It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Cindy Williams, a beloved actress best known for her role as Shirley in the iconic sitcom “Laverne & Shirley.” Williams passed away at the age of 75 after a brief illness in Los Angeles.
Her children Zak and Emily Hudson released a statement through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis, expressing their sadness and love for their mother.
“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 said.
Before her full-time move to television, Williams had a successful film career, appearing in films such as “Travels With My Aunt” (1972), “American Graffiti” (1973) and “The Conversation” (1974). However, it was “Laverne & Shirley” that cemented her place in the hearts of TV fans everywhere. She played the straight-laced Shirley Feeney to Penny Marshall’s Laverne DeFazio, in the show about blue-collar roommates working on an assembly line in a Milwaukee brewery.
In recent decades, Williams made guest appearances on several TV series, including “7th Heaven,” “8 Simple Rules” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” In 2013, she and Marshall appeared in a “Laverne & Shirley” tribute episode of the Nickelodeon series “Sam and Cat.”
In 2020, Williams showcased her talent and her stories in a one-woman stage show called “Me, Myself and Shirley” in Palm Springs, California. Her glittering spirit and brilliant sense of humor will be greatly missed.
