Mark Rothman

In his four-hour Archive interview, Mark Rothman talks about becoming enthralled by television at an early age, and meeting his writing partner Lowell Ganz in college. He describes his first big break writing for The Mike Douglas Show, and how he and Ganz came to write for The Odd Couple. He recounts his time as a staff writer on The Odd Couple, and working with demanding stars Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. He tells of moving over to Happy Days to help it transition from a single camera show to a multi-camera show, and speaks of the break-out success of Henry Winkler's "Fonize" character. Rothman discusses spinning-off Laverne and Shirley from Happy Days, and having it become number one the week it debuted. He outlines personal conflicts on the set of Laverne and Shirley, and the great windfall he received when the show went into syndication. He speaks of other shows such as Busting Loose, The Ted Knight Show, and The New Odd Couple and his break-up with longtime writing partner Lowell Ganz. He concludes by discussing his blogs and numerous projects, including plays and a Laverne and Shirley feature film script he has written. Amy Harrington conducted the interview on September 27, 2013 in North Hollywood, California.