Laverne & Shirley actors Cindy Williams dies aged 75

Her family says Cindy Williams, one of the most popular US stars of the 1970s and 1980s for her role opposite Penny Marshall’s character Laverne on the beloved sitcom Laverne & Shirley, is over. life.

illiams died in Los Angeles at the age of 75 on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis.

“The passing of our funny, kind mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us unrelenting sadness that can never be truly expressed,” the statement read.

“Knowing and loving her is our pleasure and privilege. She is one of those kind, beautiful, generous people and possesses a great sense of humor and a sparkling spirit that everyone loves.”

Williams worked with some of Hollywood’s finest directors in her film career before she transitioned full-time to television, appearing in George Cukor’s 1972 Travels With My Aunt, 1973’s American Graffiti by George Lucas and “The Conversation” by Francis Ford Coppola from 1974.

But by far, she’s best known for Laverne & Shirley, the spin-off of Happy Days that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983, which in its early days was one of TV’s most popular shows.

Williams played the austere Shirley Feeney with Marshall’s more liberal Laverne DeFazio in the show about a pair of blue-collar roommates toiling on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s. and 60.

“They are beloved characters,” Williams told The Associated Press in 2002.

DeFazio is short-tempered and defensive; Feeney is naive and gullible. The actors drew on their own lives for plot inspiration.

“We would make a list at the beginning of each season of the talent we had,” Marshall told the AP in 2002. “Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it on the show. I practiced dancing.

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Williams told the AP in 2013 that she and Marshall had “very different personalities” but that the story of the two clashing during the making of the show was “a bit overblown”.

The series is a rare hit online about working-class characters, with a confident opening song: “Give us any chance, we’ll take it, read it.” Give us any rule, we’ll break it.”

That opening would become as famous as the performance itself. The line “schlemiel, schlimazel” by Williams and Marshall as they danced together has become a cultural phenomenon and an often-mentioned piece of nostalgia.

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

The show also stars Michael McKean and David Lander as Laverne and Shirley quirks facing off against Lenny and Squiggy. Lander passed away in 2020.

When ratings dropped in season six, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California, trading their brewery jobs for jobs at a department store.

In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted to cut down on working hours. When her request was not met, she left the set and filed a lawsuit against its production company. She appeared infrequently in the final season.

Williams was born into a family of two sisters in the Van Nuys area of ​​Los Angeles in 1947. Her family moved to Dallas shortly after she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, where she would act. appeared while attending Birmingham High School and majoring in theatre. arts at LA City College.

Her acting career began with small roles on television from 1969, with appearances on Room 222, Nanny and the Professor and Love, American Style.

Her part in Lucas’ American Graffiti will become a major role. The film was a precursor to the nostalgia boom of the ’50s and early ’60s that followed.

Happy Days, starring American Graffiti co-star Ron Howard, is out next year. The characters of Laverne and Shirley first appeared on TV on Henry Winkler’s Fonzie’s Day before they had their own show.

Lucas also considered her for the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars, a role that went to Carrie Fisher.

Over the past three decades, Williams has made guest appearances on dozens of television series including 7th Heaven, 8 Simple Rules and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.

In 2013, she and Marshall appeared in the Laverne & Shirley tribute episode of the Nickelodeon series Sam and Cat.

Last year, Williams appeared on a one-woman stage show filled with stories from her career, Me, Myself, and Shirley, at a theater in Palm Springs, California, near her home. she’s in Desert Hot Springs.

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