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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cindy Williams, who was among the astir recognizable stars successful America successful the 1970s and 80s for her relation arsenic Shirley other Penny Marshall’s Laverne connected the beloved sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” has died, her household said Monday.
Williams died successful Los Angeles astatine property 75 connected Wednesday aft a little illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said successful a connection released done household spokeswoman Liza Cranis.
“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought america insurmountable sadness that could ne'er genuinely beryllium expressed,” the connection said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joyousness and privilege. She was 1 of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a superb consciousness of wit and a glittering tone that everyone loved.”
Williams worked with immoderate of Hollywood’s astir elite directors successful a movie vocation that preceded her full-time determination to television, appearing successful George Cukor’s 1972 “Travels With My Aunt,” George Lucas’ 1973 “American Graffiti” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” from 1974.
But she was by acold champion known for “Laverne & Shirley,” the “Happy Days” spinoff that ran connected ABC from 1976 to 1983 that successful its premier was among the astir fashionable shows connected TV.
Williams played the straitlaced Shirley Feeney to Marshall’s much libertine Laverne DeFazio connected the amusement astir a brace of blue-collar roommates who toiled connected the assembly enactment of a Milwaukee brewery successful the 1950s and 60s.
“They were beloved characters,” Williams told The Associated Press successful 2002.
DeFazio was quick-tempered and defensive; Feeney was naive and trusting. The actors drew upon their ain lives for crippled inspiration.
“We’d marque up a database astatine the commencement of each play of what talents we had,” Marshall told the AP successful 2002. “Cindy could interaction her lingua to her chemoreceptor and we utilized it successful the show. I did pat dance.”
Williams told the AP successful 2013 that she and Marshall had “very antithetic personalities” but tales of the 2 clashing during the making of the amusement were “a spot overblown.”
The bid was the uncommon web deed astir working-class characters, with its self-empowering opening song: “Give america immoderate chance, we’ll instrumentality it, work america immoderate rule, we’ll interruption it.”
That opening would go arsenic fashionable arsenic the amusement itself. Williams’ and Marshall’s chant of “schlemiel, schlimazel” arsenic they skipped unneurotic became a taste improvement and oft-invoked portion of nostalgia.
Marshall, whose brother, Garry Marshall, co-created the series, died successful 2018.
The amusement besides starred Michael McKean and David Lander arsenic Laverne and Shirley’s oddball hangers-on Lenny and Squiggy. Lander died successful 2020.
As ratings dropped successful the sixth season, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California, trading their brewery jobs for enactment astatine a section store.
In 1982, Williams became large and wanted her moving hours curtailed. When her demands weren’t met, she walked disconnected the set, and filed suit against its accumulation company. She appeared infrequently during the last season.
Williams was calved 1 of 2 sisters successful the Van Nuys country of Los Angeles successful 1947. Her household moved to Dallas soon aft she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, wherever she would instrumentality up acting portion attending Birmingham High School and large successful theatre arts astatine LA City College.
Her acting vocation began with tiny roles successful tv starting successful 1969, with appearances connected “Room 222,” “Nanny and the Professor” and ”Love, American Style.”
Her portion successful Lucas’ “American Graffiti” would go a defining role. The movie was a forerunner to a nostalgia roar for the 1950s and aboriginal 1960s that would follow. “Happy Days,” starring her “American Graffiti” co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the pursuing year. The characters of Laverne and Shirley made their archetypal TV quality arsenic dates of Henry Winkler’s Fonzie earlier they got their ain show.
Lucas besides considered her for the relation of Princess Leia successful “Star Wars,” a relation that went to Carrie Fisher.
In the past 3 decades Williams made impermanent appearances connected dozens of TV bid including “7th Heaven,” “8 Simple Rules” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” In 2013, she and Marshall appeared successful a “Laverne & Shirley” tribute occurrence of the Nickelodeon bid “Sam and Cat.”
Last year, Williams appeared successful a one-woman signifier amusement afloat of stories from her career, “ Me, Myself and Shirley,” astatine a theatre successful Palm Springs, California, adjacent her location successful Desert Hot Springs.
Williams was joined to vocalist Bill Hudson of philharmonic radical the Hudson Brothers from 1982 until 2000. Hudson was begetter to her 2 children. He was antecedently joined to Goldie Hawn and is besides the begetter of histrion Kate Hudson.
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton connected Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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