Cindy Williams, who is best known as Shirley Feeney in the smash series, “Laverne & Shirley,” has passed away at age 75, after a brief illness.
Her Early Years
Cynthia Jane Williams was born in Van Nuys, California, on Aug. 22, 1947, the oldest of two daughters.
She acted in plays during her high school years, which included class mate Sally Field, then majored in theater at Los Angeles City College.
She then agreed to be managed by future Disney Legend Garry Marshall and Fred Roos, who got her a lot of commercials, and bit roles in films and TV, including a part on the ABC series “Room 222” in 1969.
Williams landed her first major role in 1973, playing Laurie, the girlfriend of Ron Howard’s Steve in George Lucas’ “American Graffiti.” The film also featured several other rising actors who would become household names including Richard Dreyfuss, Mackenzie Phillips, Suzanne Somers, and Harrison Ford.
Francis Ford Coppola produced “American Graffiti,” and he went on to cast Williams in his 1974 Oscar-nominated film, “The Conversation.”
Shirley Feeney
A few years later Marshall was producing the ABC series “Happy Days,” and cast his sister Penny in the role of Laverne DeFazio, a girl who dated The Fonz.
Needing a best friend for Laverne to bring on a double date with Richie Cunningham, Marshall talked Williams into taking the career-defining role of Shirley Feeney, where she would once again be paired up with her “American Graffiti” costar Howard.
Laverne & Shirley were so popular, they ended up appearing in five episodes of “Happy Days” before they were spun off into their own series.
“Laverne & Shirley,” a series about two Milwaukee brewery workers and their lives as single women, ran on ABC from 1976 until 1983.
A little known fact of the show is that both Williams and Marshall did all of their own stunts on the show, and they eventually were designated Honorary Stuntmen by the Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures.
Her Disney Roles
Following the cancellation of “Laverne & Shirley,” Williams went on to star in two “The Magical World of Disney” TV episodes in 1986: “The Leftovers,” and “Help Wanted: Kids;” along with the 1988 Disney Channel movie “Save the Dog.”
She also appeared in the Disney Channel series “Just Like Family,” a spin-off of the “Help Wanted: Kids” movie that ran for one season in 1989.
Her Later Years
In the 1990’s Williams acted in various series, but found a new love for acting in the 2000’s on stage.
She performed in national tours of “Grease,” “Deathtrap,” and “Moon Over Buffalo,” before making her Broadway debut in 2007 as daffy Mrs. Tottendale in “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
In 2004, both she and Marshall received stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
In 2015, she published her memoir, “Shirley, I Jest!”
She is survived by her children Emily and Zak Hudson, with former husband, musician/actor Bill Hudson of The Hudson Brohers fame.
Her children issued the following statement:
“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed. 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.”
Our hearts go out to family and friends of Cindy Williams during this difficult time.
Ron Howard also posted to his Twitter: “Her unpretentious intelligence, talent, wit & humanity impacted every character she created & person she worked with. We were paired as actors on 6 different projects. #AmericanGraffiti a couple of dramas & then #HappyDays & #laverneandshirley Lucky me. RIP, Cindy”
I loved watching her & Penny Marshall on “Laverne & Shirley” ! They were great together ! Both very funny & great actresses ! It won’t be the same without them ! 😭😭😭
Cheryl
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