LAVOINE AND SHOILEY

LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY
1976-1983 ABC

First of two posts looking at our parodies of Laverne & Shirley. Originally characters from Happy Days, they were spun off into their own show which had more of a slapstick slant.

LAVOINE AND SHOILEY
MAD #194, October 1977
w: Lou Silverstone
a: Angelo Torres

Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams) were two single young women who worked in the Shotz brewery in Milwaukee and lived in a basement apartment.Laverne's father Frank (Phil Foster) often dropped in on them, as did their upstairs neighbors Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David Lander). The Fonz from Happy Days (Henry Winkler) often came onto the show as well.

Frank owned a pizzeria/bowling alley and their landlady was Edna (Betty Garrett), The show also took place in the 50s like Happy Days and would cash in on nostalgia.

A recurring bit was somebody would say something about creepy guys or degenerates, and Lenny and Squiggy would happen to show up.

Carmine Ragusa, “The Big Ragu” (Eddie Mekka), was an aspiring dancer and choreographer. Funny they're referred to as 'easy' since that's how they were portrayed when they were the characters on Happy Days Fonzie set up on a double date with Richie.

“Vo-dee-oh-doh-doh” was how they would refer to sex since it was a network family sitcom and it was the seventies.

Another recurring joke was that every article of clothing of Laverne's had an L on the left breast, even a towel.

From TV Spinoffs Yet to Come in MAD #206, April 1979, by Tom Koch and Harry North.

I didn't write down the issue this was in, probably Frank Jacobs and Bob Clarke.

From If Frankenstein's Monster Did Guest Appearances on TV in Cracked # 151, July 1978, drawn by Howard Nostrand

From The Final Episodes of Soured Sitcoms in Cracked #232, November 1987, by Frank Caruso

LAVAIN & SURLY
Crazy #19, August 1976
w: Len Herman
a: Murad Gumen

“The beer that made Milwaukee famous” was Schlitz's ad campaign.

The network executive is drawn as Milton Berle.

The psychiatry patient is Ed Asner.

LAVOINE AND SHOILEY IN A MASSAGE PARLOR
Sick #116, August 1977
w: Joe Gill
a: Jack Sparling

Another Sick parody with no evidence of ever having seen the show and a way for Jack Sparling to go back to his cheesecake past.

Cover to TV Guide by Jack Davis.

That's not all. Tune in tomorrow for part two.