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Laverne & Shirley – 1978
Mego had big success with their Happy Days action figure line from the year prior, so they decided to move ahead with its sister show, Laverne & Shirley. The show was already a huge hit on ABC, as a spin-off of Happy Days, so it seemed natural that Mego would go ahead with new toys. The strange part of it was that Mego produced the figures in a 12 inch scale instead of the standard 8 inch that Happy Days had been made. There were two 2-packs of figures and no other accessories to speak of. This line was short lived and the figures can be easily found on the secondary market at somewhat reasonable prices.
For more information about Mego’s Laverne & Shirley line, see bottom of the page for a complete summary.
Laverne & Shirley (1978): Basic Action Figures
Mego released two different two-packs for their Laverne & Shirley line in 1978, with one two-pack containing Lenny & Squiggy, and the other containing the stars of the show, Laverne & Shirley. This line had some potential and would have fun to pair with the Happy Days figures, but you can’t have everything!
Laverne & Shirley
Market Value:
Boxed $175 – $250
Loose $60 – $85
Laverne & Shirley
Accessories: Laverne Figure, Shirley Figure
Years Released: 1978
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes patience and appears less often
Notes: Laverne and Shirley were the title characters of their show. Portrayed by Penny Marshall (Laverne) and Cindy Williams (Shirley), the characters would go on to become among the most recognizable of the decade. The costumes for these figures are decent were fairly accurate and I loved the iconic “L” on Laverne’s sweater. The head sculpts were a different matter, because they looked nothing like the actresses who portrayed them. Certainly not among Mego’s best efforts.
Lenny & Squiggy
Market Value:
Boxed $175 – $250
Loose $60 – $85
Lenny & Squiggy
Accessories: Lenny Figure, Squiggy Figure
Years Released: 1978
Difficulty To Find: Moderate Difficulty – Takes patience and appears less often
Notes: Aside from the title characters themselves, Lenny & Squiggy were the most known characters from the show and gained quite a bit of popularity at the time. Expertly portrayed by Michael McKean (Lenny) and David Lander (Squiggy), these two stole most scenes they were involved with on the show. There figures are decent likenesses of the characters with fairly accurate costumes.
Laverne & Shirley (1978): Accessories
Mego did not release any toy related accessories for their Laverne & Shirley action figure line in 1978.
Laverne & Shirley (1978): Playsets
Mego did not release any toy related accessories for their Laverne & Shirley action figure line in 1978.
Mego had big success with their Happy Days action figure line from the year prior, so they decided to move ahead with its sister show, Laverne & Shirley. The show was already a huge hit on ABC, as a spin-off of Happy Days, so it seemed natural that Mego would go ahead with new toys. The strange part of it was that Mego produced the figures in a 12 inch scale instead of the standard 8 inch that Happy Days had been made. There were two 2-packs of figures and no other accessories to speak of. This line was short lived and the figures can be easily found on the secondary market at somewhat reasonable prices.
The Laverne & Shirley action figure line by Mego featured only four characters, that were placed in two different two-packs. One set had Lenny & Squiggy, while the other featured the show’s main characters, Laverne & Shirley. The figures themselves were not terrible, but they weren’t great either. The cloth style clothing seemed to work and it fit the figures well, but the head sculpts were another matter. The sculpts were originally designed for an 8″ figure line, but that was changed to the 12″ format at the last minute. The reasons for this are unknown to me, but this last minute decision definitely showed on the finished product.
The packaging for the Laverne & Shirley action figures was colorful and eye catching. Both sets of figures were released in an open window box with the two-pack of figures on the right hand side. The overall color scheme was a fitting pink with not much else in the way of other colors. The box featured the Laverne & Shirley logo on the top left, with a fun color illustration of all four characters underneath it. The character’s names were underneath the figures window box. Both figure sets shared the same back design. The Laverne & Shirley action figure line was not popular at the time of release and quickly disappeared from store shelves, but are fairly easy to find nowadays on the secondary market.
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