"Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams" book, Chapter One

"It all started as a favor...."

This chapter explains how Penny and her "cute, dimpled" friend ended up playing "bimbos" on Happy Days.  By now, it's an oft-told tale, but obviously it was less familiar back in '77.  I don't know if it's a sign of Connie Berman's innocence or ignorance or what, but she says that they " 'vo-de-o-do'd' their way through that single episode of Happy Days."  Laverne upstairs with Fonzie, maybe (whatever would be retconned later), but Shirley didn't do more than kiss (and punch) Richie on this first date.

According to this book, "The time is 1959, a sweetly innocent time."  So Season One is '59, or it was '59 by the time this book came out?  And say what you will about L & S, but it is not "sweetly innocent."

" 'Quips Penny, 'One thing about the show taking place in the fifties is that it reminds me of the worst fashion period of my life.  Here I am dressed in those same horrible clothes again.' "  Not only is this one of the great Penny quotes from the book, but it's significant that her outfits would get more flattering as the series continued.

"The contrast between the personalities of Laverne and Shirley is as much a focal point of the show as the plot action in the brewery, pizza parlor, and bowling alley."  I'd argue it's much more a focal point, especially compared to the bowling alley.

Squiggy and Lenny are described as "addle-brained housemates," which seems a bit harsh, although they'd be called worse.

Cindy describes her character as a dreamer and Penny's as a realist, and she says, "There haven't been very many attempts in television or movies to have pairs of women, like Redford and Newman, with the camaraderie."  

What Penny would later refer to as them regrowing their hymens is described by Cindy as "less bimbo and more lady."

The book tells of the immediate success in the ratings, including the irony of displacing All in the Family, with Rob Reiner.  It sums up the early crossovers with Happy Days, mistakenly saying Laverne breaks an arm rather than an ear off a statue in "The Society Party."  It also claims that Fonzie "gets up to tell off the uppity crew and then exits in a huff with Laverne and Shirley trailing after him."  In fact, Laverne tells them off and the Fonz eats his soup and looks on approvingly.  But the book is correct about the class clash.

The book attributes the show's instant popularity to '50s nostalgia and the appeal of the title characters, including their friendship, as well as the "considerable talent" of the two actresses.

There's something poignant in both Cindy and Penny being surprised by the sudden fame, and there's an anecdote of Penny and her good friend Louise Lasser (later to be on the infamous "Monastery" episode) at a Hollywood party, jumping up and down in the bathroom, exclaiming, "We're famous!"

The last paragraph mentions the "humble beginnings" of Marshall and Williams, which will be the subject of the next two chapters....