Viewers Saw Spinoff 'Beauties' As A Beast

Does anyone remember "Blansky's Beauties"?

The short-lived 1977 sitcom is the answer to last week's trivia question, which asked readers to identify the least successful spinoff of "Happy Days."

Heidi Greenslade gets into our trivia hall of fame. She writes that she is "the ultimate 'Happy Days' fan (well, 'Laverne & Shirley,' actually)."

The series starred veteran TV character actor Nancy Walker; Pat Morita, who had played Arnold on "Happy Days"; Eddie Mekka, who would become Carmine on "Laverne & Shirley"); and Scott Baio, who would later become Chachi on "Happy Days."

Greenslade notes that she actually watched "Beauties" in 1977 and loved it.

Walker's character, Nancy Blansky, was den mother to a bevy of Las Vegas showgirls with names such as Bambi, Sunshine and Taffe. Baio, in his pre-Chachi role, was only 12; he played Nancy's leering little live-in nephew.

Blansky was a cousin of "Happy Days" father Howard Cunningham and was introduced on an episode one week before "Blansky's Beauties" debuted.

Also getting this question right were Gary L. and M.D. Jones.

Several readers offered the much-maligned "Joanie Loves Chachi" as the least successful spinoff. It was so bad that it became a punch line before it ended. But "Joanie Loves Chachi" managed to last 17 episodes while "Blansky's lasted only 13. Other spinoffs, "Mork & Mindy" and "Laverne & Shirley," were more successful.

MORE QUESTIONS: Charleen Krissman asks, "I could not tell from your newspaper article about the program 'Life.' Has it been canceled, or is it just on hold due to the writers strike?"

"Life" did show signs of life for NBC and is just on hold until after the strike is settled. In November, the network ordered a full season of 22 episodes. My guess is that NBC will cancel "Bionic Woman" and "Journeyman" and keep "Life."

The trivia challenge for this week is to name as many Brits as you can who are playing Americans on U.S. TV series, starting with Damien Lewis, who stars in "Life." Send questions and answers to wbelcher@tampatrib.com.