Cindy Williams, the “Shirley” half of the hit television sitcom Laverne & Shirley, has died after a brief illness at age 75, according to a statement from her family
Her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement to the Associated Press that passing of their “kind, hilarious mother” has brought the family “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,” according to the statement.
Williams, who starred opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the iconic eight-season sitcom, also starred in classics American Graffiti and the Best Picture-nominated 1974 thriller The Conversation.
A guest appearance as Shirley with Marshall as the wise-cracking Laverne on ABC’s massive Happy Days proved so popular that the duo starred in their own spin-off series, following the friends’ lives as roommates and co-workers at Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee.
Laverne & Shirley – with its “Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated” opening sequence – ran for eight seasons from 1976 to 1983, becoming the most-watched show on television by its third season. It also received six Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nomination.
Williams left the show in its eighth season when she became pregnant with her first child.
Marshall died in 2018.
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