Cindy Williams

Williams died in Los Angeles at age 75 on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family ...

Laverne & Shirley was known almost as much for its opening theme as the show itself. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humour and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.” “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege.

Cindy Williams, the dynamic actress known best for playing the bubbly Shirley Feeney on the beloved sitcom Laverne & Shirley, has died, according to a ...

Cindy Williams, an actress best remembered for her long-running TV role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall's Laverne on the sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” died ...

In the past three decades, Ms. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson. Her marriage to singer Bill Hudson of musical group the Hudson Brothers ended in divorce. The characters of Laverne and Shirley made their first TV appearance as dates of Henry Winkler’s Fonzie before they got their own show. She appeared in the film “Travels With My Aunt” (1972), directed by George Cukor. Her mother was a waitress, and her father was an electronics technician who uprooted the family to Texas for several years to try farming before returning to Southern California. When her demands weren’t met, she walked off the set and filed suit against its production company. Lander Williams’ and Marshall’s chant of “schlemiel, schlimazel” as they skipped together became a cultural phenomenon and oft-invoked piece of nostalgia. That opening would become as popular as the show itself. “Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose, and we used it in the show. Ms.

Cindy Williams was best known for her role as Shirley Feeney in the popular American 1970s sitcom.

The sitcom ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983. "Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. The show was among the most popular on TV at the time and earned Williams a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a TV series for her portrayal of the cheerful Shirley Feeney.

Cindy Williams, the dynamic actor known best for playing the bubbly Shirley Feeney on the beloved sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," has died after a short illness ...

Last year she toured nationally in her one-woman show, "Me, Myself and Shirley," where she shared stories from throughout her career. The hit "Laverne & Shirley" followed, earning six Golden Globe nominations, including two for best comedy series and one for Williams in the best actress in a comedy category. Her career began to take shape when she first appeared as Shirley Feeney on "Happy Days" in 1975.

"Laverne & Shirley" star Cindy Williams, who starred in George Lucas' "American Graffitti" and slew of TV sitcoms, has died.

“I come from such a normal background,” she told The Times. She held odd jobs at a law firm, a bank, IHOP and the Whisky a Go Go to pay for her college books. In high school, she caught the eye of the drama teacher by performing Bob Newhart’s “The Driving Instructor” routine for the school talent show. In 2013, Williams and Marshall notably appeared on the Nickelodeon series “Sam and Cat,” a modern-day “Laverne & Shirley” that starred Jennette McCurdy and pop star Ariana Grande in the title roles. “As much as I wanted to socialize and be a leader, a part of me resisted. She was also a successful movie producer, serving as an associate producer of the 1991 hit comedy “Father of the Bride” with Steve Martin. While her parents and grandmother worked, at age 4, Williams became “an underage home health aide” to a woman who rented a bedroom from her grandmother. Appearing in a cast reunion on “ [Entertainment Tonight](https://www.etonline.com/tv/158963_laverne_and_shirley_cast_set_the_record_straight_about_discord_on_set)” in 2015, Williams spoke highly of her TV comrades. We would be assigned a certain aspect of the history of America and write a spoof on that particular aspect of American history.” It was a fateful meeting with producer Garry Marshall and Fred Roos that put her on the path to skipping down the street chanting “Schlemiel! Though she might have appeared an expert at pratfalls when the show debuted in 1976, Williams was a novice to the sitcom genre. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”

Actor-director Ron Howard remembers his 'American Graffiti' and 'Happy Days' co-star Cindy Williams, who died Wednesday at age 75.

