Character page for Laverne & Shirley.
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Laverne
Laverne Marie DeFazio
Played By: Penny Marshall
One of the two titular protagonists. She grew up in Brooklyn, and she is tougher, more outspoken and more tomboyish than Shirley. And more boy-crazy too.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: In the cartoon, she's a redhead, whereas in the original series, she has dark blonde-ish hair.
- Bizarre Taste in Food: Or drink, rather. She drinks Pepsi with milk.
- Brooklyn Rage: She grew up in Brooklyn, and she can be quite the tough-talker.
- Brought To You By The Letter "L": Most of her shirts, sweaters, and dresses have a cursive "L" on them.
- Consistent Clothing Style: Laverne's shirts and dresses usually have long sleeves. She also often wears tight sweaters. Most noticeably, all of her shirts, sweaters, and dresses have a cursive "L" on them.
- Custom Uniform: Downplayed. If she's wearing a uniform, it will generally have an "L" but look just like the other uniforms in other ways.
- Determinator: She is many things, but not a quitter.
- Genki Girl: While she's not "shooting off the walls", she's pretty enthusiastic.
- Good Bad Girl: Played with. She certainly likes to go out with men but it's unknown if she's had sex with anyone. The "good" part is definitely not in doubt, however, as she's generally benevolent and a protagonist.
- Hot-Blooded: Downplayed. She is quite emotional but also quite stable.
- In-Series Nickname: Occasionally gets called "Vernie".
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Well, more like nice person with a gritty side.
- The Klutz: She's rather clumsy, often knocking things over, spilling things, falling down, etc.
- Large Ham: Downplayed. She sometimes overacts, but not as much as Shirley or Carmine.
- Missing Mom: Her mother died when she was a little girl.
- No Indoor Voice: Downplayed. She doesn't always shout, but she shouts a lot when mad and has quite a loud voice.
- Plucky Girl: One of the main characters, and very optimistic.
- Sick Episode: She catches a cold in "Bowling for Razzberries".
Shirley
Shirley Wilhelmina Feeney
Played By: Cindy Williams
The other titular protagonist; small with dark hair. More emotional than Laverne, but also more of a scheme-maker. Also likes animals.
- Determinator: Not as determined as Laverne, but still not a quitter.
- Drama Queen: While she's generally happy-go-lucky, she'll overact a lot if she's in a bad mood.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Has blue eyes and is also quite sensitive.
- Inherently Attractive Profession: Shirley wants to marry a doctor.
- In-Series Nickname: Often gets called "Shirl" by Laverne, and occasionally by the others.
- Neat Freak: Cares rather a lot about tidiness.
- Plucky Girl: Is a protagonist and, while a bit dramatic, she's still an optimist.
- Ruptured Appendix: She gets appendicitis in "Shirley's Operation".
- Womanchild: Played with. While she owns a plushie and has the sort of unrealistic ambitions a kid might have, she's actually very sensible a lot of the time.
Lenny
Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski
Played By: Michael McKean
One of the title characters' wacky upstairs neighbors, of Polish descent. He is quite emotional.
- Book Dumb: While he's definitely not intelligent, most of his ditziness comes from a lack of education.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Most of his date with Amy was spent teaching her how to do wacky things like he does.
- The Ditz: Although he's more uncultured than outright stupid.
- Drop-In Character: Often enters the apartment of Laverne and Shirley without knocking with Squiggy, who always enters first saying "Hello!".
- Dumb Blond: Has fair hair and, again, he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.
- Genki Boy: He's very upbeat and positive.
- Greaser Delinquents: Both he and Squiggy qualify, although they're even milder examples than Fonzie.
- In-Series Nickname: Gets called "Lenny" or "Len".
- Limited Wardrobe: Downplayed. He changes his clothes, but he nearly always wears his "Lone Wolf" jacket.
- Missing Mom: While his mother isn't dead like Laverne's, she abandoned him when he was five.
- Unrequited Love: For Laverne.
Squiggy
Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman
Played By: David Lander
Lenny's roommate. A greaser, but definitely not like Fonzie.
- Character Catchphrase: "Hello!"
- Determinator: He may be a bit "slow", but he's very determined.
- Disappeared Dad: His father abandoned him.
- The Ditz: Not very bright, but a bit smarter than Lenny.
- Drop-In Character: Often enters the apartment of Laverne and Shirley without knocking with Lenny. Squiggy always enters first saying his trademark "Hello!".
- Greaser Delinquents: Both he and Lenny qualify, although they're even milder examples than Fonzie.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a bit abrasive, but a nice guy deep down.
- In-Series Nickname: Gets called "Squiggy" and "Squig".
- Unrequited Love: For Shirley.
Carmine
Carmine "The Big Ragu" Ragusa
Played By: Eddie Mekka
Shirley's on-and-off boyfriend. A singer and actor by trade.
- In-Series Nickname: Calls himself "The Big Ragu".
- Large Ham: He enters and exits by while singing and dancing.
- Spell My Name with a "The": Gets called The Big Ragu.
- Signature Song: "Rags To Riches," which he sings at every opportunity.
Frank
Fabrizio "Frank" DeFazio
Played By: Phil Foster
Laverne's widowed father, an Italian immigrant who runs a pizzeria/bowling alley, the "Pizza Bowl", in Milwaukee. Later opens up the "Cowboy Bills" in Burbank.
- Contrasting Replacement Character: A louder, less Extreme Doormat version of Al Delvecchio, the Italian-American restaurant owner (of Arnold's Drive-In) in Happy Days.
- Dad the Veteran: He used to be in the army.
- December–December Romance: With Edna, the landlady of Laverne and Shirley in Milwaukee.
- Immigrant Parents: He was born in Italy and moved to the USA, then he fathered Laverne.
- Large Ham: Shouts an awful lot.
Edna
Edna DeFazio, née Babish
Played By: Betty Garrett
The landlady of Laverne and Shirley's apartment, who has had many previous marriages.
- December–December Romance: With Laverne's father Frank.
- Second Love: Ends up marrying the widowed Frank.
Rhonda
Rhonda Lee
Played By: Leslie Easterbrook
A vain actress.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Arrogant and rude, but decent on the inside.
- Third-Person Person: She usually speaks in the third person.
Sonny
Sonny St. Jacques
Played By: Ed Marinaro
The landlord of Laverne, Shirley and Rhonda in Burbank and a stuntman. He dates Laverne at one point.
