Cindy Williams

Williams best known for playing Shirley on the popular “Happy Days” spinoff that ran from 1976 to 1983.

“Happy Days,” starring her “American Graffiti” co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the following year. Her part in Lucas’ “American Graffiti” would become a defining role. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson. Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of musical group the Hudson Brothers from 1982 until 2000. “Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it in the show. Her family moved to Dallas soon after she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, where she would take up acting while attending Birmingham High School and a major in theater arts at LA City College. “Cindy scoots by me to make her entrance and with a glorious grin, says: ‘Show’s cookin’!’ Amen. Williams’ and Marshall’s chant of “schlemiel, schlimazel” as they skipped along together became a cultural phenomenon and oft-invoked piece of nostalgia. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.” In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted her working hours curtailed. “Singing this song with so much gratitude for both of you ladies,” Dawson tweeted. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege.

Cindy Williams' children said the Californian-born actress died following a short illness.

Her career began to take shape after her first appearance as Shirley Feeney on ‘Happy Days’ in 1975. “We were paired as actors on six different projects. ‘Happy Days’ star and film director She co-starred with the late Penny Marshall as one half of a dynamic friend duo whose escapades drove the show’s eight seasons from 1976 to 1983. Cindy Williams, best known for her role as bubbly Shirley Feeney on Happy Days’ spin-off ‘Laverne & Shirley’ has died aged 75. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege.

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.”

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.”

Williams best known for playing Shirley on the popular “Happy Days” spinoff that ran from 1976 to 1983.

“Happy Days,” starring her “American Graffiti” co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the following year. Her part in Lucas’ “American Graffiti” would become a defining role. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson. Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of musical group the Hudson Brothers from 1982 until 2000. “Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it in the show. Her family moved to Dallas soon after she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, where she would take up acting while attending Birmingham High School and a major in theater arts at LA City College. “Cindy scoots by me to make her entrance and with a glorious grin, says: ‘Show’s cookin’!’ Amen. Williams’ and Marshall’s chant of “schlemiel, schlimazel” as they skipped along together became a cultural phenomenon and oft-invoked piece of nostalgia. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.” In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted her working hours curtailed. “Singing this song with so much gratitude for both of you ladies,” Dawson tweeted. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege.

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.

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.”

Cindy Williams, the actress who played Shirley in the iconic 1970s television show Laverne & Shirley has died. Her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, ...

Later in her career, Marshall made her name as a director, creating such classics as the classic 1990s baseball film A League of Their Own, which was rebooted as a television series by Prime Video. Her costar Penny Marshell passed away in 2018, also at the age of 75. Cindy Williams, the actress who played Shirley in the iconic 1970s television show Laverne & Shirley has died.