Laverne DeFazio is a Milwaukee resident, best friend of Shirley Feeney, and close friend of Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli who, Mork recalls to Mindy, Fonz calls upon when Mork arrived back on Earth in the 1950s to seek out the Fonz's expertise in the area of men dating women. Setting the two of them up, they have a short lived and utterly disastrous date. She is played by Penny Marshall.
Date with Mork[]
When Laverne comes to the Cunningham's house to meet Fonz and Mork in she's initially very pleased by what she sees, but once Mork starts to speak, it wears off quickly. Fonz makes his excuses and leaves them to it in the Cunningham's living room. Mork compliments the flower in her hair as fungus, makes lip sliding motions when asking if it is time to kiss and sits on his face, and when she rejects him he curls up like a baby. This works in his favor however, and Laverne softens to him again, however when she sits beside him and tries to draw his hand away from his mouth as he's sucking on his finger, she puts her hand on his wrist, accidentally initiating the Orkan pleasurable practice of Gang Neb, and driving him zazbat. He manages to hold himself together, but she does it again, and with a cry of Gang Neb he goes after her earlobes. When she kicks him in the shins, he returns the favor twice, thinking it part of the custom and then chases her around the living room till she races upstairs yelling for Fonzie.
About Laverne[]
Laverne is known for being a tough-talking tomboy. She was born and, in her early childhood years, grew up in Brooklyn, NY with her Italian immigrant parents. Laverne's parents later moved to Milwaukee when she was about 11 years old, where her mother later died.
Friendships[]
Laverne worked alongside best friend and roommate Shirley Feeney, whom she's known since moving to Milwaukee as a child. They attended high school together, and worked together as bottle cappers at Shotz Brewery there in Milwaukee, before eventually packing up and moving to California, along with her father Frank DeFazio and his new wife, Edna Babish, who was the landlord of the apartment building in which they shared an apartment together for 5 years. Her other friends included Lenny, Squiggy, Shirley's boyfriend Carmine, Rhonda, and even good ole Rosie Greenbaum (although it's more of a "frenemy" relationship as they often feud with each other). The same thing can be said about her and Shirley's relationship with Rhonda Lee, a tall, blonde buxom actress/model whom they meet upon their move to Burbank.
The two, Laverne and Shirley soon would find jobs as gift wrappers at Bard's Department Store in Burbank, CA, where she would meet a stuntman and aspiring actor named Sonny St. Jacques (Ed Marinaro) and begin dating him for several episodes.
Milk and Pepsi is Laverne's favorite drink. Her trademark is the script letter "L" monogrammed on her shirts and sweaters, an idea Marshall got from seeing a vintage sweater in the wardrobe department with an initial sewn in the upper left corner, something that would help the audience remember that she is Laverne.
Unlike her friend Shirley, who winds up marrying an Army doctor named Walter Feeney. Laverne's never been married. Laverne came close twice to marrying; she almost married a sailor named Sal Malina, although she didn't love him. Another was a fireman named Randy (played by Ted Danson), whom she began dating while in Milwaukee, but he died in the line of duty.