Happy Days will forever be remembered as one of the most beloved shows of the 1970s. But in 1977, at the height of its fandom, the ABCsitcom spawned a spinoff that was a rare miss for show creator Garry Marshall. Titled Blansky’s Beauties, the new series starred Rhoda alum Nancy Walker and was canceled after just 13 episodes in June 1977.
Slashfilm ranked Blansky’s Beauties as the “worst” of all of the Happy Days spinoffs, on a list that was topped by “best” shows Mork & Mindy and Laverne & Shirley. Blansky’s Beauties was deemed so bad that it was even ranked below two Happy Days cartoon spinoffs.
In the ranking synopsis, Slashfilm begged the question, “Do you remember that one episode of Happy Days where Nancy Blansky, Howard Cunningham’s (Tom Bosley) cousin, rolled into town? We don’t blame you — out of the entire extended cast of Happy Days, she was not exactly the most memorable.”
Questioning why Nancy Walker’s forgotten character was “inexplicably” chosen to headline the spinoff about a den mother for Las Vegas showgirls—set in 1977 instead of Happy Days’ 1950s-early ‘60s eras, no less!—the outlet noted that the short-lived series did feature several crossovers with Happy Days cast members before it was axed.
According to The Television Academy, Marshall had several characters crossover from Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley as a way to draw viewers for Blansky’s Beauties, despite the fact that the shows were set in different time periods. Roz Kelly reprised the role of her Happy Days charcater Pinky Tuscadero, who was now a ’70s showgirl. And Happy Days alum Pat Morita (diner owner Arnold) also had a main role on Blansky’s Beauties.
Photo by ABC Photo Archives on Getty Images
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In an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, Marshall revealed he created the show for his mother. “Blansky’s Beauties was another dream I had,” he shared in an interview. “My mother loved dancing, so I just thought I’d make a show about dancing, so I did a show about the chorus line in Las Vegas, and it was on the few episodes. …Nancy Walker came into it and tried to anchor it, but it never worked out, but I liked it. It was dancing, and a lot of chorus girls, and it was pretty.”
Marshall admitted that he didn’t have enough time to focus on the new series at the same time that Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley were top network shows.
“It was just catching on a little bit, and I didn’t have the time to do it,” Marshall recalled of Blansky’s Beauties. “I was doing a lot of things. A lot of times, you’ve got shows you don’t have time to do them… But I liked Blansky’s Beauties. It was catching on and then [the network] said ‘No, let’s do something else.'”
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