Blansky's Beauties

Blansky's Beauties is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from February 12 to June 20, 1977. It was presented as a spin-off of *Happy Days*, though the connection was loose. The title character, Nancy Blansky, was played by Nancy Walker. She first appeared on a February 1, 1977 episode of *Happy Days* set in the early 1960s, but the new series jumped ahead to 1977 and placed her in Las Vegas. The show was a rare failure for producer Garry Marshall and was canceled after 11 episodes.

Nancy Blansky was a veteran of Las Vegas show business since the 1950s and served as a den mother to a group of showgirls. She lived in a chaotic apartment complex with several roommates: Ethel "Sunshine" Akalino, Bambi, and her nephews Joey DeLuca (a choreographer) and Anthony DeLuca, a 12-year-old who was "going on 28" and constantly tried to impress Bambi, who treated him like a kid brother. A large Great Dane named Blackjack also lived with them and appeared in the opening credits playing blackjack. Nancy staged the girls' performances at the Oasis Hotel, and her boyfriend was Emilio, the maître d'.

The show had several links to other series. Eddie Mekka played Joey DeLuca, who was a younger cousin to Carmine Ragusa, Mekka's character on *Laverne & Shirley*. Mekka appeared as a regular on both *Blansky's Beauties* and *Laverne & Shirley* at the same time. Nancy Walker herself had previously co-starred simultaneously on *McMillan & Wife* and *Rhoda* while also continuing her role as Rosie, the Bounty paper towels spokeswoman. In the first episode, "Blansky's Biking Beauty," Joey introduced stunt motorcyclist Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly), who was hired for Nancy's show; Pinky wore the same outfit as on *Happy Days* but with a 1970s shag haircut. Another episode, "Nancy Remembers Laverne," implied a link to *Laverne & Shirley*: Nancy recalled working with a clumsy dancer named Laverne DeFazio around 1957, offering her a job that Laverne declined. Pat Morita, after his series *Mr. T and Tina* failed, joined the cast as Arnold, the character he originated on *Happy Days*, now running a coffee shop instead of a diner. Morita later returned to *Happy Days* five years later, while his replacement on that show, Al Molinaro, later joined another *Happy Days* spin-off, *Joanie Loves Chachi*.