Blansky's Beauties
Encyclopedia
Blansky's Beauties is an American sitcom
which aired on the ABC
network in 1977. The main character of the series was introduced in an episode of Happy Days
.
played Howard Cunningham's visiting cousin Nancy Blansky from Las Vegas
on the February 4, 1977, episode of Happy Days. Blansky's Beauties premiered the following week, on February 12, 1977.
Nancy Blansky (Walker) was a long-time Las Vegas showbiz vet (since the 1950s) and current den mother to a bevy of beautiful Las Vegas showgirls. In addition to keeping order in the chaotic apartment complex where they all lived, Nancy staged the girls' big numbers at the Oasis Hotel. Although the Happy Days episode on which Nancy first appeared took place in the early '60s, Blansky's Beauties itself was set in (then) present-day 1977.
Emilio (Johnny Desmond
), the maître d', was Nancy's boyfriend. To help Nancy defray costs of her apartment, Ethel Akalino (known as Sunshine) (Lynda Goodfriend
) and Bambi (Caren Kaye
) shared it with her, along with her nephews Joey DeLuca (Eddie Mekka
), a choreographer, and leering, 12-year-old ("going on 28"), Anthony DeLuca (Scott Baio
). Anthony was forever trying to impress Bambi, who much to his chagrin treated him like a kid brother, as did almost all of Nancy's girls. Also sharing Nancy's apartment was a huge Great Dane named Blackjack who was shown in the opening credits playing blackjack
.
's character Joey DeLuca was a younger cousin to Carmine Ragusa, Mekka's 1950s-era character on Laverne & Shirley
. During production of Blansky's Beauties, Mekka continued in his starring roles on both series, a rare occurrence of one actor assuming two regular scripted roles, in two different primetime series, at the same time. The series' star, Nancy Walker, had just finished several seasons of the same situation in which she had co-starred simultaniously in both McMillan & Wife and Rhoda
.
In episode 1 ("Blansky's Biking Beauty") Joey introduced Nancy Blansky to stunt motorcyclist Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly
) who was instantly hired for Nancy's stage show. Pinky wore the same outfit as her Happy Days
episodes, though her hair was now in a '70s style shag cut. She looked as though she had not aged in 20 years.
The show also implied a link to then-ongoing show Laverne & Shirley
; in the episode "Nancy Remembers Laverne," Nancy recalls working with a clumsy girl named Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall
's character on Laverne & Shirley) back around 1957. She discovered that, despite her clumsiness, Laverne was a great dancer and Nancy offered her a job on the spot, which Laverne declined.
Pat Morita
, after the failure of his series Mr. T and Tina
, was added to the cast as Arnold, the character he originated on Happy Days
. As with Pinky Tuscadero, he seemed not to have aged in 20 years' time. Here he ran a coffee shop, whereas in Happy Days, he owned the diner. Morita would re-join the cast of Happy Days five years later, while his replacement on that series, Al Molinaro
, would repeat Morita's career move at that time by joining another Happy Days spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi
.
After the end of Blansky's Beauties, Lynda Goodfriend
and Scott Baio
would join the cast of Happy Days at the start of the 1977-78 season. Goodfriend and Baio, along with their Blansky's Beauties co-stars Caren Kaye, Shirley Kirkes and Elaine Bolton, would appear in a similarly-plotted pilot, Legs, for NBC
in 1978, using different character names. This project would be revised further and appear on the network as Who's Watching the Kids
in the fall of that year, lasting half a season.
Garry Marshall
; creator of Blansky's Beauties and the aforementioned Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Joanie Loves Chachi, et al.; had a recurring role as Nancy's employer, the enigmatic Mr. Big.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
which aired on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network in 1977. The main character of the series was introduced in an episode of Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
.
Synopsis
Nancy WalkerNancy Walker
Nancy Walker was an American actress and comedienne of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director...
played Howard Cunningham's visiting cousin Nancy Blansky from Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
on the February 4, 1977, episode of Happy Days. Blansky's Beauties premiered the following week, on February 12, 1977.
Nancy Blansky (Walker) was a long-time Las Vegas showbiz vet (since the 1950s) and current den mother to a bevy of beautiful Las Vegas showgirls. In addition to keeping order in the chaotic apartment complex where they all lived, Nancy staged the girls' big numbers at the Oasis Hotel. Although the Happy Days episode on which Nancy first appeared took place in the early '60s, Blansky's Beauties itself was set in (then) present-day 1977.
