Cindy Williams, who played Shirley Feeney on the classic comedy Laverne and Shirley, died at the age of 75.
Williams died on Wednesday in Los Angeles following a “brief illness,” according to her children, Zak and Emily Hudson.
Williams, who was born on August 22, 1947 in Los Angeles, began his acting career on television in episodes of Love, American Style and Nanny and the Professor.
“The departure of our wonderful, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has given us immeasurable pain that could never properly be articulated,” the statement reads, according to the Associated Press. “Knowing and loving her has been both a delight and an honor for us. She was one of a kind, attractive, and generous, with a wonderful sense of humor and a sparkling attitude that everyone adored.”
She rose to prominence after appearing in two of the most well-known Hollywood films of the 1970s: she played Laurie Henderson, Ron Howard’s high school lover in George Lucas’ American Graffiti, and she also appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation.
Her most well-known role, however, would not come until after another television appearance. In an episode of Happy Days, Williams and actress Penny Marshall played Laverne and Shirley, a couple of dates for Richie and Fonzie.
As a result of the appearance’s great popularity, producer Garry Marshall created a spin-off series called Laverne & Shirley. In its third season, after eight seasons and a high degree of popularity, the show was awarded the most watched program in the country.
One of television’s most well-known intros (“One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight! The show, which aired from the late 1950s until the middle of the 1960s, followed the adventures of best friends and roommates Laverne DeFazio (Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Williams).
The two low-income folks begin their jobs as bottle cappers at Milwaukee’s Shotz Brewery. Williams’ Shirley, in contrast to her brassier, more acerbic best friend, was the sweeter, more conventional, and more traditional of the two.
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“We had telepathy,” Williams explained in a 2013 interview. “If we walk into a room together, if there’s something distinctive in the room, we’ll notice it at the same time and make the same comment about it. We were always like this.”
However, Williams left Laverne & Shirley in the last season because filming was tough while she was expecting her first child. After an out-of-court settlement with Paramount, she exited the series.
“They kept me working on my due date and couldn’t deal with the fact that I needed time off to have a child,” Cindy explained to ET. “I just didn’t end up doing that season of the show.”
Williams and Marshall had a quarrel during the show’s last seasons, but they later reconciled.
After taking a break from the entertainment industry to raise her child, she made a brief return to television in the sitcoms Normal Life and Getting By.
She also had success on the theater, appearing in various plays and musicals on national tours, as well as The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway.
Shirley, I Jest!, Williams’ memoir, was published in 2015. She also starred with Penny Marshall again in a Nickelodeon episode of Sam & Cat.
Marshall died in 2018 at the age of 75. She is “very unusual, a truly exceptional skill,” according to Williams. That was a lot of fun! I can’t tell you how much I’ll miss her, she told People.
David Lander, the actor who played Squiggy in the series, died in 2020 at the age of 73. Garry Marshall, the show’s creator and Penny’s brother, died in 2016 at the age of 81. Only the principal actor, Michael McKean, is still alive and working now.
We all grew up watching Laverne & Shirley, and Cindy Williams made a lasting impression as one half of the titular combo.
