Cindy Williams, who starred in the smash Happy Days spinoff Laverne & Shirley after appearing in George Lucas’ American Graffiti and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, has died.
She was 75. Her family told the Associated Press today that the actress died Wednesday after a brief illness. “The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” reads the statement from her children, Emily and Zak Hudson, relayed through a spokesperson. “Knowing 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.” Williams played Shirley Feeney in Laverne & Shirley opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne DeFazio.
The series was an out-of-the-box smash after premiering in January 1976 on ABC. The characters appeared on briefly on Happy Days — which was created by her Marshall’s brother, Garry Marshall — but made enough of an impression to lead their own series.
Read more on deadline.com