PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE, LAVERN & SHIRLEY, et al. Honored at TV Land Awards

TV Land announced today that the beloved casts of "Laverne & Shirley" (Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams, Michael McKean and David L. Lander) and "One Day At A Time" (Valerie Bertinelli, Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips, Glenn Scarpelli and Pat Harrington Jr.) as well as pop culture phenomenon "Pee-wee's Playhouse" will be honored at the "TV Land Awards" 10th Anniversary celebration. The star-studded awards show, which honors classic television, film and music icons, will be held at the Lexington Avenue Armory at Gramercy Park on Saturday, April 14th and air on Sunday, April 29th at 9pm ET/PT. More honorees will be announced in coming weeks. They join previously announced honoree Aretha Franklin (Music Icon Award) and second-time host Kelly Ripa for the special decade ceremony.

"Laverne & Shirley" still lives in the hearts of viewers everywhere and is the recipient of this year's Fan Favorite Award, which goes to a series that's an All-American classic, with characters who became our friends, stories we could all relate to and irresistible laughs. This is the first time the cast of "Laverne & Shirley" will be reunited on television in nearly a decade. "Laverne & Shirley" aired on ABC for eight seasons from 1976-1983 and was a spinoff of the Garry Marshall hit "Happy Days." But the show soon found its own avid fans, thanks to loveable stars Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, who play best friends and roommates working in a Milwaukee brewery. Constantly annoyed by their neighbors, Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski (Michael McKean) and Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman (David L. Lander), Laverne and Shirley learn to navigate their lives as two single young women in 1950s Milwaukee - and later in the series, 1960s Los Angeles.

"One Day At A Time" is being presented with the Innovator Award, which is given to a television series that carved out new territory, tackled important issues of its day and helped re-define its genre. The series, which was a hybrid drama/comedy, addressed such taboo topics as pre-marital sex, suicide, sexual harassment and more, breaking barriers and paving the way for future shows to tackle these issues as well. Developed and written in part by TV visionary Norman Lear, "One Day At A Time" aired on CBS for nine seasons from 1975-1984. Starring Bonnie Franklin, Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips as Ann Romano, Barbara Cooper and Julie Cooper, the series revolved around a family headed by a single mother (Franklin) that relocates to Indianapolis, where their new apartment building super, Dwayne Schneider (Pat Harrington Jr.), befriends them. Also taking part in the cast reunion is Glenn Scarpelli, who joined the series in 1980 as the son of Ann's boyfriend, Nick.

The 22-time Emmy® Award-winning children's series, "Pee-wee's Playhouse," ran on CBS for five seasons from 1986-1991 and has been a staple in pop culture for over 25 years. The title character is portrayed by actor and comedy icon, Paul Reubens, who created what is widely considered one of the most innovative and ground-breaking children's programs in television history. Reubens' wonderfully diverse and colorful playhouse filled with puppets, genies, robots, cowboys and pterodactyls sparked countless imaginations and brought joy and laughter to children and adults alike. The show has been named one of "Top 25 Cult Shows Ever" by TV Guide Magazine, and Pee-wee is more popular than ever with a hit Broadway show, HBO Special, and enormous social media following with millions of followers on Twitter and Facebook. Fittingly, "Pee-wee's Playhouse" will receive the Pop Culture Award at the "TV Land Awards" 10th Anniversary ceremony.

The "TV Land Awards" pays tribute to classic and contemporary luminaries of television, music and movies. The 90-minute telecast will feature exhilarating musical performances and will reunite some of the most iconic celebrity TV casts.

Previous honorees include Regis Philbin, Michael J. Fox, John Travolta, Bill Cosby, Mike Myers, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Garry Marshall, the cast of "Glee," "Desperate Housewives" and the hilarious sitcoms "Cheers," "The Cosby Show," "Family Ties," "The Facts of Life," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Bosom Buddies," "Welcome Back, Kotter," "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "M*A*S*H*." Past presenters include Academy Award©-winner Halle Berry, Barbara Walters, Justin Timberlake, Ray Romano, Steve Carell, Billy Crystal, Sharon Stone, Robin Williams and Academy Award©-nominee Robert Downey, Jr., to name a few. Past musical performers include Liza Minnelli, Stevie Wonder, Blondie, Diana Ross, Willie Nelson and Lionel Richie.

Michael Levitt ("Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List," "Billboard Music Awards," "Scream Awards") is executive producer; Five-time Emmy Award©-winning Glenn Weiss is director ("Primetime Emmy Awards," "BET Awards," "The Tony Awards"); Greg Sills serves as supervising producer ("VH1 Rock Honors," "The Teen Choice Awards," "Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards"); Gary Tellalian is producer and TV Land's Larry W. Jones and Casey Patterson are executive producers. Tim Bruno is executive in charge of production for TV Land.

TV Land is the programming destination featuring the best in entertainment on all platforms for consumers in their 40s and 50s. Consisting of original programming, classic and contemporary television series acquisitions, hit movies and a full-service Web site, TV Land is now seen in over 98 million U.S. homes.

Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) is home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms in more than 160 countries and territories. With approximately 170 media networks reaching more than 600 million global subscribers, Viacom's leading brands include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV Land, Spike TV and Tr3s. Paramount Pictures, America's oldest film studio and creator of many of the most beloved motion pictures, continues today as a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. Viacom operates a large portfolio of branded digital media experiences, including many of the world's most popular properties for entertainment, community and casual online gaming.

For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos

To post a comment, you must register and login.