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Lenny and Squiggy Predated “Laverne & Shirley”
The dim but devoted Lenny and Squiggy, played by Michael McKean and David Lander respectively, originated during the pair’s college years at Carnegie Mellon University in the 1960s. They revived the characters for a Los Angeles comedy troupe called The Credibility Gap, and Garry Marshall then gave the young comedians a chance to write themselves into the show. Per Penny Marshall, a couple of tweaks were made to the characters: Lander’s Anthony Squiggliano became Anthony Squiggman, because there was already an abundance of Italians on the show. Garry Marshall also shot down the idea of the neighbors serving as equally matched foils and love interests to the stars. “There has to be someone lower than the two of you,” he told his sister. “That’s Lenny and Squiggy.”
Williams’ Pregnancy Ended Her Run on the Show
Viewers may recall that the final season of Laverne & Shirley was largely filmed without Shirley, a development triggered by Williams’ pregnancy. In Williams’ telling, producers wanted her to work on her scheduled due date and refused to accede to requests for more reasonable hours.
According to her co-star, Williams’ husband had an ever-changing list of demands that became increasingly difficult to accommodate. The impasse left Marshall to carry the now-flailing show by herself (albeit with a doubled salary), and also drove a wedge between the two women that persisted until after Williams’ divorce in 2000. Fortunately, the passing years and hard feelings didn’t extinguish the chemistry they shared as performers, and the flames flickered back to life when they reunited for an episode of Sam & Cat in 2013.
Tim Ott has written for sites including Biography.com, History.com, and MLB.com, and is known to delude himself into thinking he can craft a marketable screenplay.
