Just months after the two characters first appeared on Happy Days, Williams introduced the bubbly Shirley Feeney—alongside Penny Marshall’s tough-talking Laverne DeFazio—in the premiere episode of the slapstick sitcom Laverne & Shirley in January 1976.
The Shirley Feeney of the spinoff series was reworked to be a more idealistic foil to Laverne’s streetwise counterpart, whereas the Laverne and Shirley of Happy Days had been equally brassy.
Cindy passed away barely four years after Penny Marshall, who portrayed the iconic character of Laverne in Laverne & Shirley, passed away. The popular sitcom, which was a spinoff of Happy Days, followed the lives of two roommates and friends who worked as bottle-cappers in the 1950s at the fictional Shotz Brewery. It was shown from 1976 until 1983.
Cindy Williams’s cause of death: How did Cindy Williams die?
After a brief illness, Cindy Williams, the adored actor best known for playing one half of the classic Laverne & Shirley combo, passed away on Wednesday in Los Angeles. She was 75 years old.
Williams’ children, Zak and Emily Hudson were represented by a family representative in a statement given to the Associated Press on Monday.
On January 25, she passed away in Los Angeles, California.