Emilio (Johnny Desmond
Johnny Desmond
Johnny Desmond , born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone, was a popular American singer.-Early years:...
), the maître d', was Nancy's boyfriend. To help Nancy defray costs of her apartment, Ethel Akalino (known as Sunshine) (Lynda Goodfriend
Lynda Goodfriend
Lynda Goodfriend is an American actress who is best remembered as Lori Beth Cunningham , Richie's girlfriend and later to become his wife on the TV sitcom, Happy Days. Prior to that, she played Ethel "Sunshine" Akalino on the short-lived series Blansky's Beauties...
) and Bambi (Caren Kaye
Caren Kaye
Caren Kaye is an American television and film actress who is best known for her roles in the 1983 film My Tutor and the short-lived NBC sitcom It's Your Move.- Career :...
) shared it with her, along with her nephews Joey DeLuca (Eddie Mekka
Eddie Mekka
Eddie Mekka is an American actor most famous for his role as Carmine Ragusa on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley.-Life and career:...
), a choreographer, and leering, 12-year-old ("going on 28"), Anthony DeLuca (Scott Baio
Scott Baio
Scott Vincent James Baio is an American actor and television director, best known for his roles as Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, and as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge....
). Anthony was forever trying to impress Bambi, who much to his chagrin treated him like a kid brother, as did almost all of Nancy's girls. Also sharing Nancy's apartment was a huge Great Dane named Blackjack who was shown in the opening credits playing blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
.
Links to parent show and other spin-offs
Eddie MekkaEddie Mekka
Eddie Mekka is an American actor most famous for his role as Carmine Ragusa on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley.-Life and career:...
's character Joey DeLuca was a younger cousin to Carmine Ragusa, Mekka's 1950s-era character on Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
. During production of Blansky's Beauties, Mekka continued in his starring roles on both series, a rare occurrence of one actor assuming two regular scripted roles, in two different primetime series, at the same time. The series' star, Nancy Walker, had just finished several seasons of the same situation in which she had co-starred simultaniously in both McMillan & Wife and Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
.
In episode 1 ("Blansky's Biking Beauty") Joey introduced Nancy Blansky to stunt motorcyclist Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly
Roz Kelly
Roz Kelly is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli's girlfriend Carol "Pinky" Tuscadero on the hit television series Happy Days.-Before Happy Days:...
) who was instantly hired for Nancy's stage show. Pinky wore the same outfit as her Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
episodes, though her hair was now in a '70s style shag cut. She looked as though she had not aged in 20 years.
The show also implied a link to then-ongoing show Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
; in the episode "Nancy Remembers Laverne," Nancy recalls working with a clumsy girl named Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
's character on Laverne & Shirley) back around 1957. She discovered that, despite her clumsiness, Laverne was a great dancer and Nancy offered her a job on the spot, which Laverne declined.
Pat Morita
Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
, after the failure of his series Mr. T and Tina
Mr. T and Tina
Mr. T and Tina is an American sitcom that aired for five episodes on ABC in the fall of 1976. Starring Pat Morita, the series was a spin-off of the then-hit series Welcome Back, Kotter...
, was added to the cast as Arnold, the character he originated on Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
. As with Pinky Tuscadero, he seemed not to have aged in 20 years' time. Here he ran a coffee shop, whereas in Happy Days, he owned the diner. Morita would re-join the cast of Happy Days five years later, while his replacement on that series, Al Molinaro
Al Molinaro
Albert Francis "Al" Molinaro is an actor in television and films, most notably as Al Delvecchio, the owner of Arnold's on Happy Days and its spin-off show Joanie Loves Chachi, Murray the Cop on The Odd Couple television series, as well as starring in commercials for On-Cor frozen dinners...
, would repeat Morita's career move at that time by joining another Happy Days spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi
Joanie Loves Chachi
Joanie Loves Chachi is an American television spin-off of the popular American sitcom Happy Days that was originally broadcast on ABC from March 23, 1982 to September 13, 1983...
.
