Blansky's Beauties
| Blansky's Beauties | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Directed by |
Garry Marshall Jerry Paris |
| Starring |
Nancy Walker Caren Kaye Eddie Mekka Scott Baio Pat Morita Blackjack |
| Opening theme | "I Want It All" by Cyndi Grecco |
| Composer(s) | Charles Fox |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Garry Marshall Edward K. Milkis Thomas L. Miller |
| Producer(s) | Nick Abdo Bruce Johnson Garry Marshall |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Miller-Milkis Productions Henderson Productions Paramount Television |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | February 12 – June 27, 1977 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Laverne & Shirley Mork & Mindy Who's Watching the Kids? Out of the Blue Joanie Loves Chachi |
Blansky's Beauties is an American sitcom and a 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 1950s, but the show is set in the present-day of 1977.
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 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.
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.
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