Laverne & Shirley actress Cindy Williams dies at 75

Cindy Williams, who was among America’s most recognizable stars in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshalls Laverne in the beloved sitcom Laverne and Shirley, is dead. She was 75 years old.

Ms Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released Monday by family spokeswoman Liza Cranis.

The passing of our lovable and hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us an insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed, the statement read. Knowing and loving her has been our joy and our privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous, and had a brilliant sense of humor and a sparkling wit that everyone loved.

Ms Williams worked with some of Hollywood’s most prestigious directors in a film career that preceded her full-time stint in television, appearing in George Cukors 1972 Travels with my auntGeorge Lucas 1973 american graffiti and Francis Ford Coppolas The conversation from 1974.

But she was by far best known for Laverne and Shirleythem Happy Days spin-off that aired on ABC from 1976 to 1983 which, in its heyday, was among the most popular shows on television.

Ms Williams starred as Shirley Feeney, Ms Marshall’s most kinky, Laverne DeFazio, on the show about a pair of blue-collar housemates who worked on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 1960s .

They were beloved characters, Ms Williams told The Associated Press in 2002.

Laverne was hot-tempered and defensive; Shirley was naive and confident. The actors drew inspiration from their own lives for plot inspiration.

We make a list at the start of each season of the talent we had, Ms. Marshall told the AP in 2002. Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it on the show. I did tap dancing.

Ms Williams told The Associated Press in 2013 that she and Ms Marshall had very different personalities, but the stories of the two clashing while making the show were a bit of a stretch.

The series was the network’s rare hit on working-class characters, with its empowering opening song: Give us a chance, well, take it, read us any rule, well, break it. the.

This opening would become as popular as the show itself. Ms. Williamss and Ms. Marshall sing schlemiel, schlimazel as they jump together has become a cultural phenomenon and an oft-invoked piece of nostalgia.

Ms Marshall, whose brother, Garry Marshall, co-created the series, died in 2018.

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

Singing this song with so much gratitude for you two ladies, Ms Dawson tweeted. Absolute gems. United again… Rest in Paradise Cindy Williams.

The show also starred Michael McKean and David Lander as Laverne and Shirley’s bizarre hangers – on Lenny and Squiggy. Mr. Lander died in 2020.

Mr McKean paid tribute to Ms Williams on Twitter with a memento from the production.

Backstage, Season 1: I’m offstage waiting for a cue. The scripts were tough so we gave it 110% and the audience is having a great time,” McKean tweeted. Cindy walks past me to make her entrance and with a glorious smile says: Shows cookin! Amen. Thank you, Cindy.

As the ratings waned during the sixth season, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California, trading their brewery jobs for work at a department store.

In 1982, Ms Williams became pregnant and requested that her working hours be reduced. When her demands were not met, she walked off the set and filed a lawsuit against her production company. She appeared infrequently in the final season.

Ms. Williams was born one of two sisters in the Van Nuys area of ​​Los Angeles in 1947. Her family moved to Dallas soon after she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, where she began acting while attending the Birmingham High School and a Theater Arts major at LA City College.

Her acting career began with small roles on television from 1969, with appearances in Room 222, Nanny and the teacher and love, american style.

His role in Mr. Lucass american graffiti would become a determining role. The film was a precursor to a nostalgic 1950s and early 1960s boom that was to follow. Happy Daysfeaturing her american graffiti co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the following year. The characters of Laverne and Shirley made their first TV appearances as Henry Winklers Fonzie dates before getting their own show.

Mr. Lucas also considered her for the role of Princess Leia in star warsa role that went to Carrie Fisher.

Over the past three decades, Ms Williams has made guest appearances on dozens of television series, including 7th Sky, 8 simple rules and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2013, she and Mrs. Marshall appeared in a Laverne and Shirley tribute episode of the Nickelodeon series sam and cat.

Last year Ms Williams appeared in a solo show filled with stories from her career, Me, myself and Shirleyat a theater in Palm Springs, Calif., near her home in Desert Hot Springs.

Ms Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of the musical group The Hudson Brothers from 1982 to 2000. Mr Hudson was the father of her two children. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson.