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Penny Marshall explained why she always had a massive ''L'' on her clothing during Laverne & Shirley
It's not just an adorable outfit.
It's not uncommon for characters to have a kind of "uniform." While this is typically more popular with animated movies, it's possible in live-action sitcoms as well. Would we even know The Fonz was The Fonz if he wasn't wearing his iconic leather jacket? How would we recognize Barney Fife without his uniform?
As Laverne DeFazio, Penny Marshall made a statement as her character was typically recognized with a giant cursive "L" on most of her clothing. As Marshall explained to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, that monogram doesn't just serve fashion; it also serves function.
"When you start a television show the key is to get the audience to remember the names of the characters and their occupations," said Marshall. "So an actress ends up saying her name and job many times during the first few episodes of any sitcom. When I first read the pilot script of Laverne & Shirley, it had us saying our names and that we were bottle cappers on every other page. So when I went to try on my wardrobe, I remembered the fact that I would have to keep repeating my name and it might get pretty boring."
Luckily, Marshall was able to discover an easier way to help the audience tell the characters apart from one another.
"I was looking for a shortcut as I sifted through the vintage clothing that the wardrobe department had collected from the 1950s," she said. "I came across a sweater with an initial sewn in the upper left corner. It suddenly dawned on me how I could save time. Make the initial an “L” and then everyone would remember that my name is Laverne. The wardrobe department took my suggestion and quickly changed the letter to an “L” and the rest is history."
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