Laverne & Shirley actor Cindy Williams dies at 75

Cindy Williams was one of America’s most famous stars in the 1970s and 1980s, playing Shirley, opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the beloved sitcom. Laverne & Shirley, died. she was 75 years old.

Williams died Wednesday in Los Angeles after a brief illness, her children, Zack and Emily Hudson, said in a statement issued Monday through the family’s spokeswoman Liza Kranis.

“The death of our kind and hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us an insurmountable grief that we can never truly express,” the statement said. It was our pleasure and privilege, she was one of a kind, beautiful, generous, with a wonderful sense of humor and a glittering spirit that we all love.”

In his film career before turning full-time to television, Mr. Williams worked with some of Hollywood’s most elite directors, starring in George Cukor’s 1972. trip with auntGeorge Lucas’ 1973 american graffiti and Francis Ford Coppola’s conversation From 1974.

But she was by far the best known Laverne & Shirley, Happy days A spin-off that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983, it was one of the most popular shows on television in its heyday.

Williams played stern Shirley Feeney to Marshall’s freewheeling Laverne DeFazio in a show about two blue-collar roommates who struggled on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 1960s.

“They were beloved characters,” Williams told the Associated Press in 2002.

Laverne was hot-tempered and defensive. Shirley was naive and trusting. Actors portrayed their own lives for plot inspiration.

“At the beginning of each season, we made a list of the talents we had,” Ms. Marshall told AP in 2002. I tap danced. “

Williams told the Associated Press in 2013 that she and Marshall had “very different personalities,” but the story of the two clashing during the making of the show was “a little exaggerated.”

The series was a rare network hit and self-help opening song about working-class characters.

Its opening will be as popular as the show itself. It has been issued.

Marshall, whose brother Garry Marshall co-created the series, passed away in 2018.

Actor Rosario Dawson shared a video for the opening theme on Twitter on Tuesday.

“Singing this song in gratitude to two women,” Dawson tweeted. “An absolute gem. United again… Cindy Williams resting in paradise.

The show also starred Michael McKean and David Lander as Laverne and Shirley’s Weird Hunger in Lenny and Squiggy.Mr. Lander died in 2020.

McKean paid tribute to Williams on Twitter and shared his memories of the production.

“Behind the scenes, season 1: Waiting for the cue behind the scenes. The script was tough, we’re 110% committed and the audience is having a great time,” McKean tweeted. “Cindy scooped me up and with a big smile said, ‘Show food!'” Amen. Thank you Cindy. “

Due to declining ratings in the sixth season, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California and traded jobs at a brewery for jobs at a department store.

In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted to work less hours. When her demands were not met, she left the set and filed a lawsuit against the production company.

Williams was born in 1947 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, one of two sisters. Her family moved to Dallas soon after she was born, but she moved back to Los Angeles, where she began her acting career while attending Birmingham High School. She majored in theater at LA City College.

Her acting career began with small roles on television beginning in 1969. Room 222, nanny and professor When love, american style.

Her role in Mr. Lucas american graffiti play a decisive role. The film ushered in his subsequent nostalgia boom of the 1950s and early 1960s. Happy daysstarring her american graffiti Co-star Ron Howard premiered the following year.

Lucas also considered her for the role of Princess Leia Star Warsa role that went to Carrie Fisher.

Over the past 30 years, Mr. Williams has made guest appearances on dozens of TV series, including: Seventh Heaven, 8 simple rules When Law and Order Victims Task ForceIn 2013, she and Marshall Laverne & Shirley Nickelodeon series tribute episode sam and cat.

Last year, Ms. Williams performed in a one-woman stage show filled with stories from her career. me and me and shirleya theater in Palm Springs, California, near his home in Desert Hot Springs.

Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of the music group Hudson Brothers from 1982 to 2000. Hudson said she was the father of two children. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson.