Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny MarshallB次元官网网址檚 Laverne on the beloved sitcom B次元官网网址淟averne & Shirley,B次元官网网址� has died. She was 75.
Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released on Monday through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis.
B次元官网网址淭he passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,B次元官网网址� the statement said. B次元官网网址淜nowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.B次元官网网址�
Williams worked with some of HollywoodB次元官网网址檚 most elite directors in a film career that preceded her full-time move to television, appearing in George CukorB次元官网网址檚 1972 B次元官网网址淭ravels With My Aunt,B次元官网网址� George LucasB次元官网网址� 1973 B次元官网网址淎merican GraffitiB次元官网网址� and Francis Ford CoppolaB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he ConversationB次元官网网址� from 1974.
But she was by far best known for B次元官网网址淟averne & Shirley,B次元官网网址� the B次元官网网址淗appy DaysB次元官网网址� spinoff that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983 that in its prime was among the most popular shows on TV.
Williams played the straitlaced Shirley Feeney to MarshallB次元官网网址檚 more libertine Laverne DeFazio on the show about a pair of blue-collar roommates who toiled on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 1960s.
B次元官网网址淭hey were beloved characters,B次元官网网址� Williams told The Associated Press in 2002.
DeFazio was quick-tempered and defensive; Feeney was naive and trusting. The actors drew upon their own lives for plot inspiration.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檇 make up a list at the start of each season of what talents we had,B次元官网网址� Marshall told the AP in 2002. B次元官网网址淐indy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it in the show. I did tap dance.B次元官网网址�
Williams told The Associated Press in 2013 that she and Marshall had B次元官网网址渧ery different personalitiesB次元官网网址� but tales of the two clashing during the making of the show were B次元官网网址渁 bit overblown.B次元官网网址�
The series was the rare network hit about working-class characters, with its self-empowering opening song: B次元官网网址淕ive us any chance, weB次元官网网址檒l take it, read us any rule, weB次元官网网址檒l break it.B次元官网网址�
That opening would become as popular as the show itself. WilliamsB次元官网网址� and MarshallB次元官网网址檚 chant of B次元官网网址渟chlemiel, schlimazelB次元官网网址� as they skipped along together became a cultural phenomenon and oft-invoked piece of nostalgia.
Marshall, whose brother, Garry Marshall, co-created the series, .
Actor shared a video of the opening theme on Twitter on Tuesday.
B次元官网网址淪inging this song with so much gratitude for both of you ladies,B次元官网网址� Dawson tweeted. B次元官网网址淎bsolute gems. United againB次元官网网址� Rest in Paradise Cindy Williams.B次元官网网址�
The show also starred Michael McKean and David Lander as Laverne and ShirleyB次元官网网址檚 oddball hangers-on Lenny and Squiggy. .
McKean paid tribute to Williams on Twitter with a memory from the production.
B次元官网网址淏ackstage, Season 1: IB次元官网网址檓 offstage waiting for a cue. The scriptB次元官网网址檚 been a tough one, so weB次元官网网址檙e giving it 110% and the audience is having a great time,B次元官网网址� McKean tweeted. B次元官网网址淐indy scoots by me to make her entrance and with a glorious grin, says: B次元官网网址楽howB次元官网网址檚 cookinB次元官网网址�!B次元官网网址� Amen. Thank you, Cindy.B次元官网网址�
As ratings dropped in the sixth season, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California, trading their brewery jobs for work at a department store.
In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted her working hours curtailed. When her demands werenB次元官网网址檛 met, she walked off the set, and filed a lawsuit against its production company. She appeared infrequently during the final season.
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 would take up acting while attending Birmingham High School and a major in theater arts at LA City College.
Her acting career began with small roles in television starting in 1969, with appearances on B次元官网网址淩oom 222,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淣anny and the ProfessorB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址滾ove, American Style.B次元官网网址�
Her part in LucasB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淎merican GraffitiB次元官网网址� would become a defining role. The film was a forerunner to a nostalgia boom for the 1950s and early 1960s that would follow. B次元官网网址淗appy Days,B次元官网网址� starring her B次元官网网址淎merican GraffitiB次元官网网址� co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the following year. The characters of Laverne and Shirley made their first TV appearance as dates of Henry WinklerB次元官网网址檚 Fonzie before they got their own show.
Lucas also considered her for the role of Princess Leia in B次元官网网址淪tar Wars,B次元官网网址� a role that went to Carrie Fisher.
In the past three decades, Williams made guest appearances on dozens of TV series including B次元官网网址�7th Heaven,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址�8 Simple RulesB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淟aw and Order: Special Victims Unit.B次元官网网址� In 2013, she and Marshall appeared in a B次元官网网址淟averne & ShirleyB次元官网网址� tribute episode of the Nickelodeon series B次元官网网址淪am and Cat.B次元官网网址�
Last year, Williams appeared in a one-woman stage show full of stories from her career, B次元官网网址� ,B次元官网网址� at a theater in Palm Springs, California, near her home in Desert Hot Springs.
Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of musical group the Hudson Brothers from 1982 until 2000. Hudson was father to her two children. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson.
B次元官网网址擜ndrew Dalton, The Associated Press
