Blansky's Beauties

Blansky's Beauties is an American sitcom television series and ostensible spin-off of Happy Days that aired on ABC from February 12 to June 27, 1977. The main character of the series was introduced on an episode of Happy Days, then set in the early 1960s, but the show is set in the present-day of 1977.[1] The series was a ratings flop and was cancelled after only 13 episodes.

Blansky's Beauties
GenreSitcom
Created byBob Brunner
Garry Marshall
Arthur Silver
Directed byGarry Marshall
Jerry Paris
StarringNancy Walker
Caren Kaye
Eddie Mekka
Scott Baio
Pat Morita
Blackjack
Opening theme"I Want It All" by Cyndi Grecco
ComposersCharles Fox (pilot)
Jack Hayes
Frank Comstock
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersGarry Marshall
Edward K. Milkis
Thomas L. Miller
ProducersNick Abdo
Bruce Johnson
Garry Marshall
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesMiller-Milkis Productions
Henderson Productions
Paramount Television
DistributorCBS Television Distribution
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseFebruary 12 –
June 27, 1977 (1977-06-27)
Chronology
Related showsLaverne & Shirley
Mork & Mindy
Who's Watching the Kids?
Out of the Blue
Joanie Loves Chachi

Synopsis

Nancy Walker 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 late '50s, 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 "Sunshine" Akalino (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.

Eddie Mekka'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 simultaneously in both McMillan & Wife and Rhoda, while also maintaining her ongoing role as diner waitress Rosie, the spokesman for Bounty paper towels, which she continued during Blansky's Beauties.

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 in 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. Smith.

Cast
  • Nancy Walker as Nancy Blansky
  • Caren Kaye as Bambi Benton
  • Lynda Goodfriend as Ethel "Sunshine" Akalino (actress later moved back to Happy Days as Lori Beth Allen, later Lori Beth Cunningham)
  • Johnny Desmond as Emilio
  • Eddie Mekka as Joey DeLuca (actor simultaneously on Laverne & Shirley as Joey's cousin, Carmine Ragusa)
  • Scott Baio as Anthony DeLuca (actor later moved to Happy Days as Chachi Arcola)
  • George Pentecost as Horace "Stubbs" Wilmington
  • Taaffe O'Connell as Hillary S. Prentiss
  • Rhonda Bates as Arkansas
  • Bond Gideon 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 Morita as Arnold (actor and character returned to Happy Days where character originated)
  • Garry Marshall as "Mr. Smith"

Episode list
No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Blansky's Biking Beauty"TBATBAFebruary 12, 1977 (1977-02-12)
Nancy needs to come up with a new show finale and hires Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly) to jump her motorcycle over the showgirls.
2"Blansky for the Defense"TBATBAFebruary 19, 1977 (1977-02-19)
Nancy makes a valiant effort to create the semblance of a normal life when juvenile authorities come to investigate Anthony's living environment.
3"Nancy's Cover-Up"Jerry ParisDavid Ketchum & Tony DiMarcoFebruary 26, 1977 (1977-02-26)
Nancy threatens to quit when she's ordered to have the showgirls perform topless.
4"Nancy's Magic Moment"TBATBAMarch 12, 1977 (1977-03-12)
When valuables disappear from the showgirls' room while they're on stage, Nancy turns detective to catch the thief.
5"Nancy Goes Sheik"Jerry ParisArnold KaneMarch 19, 1977 (1977-03-19)
Nancy comes to the rescue when a much-married sheik zeroes in on Bambi as his next wife.
6"Anthony Falls in Love"TBATBAMarch 26, 1977 (1977-03-26)
Anthony proposes marriage to Bambi after Nancy agrees that she should settle down with a strong man.
7"Nancy Meets Francie"TBATBAApril 2, 1977 (1977-04-02)
Nancy meets Sunshine's mother, Francie Akalino, who's seeking to take her daughter back to Wichita so that she can get married.
8"Nancy Remembers Laverne"TBATBAApril 9, 1977 (1977-04-09)
Nancy meets Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) while on a talent hunt in Milwaukee.
9"Nancy Meets Pa Bates"TBATBAApril 16, 1977 (1977-04-16)
Arkansas' father visits Las Vegas and quickly loses not only his money, but his daughter's as well.
10"My Nephew's Debut"TBATBAApril 30, 1977 (1977-04-30)
Nancy desperately searches for a way to hitch a ride back to Las Vegas for Joey's stage debut.
11"Dear Nancy..."TBATBAMay 21, 1977 (1977-05-21)
Bambi falls in love with a socially prominent lawyer and Nancy begins fearing the worst.
12"To Nancy with Love"TBATBAJune 7, 1977 (1977-06-07)
Nancy accepts an executive position at a plush hotel, but quickly gets bored and longs for the disorganization at the Oasis.
13"Nancy Breaks a Leg"TBATBAJune 27, 1977 (1977-06-27)
Nancy goes to the hospital after breaking her leg, but fails to get much rest and relaxation.

References
  1. Note, however, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present doesn't include the series in its list of prime time spin-offs. Brooks, Tim (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (Ninth Edition). Ballantine Books. pp. 1707–1709. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4..
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