Cindy Williams, who played sweet, wide-eyed Shirley Feeney on the “Happy Days” spinoff “Laverne & Shirley,” has died. She was 75.
Penny Marshall had been making minor inroads in Hollywood for several years before the iconic Laverne and Shirley characters debuted as Richie and Fonzie’s double dates on an episode of “Happy Days” in 1975.“When you can find those characters with attitudes who are in sync, they are funny and charming to watch. You see aspects of yourself in the characters’ attitudes,” Williams told. “Usually in sitcoms, the characters you play are close to you.
It was a fateful meeting with producer Garry Marshall and Fred Roos that put her on the path to chanting “Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated” while skipping in the “Laverne & Shirley’s” opening sequence.Marshall, Williams recalled in her memoir, “Shirley, I Jest!” turned to Roos and said, “I like her. She’s like a pudgy Barbara Harris,” the Tony-winning Broadway comic. They brought her on to their newly formed company, Compass Management.
They had been writing together for a few months when Garry Marshall called to ask if they would like to guest on his ABC series “Happy Days,” reuniting Williams with her “American Graffiti” costar Ron Howard. Co-created by Garry Marshall, Lowell Ganz and Mark Rothman, the spinoff followed the escapades of the blue-collar gals. It launched on ABC in January 1976 and soared to the top of the ratings, becoming the No. 1-rated show for the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons.
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