After the end of Blansky's Beauties, Lynda Goodfriend
Lynda Goodfriend
Lynda Goodfriend is an American actress who is best remembered as Lori Beth Cunningham , Richie's girlfriend and later to become his wife on the TV sitcom, Happy Days. Prior to that, she played Ethel "Sunshine" Akalino on the short-lived series Blansky's Beauties...
and Scott Baio
Scott Baio
Scott Vincent James Baio is an American actor and television director, best known for his roles as Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, and as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge....
would join the cast of Happy Days at the start of the 1977-78 season. Goodfriend and Baio, along with their Blansky's Beauties co-stars Caren Kaye, Shirley Kirkes and Elaine Bolton, would appear in a similarly-plotted pilot, Legs, for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in 1978, using different character names. This project would be revised further and appear on the network as Who's Watching the Kids
Who's Watching the Kids
Who's Watching the Kids is a 1978 sitcom on NBC starring Caren Kaye, Lynda Goodfriend, Scott Baio and Tammy Lauren. It was produced by Garry Marshall, who was partly responsible for ratings domination over at rival ABC at the time with his string of hits...
in the fall of that year, lasting half a season.
Garry Marshall
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall is an American actor, director, writer and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.-Early life:Marshall was born in the New York City...
; creator of Blansky's Beauties and the aforementioned Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Joanie Loves Chachi, et al.; had a recurring role as Nancy's employer, the enigmatic Mr. Big.
Cast
- Nancy WalkerNancy WalkerNancy Walker was an American actress and comedienne of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director...
as Nancy Blansky - Caren KayeCaren KayeCaren Kaye is an American television and film actress who is best known for her roles in the 1983 film My Tutor and the short-lived NBC sitcom It's Your Move.- Career :...
as Bambi Benton - Lynda GoodfriendLynda GoodfriendLynda Goodfriend is an American actress who is best remembered as Lori Beth Cunningham , Richie's girlfriend and later to become his wife on the TV sitcom, Happy Days. Prior to that, she played Ethel "Sunshine" Akalino on the short-lived series Blansky's Beauties...
as Ethel "Sunshine" Akalino - Johnny DesmondJohnny DesmondJohnny Desmond , born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone, was a popular American singer.-Early years:...
as Emilio - Eddie MekkaEddie MekkaEddie Mekka is an American actor most famous for his role as Carmine Ragusa on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley.-Life and career:...
as Joey DeLuca - Scott BaioScott BaioScott Vincent James Baio is an American actor and television director, best known for his roles as Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, and as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge....
as Anthony DeLuca - George Pentecost as Horace "Stubbs" Wilmington
- Taaffe O'ConnellTaaffe O'ConnellTaaffe O'Connell is an American actress, best known by horror film fans for her performance in Galaxy of Terror. Her acting career began in the late 1970s and continued uninterrupted through the 1980s...
as Hillary S. Prentiss - Rhonda BatesRhonda BatesRhonda Bates is an American actress.Bates was best known for playing geeky, man-hungry, hillbilly tomboys in TV shows and films of the 1970s. She was a gangly 6'2" tall with a wide toothy smile, curly hair and an unmistakable southern down-home drawl.-Early life:Bates grew up in Evansville, Indiana...
as Arkansas - Bond GideonBond GideonBond Gideon is a United States actress, born in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is best remembered for her work on television shows in the 1970s and 1980s. She was the second actress to play Jill Foster Abbott on the soap opera The Young and the Restless in 1980.-External links:...
as Lovely Carson - Gerri Reddick as Jackie Outlaw
- Shirley Kirkes as Gladys "Cochise" Littlefeather
- Antoinette Yuskis as Sylvia Silver
- Jill Owens as Misty Karamazov
- Elaine Bolton as Bridget Muldoon
- Pat MoritaPat MoritaNoriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
as Arnold - Garry MarshallGarry MarshallGarry Kent Marshall is an American actor, director, writer and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.-Early life:Marshall was born in the New York City...
as "Mr. Big"
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Blansky's Biking Beauty" | February 12, 1977 |
| 2 | "Blansky for the Defense" | February 19, 1977 |
| 3 | "Nancy's Cover-Up" | February 26, 1977 |
| 4 | "Nancy's Magic Moment" | March 12, 1977 |
| 5 | "Nancy Goes Sheik" | March 19, 1977 |
| 6 | "Anthony Falls in Love" | March 26, 1977 |
| 7 | "Nancy Meets Francie" | April 2, 1977 |
| 8 | "Nancy Remembers Laverne" | April 9, 1977 |
| 9 | "Nancy Meets Pa Bates" | April 16, 1977 |
| 10 | "My Nephew's Debut" | April 30, 1977 |
| 11 | "Dear Nancy..." | May 21, 1977 |
| 12 | "To Nancy with Love" | June 7, 1977 |
| 13 | "Nancy Breaks a Leg" | June 27, 1977 |