In a series of tweets responding to Williams’ death, Winkler said that [he was feeling sad](https://twitter.com/hwinkler4real/status/1620271983790534656) Monday night. “And so she was like, ‘Here’s how we got to kiss for the camera. The “Apollo 13” director played high school grad Steve and Williams played his girlfriend Laurie — the sister of his best friend Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) — in “American Graffiti” during their last hurrah before the boys left for college back East. Howard said that he had his first kissing scenes with Williams, who was 24 to his 18. He said he “was just so taken by how her intelligence, energy, and sense of humor ... [writer-director Garry Marshall](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-garry-marshall-dies-20160719-snap-story.html) enlisted Williams and [his sister Penny Marshall](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-penny-marshall-appreciation-20181219-story.html) for a guest spot on his popular 1950s-set sitcom “Happy Days.” The pair made a splash during a double date with Howard’s Richie and Henry Winkler’s Fonzie.

Henry Winkler, Nancy Meyers, and Ron Howard have paid tribute to the star, who died after a brief illness last week.

(Williams even auditioned for the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars, which eventually went to the late Carrie Fisher.) Following the settlement, she was written out of the series and Marshall, [who died in 2018](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/12/penny-marshall-obit) at age 75, concluded the show solo. [on the Today show](https://www.today.com/popculture/cindy-williams-reveals-real-reason-she-left-laverne-shirley-t25226) in 2015. At its height, the show earned blockbuster ratings and Williams nabbed a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a comedy. The pair starred as blue-collar roommates and best friends who work at a Milwaukee brewery. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous, and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”

Sharing a photo of the beloved actress on her Instagram Wednesday night, the filmmaker behind movies like Private Benjamin, Parent Trap, and The Holiday ...

She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous, and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.” The film was a remake of a 1950 movie of the same name, which featured Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor. “I was a little nervous. Meyers added, “She changed the course of my life and many others with that idea. And she never took credit for being responsible for that. And she made it happen.”

Nancy Meyers, co-writer and producer of Father of the Bride starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton, says Cindy Williams inspired the 1991 remake.

Meyers also directed a mini-sequel of the 1991 hit, Father of the Bride Part 3(ish), which saw the return of its original cast and was distributed exclusively by Netflix in 2020. Williams was best known for portraying Shirley, one half of friendship opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne in the ABC sitcom and ratings hit Laverne & Shirley. She was also known for her turns in American Graffiti and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation. “She changed the course of my life and many others with that idea. And in a brief anecdote, the writer and producer of the film directed by ex-husband Charles Shyer revealed how the beloved TV icon helped make the ’90s romantic comedy a reality. “What few people know is that it was Cindy’s idea to remake Father of the Bride,” Meyers recalled. After returning home from a trip to Europe following her college graduation, Annie announces she’s engaged to a man after just three months of knowing him. The 1991 Father of the Bride film starred Kimberly Williams, George Newbern, Martin Short, BD Wong and Kieran Culkin alongside Martin and Keaton who played George and Nina, the parents of Williams’ Annie. And she never took credit for being responsible for that,” Meyers wrote. The film was a remake of the 1950 Vincente Minnelli-directed movie of the same name starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor and spawned a 1995 sequel Father of the Bride Part II before being remade again, this time in 2022, starring Andy García and Gloria Estefan and released on HBO Max. Meyers went on to add that Williams not only “made it happen” but altered her professional trajectory in Hollywood as a result — all the while taking little credit for her idea. “She told me she was watching the Spencer Tracey [sic] version on TV one night and thought it would be a great movie to remake.”

The 50th anniversary of the Iola Car Show last summer coincided with the 50th anniversary of the start of filming on “American Graffiti” in 1972.

The car show brought Williams, and castmates Mackenzie Phillips and Candy Clark, to celebrate, reminisce, and sign autographs. The Iola Car Show shared these images with Action 2 News from Iola Car Show photographers The 50th anniversary of the Iola Car Show last summer coincided with the 50th anniversary of the start of filming on “American Graffiti” in 1972.

Cindy Williams, the actress best known for playing Shirley on 'Laverne & Shirley,' is dead at age 75 after a brief illness.

By the end of the series, Williams and Marshall had not gotten along for sometime, but they later reconciled, according to By its third season, the show was the No. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”