With the tragic death last week of Robin Williams, there was ample talk of his appearing on an episode of Happy Days which lead to giving the Mork character his own show of Mork & Mindy. Mork & Mindy was unique in that it was a spin-off of a spin-off.
Happy Days was actually a spin-off of an episode of Love American Style in 1972 entited “Love and the Happy Days” which featured the Cunningham family. First airing in January 1972, Happy Days would spin-off the successful shows Laverne & Shirely and Mork & Mindy, in addition to the unsuccessful spin-offs Out of the Blue, Joannie Loves Chachi, and Blansky’s Beautys.
Prior to Mork & Mindy and Laverne & Shirely becoming spin-offs of spin-offs, this feat was accomplished a few times before. The first time was when The Andy Griffith Show spawned Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and later Maybery R.F.D. Believe or not, The Andy Griffith Show, which aired from 1960 to 1968, was a spin-off of The Danny Thomas Show. At the end of the 1959-1960 season, there was an episode entitled “Danny Meets Andy Griffith” in which Danny Thomas is pulled over for a traffic violation, thus introducing viewers to both Mayberry and Sheriff Andy Taylor.
Second, Adam 12, which ran from 1968 to 1975, was a spin-off of Dragnet, as Officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed were introduced in an episode of Dragnet specifically to fuel the spin-off. Adam 12 had its own spin-off, Emergency, which aired from 1972-1977. All three of these shows were created and produced by Jack Webb.
The classic 70’s sitcom Good Times was also a spin-off of a spin-off. It was a spin-off of Maude, which was a spin-off of All in the Family. Another All in the Family spin-off, the highly successful show The Jeffersons, had its own spin-off in 1981 called Checking In, which was short-lived.

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