OAN Shannon Kelland
UPDATED 5:30 PM PT – Monday, January 30, 2023
Cindy Williams, who starred in Laverne & Shirley, has died at the age of 75.
According to her family, her death followed a brief illness.
Williams was by far best known for Laverne & Shirley, the Happy Days spinoff that ran on ABC from 1976 until 1983.
Her costar, Penny Marshall, passed away in 2018. She was 75 years old as well.
Following Williams’ death, the star’s children, Zak and Emily Hudson, shared a 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,” they stated to Associated Press.
Prior to staring on the popular show, Williams had starred in director George Lucas’ 1973 film American Graffiti and director Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 movie The Conversation.
Williams portrayed Shirley alongside costar Penny Marshall’s Laverne. In its prime, it was among the most popular shows on TV. Laverne & Shirley was set in the 1950’s. Like Happy Days, the pals from high school shared a basement apartment in Milwaukee and worked as bottle cappers for the Schotz brewery.
Laverne & Shirley debuted as number 1 in the ratings on January 26th, 1976. It went on to become the highest-rated series for the 1977-1978 and 1978-1979 seasons.
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