Edna Babish-DeFazio was a recurring, then main character on Laverne & Shirley from Season 2 to Season 7. The part of Mrs. Babish was played on the series by Betty Garrett.
About Edna[]
Edna is the five-time-divorced owner and landlady of the Milwaukee apartment building where Laverne and Shirley live together. By Season 3 she began dating and courting Laverne's father, Frank DeFazio; they eventually married in Season 5. Edna also occasionally sings and dances in the local brewery talent shows. When newlyweds Frank and Edna relocate to Southern California to open the Cowboy Bill's restaurant, Laverne and Shirley move with them, along with Lenny, Squiggy and Carmine, as Edna sells her apartment building and Frank sells the Pizza Bowl.
In the episode "The Slow Child" (Season 3, episode #15), it's revealed that Edna has a mentally-challenged daughter named Amy (Linda Gillen). Mrs. Babish doesn't like the way Laverne and Shirley treat her daughter as "one of the girls" upon meeting her, especially when Amy and Lenny take a shine to each other and begin dating, but in the end, she realizes she has been treating her daughter as if she is a small child and not allowing her to grow.
When Laverne & Shirley was extended beyond the intended final season, actress Betty Garrett, who played the part of Edna, had already committed to another TV series project and thought the series would be cancelled after Season 7, so she was written out of the story line as having left Frank.
