David Lander, Squiggy From “Laverne & Shirley,” Has Died
Well, heaven just got a whole lot funnier, because David Lander, one half of the iconic scene-stealing duo that was Lenny and Squiggy, died last night from complications of multiple sclerosis. David Lander was 73.
David Lander’s wife of over 40 years, Kathy Fields, tells TMZ that he died at around 6:30 pm last night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Kathy, their daughter Natalie, and Natalie’s husband were with David when he passed. David was diagnosed with MS in 1984, and after going public in 1999, he worked with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, traveling around and speaking about his battle with MS.
David Lander (born name: David Leonard Landau) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and knew he wanted to get into acting very early on. David went to the High School for the Performing Arts and continued to study acting at NYU and Carnegie Mellon University. At Carnegie Mellon is where he met his partner in funny Michael McKean and the two put their brains together to create Lenny and Squiggy. They moved to Los Angeles and put out an album called Lenny and the Squigtones. It was today that I learned that Michael and David didn’t first grace screens together on Laverne & Shirley. They were both in the 1979 comedy 1941, which was directed by Steven Spielberg. They were also in the 1980 movie Used Cars, which was directed by Robert Zemeckis.
David guest-starred on a few shows, including The Bob Newhart Show and Rhoda, before bringing the Rockabilly Eddie Munster hotness of Squiggy to Laverne & Shirley. Lenny Kosnowski and Andrew “Squiggy” Squiggman were on all eight seasons of Laverne & Shirley, which ran from 1976 to 1983. And Lenny & Squiggy also made an appearance on Happy Days.
After Laverne & Shirley ended, David was in a shit ton of shows like Twin Peaks, Married…with Children, Head of the Class, The Love Boat, Highway to Heaven, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. And he played a radio announcer in A League Of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall. David also brought his voice to a million and one animated shows and movies. He voiced characters in Dr. Doolittle 2, A Bug’s Life, Superman: The Animated Series, Jungle Cubs, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Garfield Show, and Oswald, where he and Michael McKean played penguin cousins Henry and Louie.
Michael McKean paid tribute to the Squiggy to his Lenny today:
— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) December 5, 2020
And everybody has made the same joke, but it’s true. I’m sure that Laverne was sitting on her sofa in heaven last night when Squiggy, the original Kramer, busted in with a legendary, “HEA-LOW!”
Rest in peace, David Lander.
Pic: Getty