Shirley, I Jest!: A Storied Life by Williams Cindy

Author:Williams, Cindy [Williams, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
Published: 2015-04-30T07:00:00+00:00

Seven

The Big Show

Penny and I snuck onto soundstage 20 at Paramount Studios. We wanted to look at the Laverne & Shirley set that had just been built and decorated. We were very excited! The next day we would begin rehearsals after having a table read of the first episode script with the writing staff, producers, and entire cast including guest actors. Up until now we had been appearing on Happy Days to establish the characters for Laverne & Shirley as local girls and friends of “The Fonz.”

When we opened the heavy soundstage door and stepped onto the huge stage, the lights were on. No one else was around, not a soul but us! A soundstage is enormous, like a warehouse. There is usually more than one set housed within the building. For instance, on the Laverne & Shirley soundstage there were three sets. Laverne and Shirley’s basement apartment, the Pizza Bowl set, and one other called a “swing-set.” The swing-set is a space on the stage that can be used to build whatever is needed for that week’s show. For instance, the swing-set for our first show was a dining area in a mansion for a gala dinner that Laverne and Shirley attended. In the “Fabian” episode it was his hotel suite and the ledge outside his window.

The show was to be shot with three cameras in front of a live studio audience seated on bleachers. Above the bleachers were the sound booth and the panel where the camera coordinator sat. Through headsets, he gave directions to each of the camera crew. The cameras were on wheels and pushed around by a “Dolly Grip” with the camera operator perched on a seat watching the action through the camera lens. A focus puller traveled with the camera to make sure the shot was clear. None of this was easy on our show because we were constantly moving like a slalom team. A lot of our camera crew had previously worked on I Love Lucy where this method had been perfected.

Penny and I walked backstage first. The dressing rooms, hair, makeup, and wardrobe were set up. We went onto the stage entering through Laverne and Shirley’s front door. We couldn’t believe our eyes! The apartment was beautiful: Wall-to-wall carpeting, cherrywood furniture, a fancy sofa, porcelain knickknacks, and expensive-looking wall hangings. We were stunned. In the pilot episode on Happy Days the nicest thing about our apartment was the kitchen sink and that was in the living room! What happened? This set was the exact opposite of what Laverne & Shirley was all about. It didn’t take us long to decide what to do.

We split up! I drove to my mother’s house in Reseda while Penny drove to her house in Encino. We gathered everything we thought would represent Laverne and Shirley’s economic lack of status! I gathered my old, worn-out hooded coat from junior high, my high school albums, and pictures from my bedroom wall, stuffed animals, old movie magazines, clothes and stacks of newspapers my mother was saving for some ungodly reason.

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