Cindy Williams Has Died At 75

January 30, 2023 / Posted by:

This year’s Emmy’s In Memoriam just got longer (and the year is still young) because we have sadly lost another TV legend. Cindy Williams died on Wednesday after a short illness. Cindy’s children, Zak and Emily Hudson, delivered the news of sadness in this 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.”

Cindy was 75.

Cindy Williams was born Cynthia Jane Williams in Los Angeles, CA, and grew up in L.A. and Dallas, TX. After graduating from high school, she majored in theater at Los Angeles City College. Once done with college, she started working in Hollywood right away. Cindy was in episodes of TV shows like Room 222, Barefoot in the Park, Nanny and the Professor, and Love, American Style before she played Laurie Henderson in American Graffiti. That performance got Cindy a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress in A Supporting Role. Behold, Cindy Williams proving she was also a master at French fries-eating acting:

Cindy followed up American Graffiti with a role in The Conversation, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It was through Francis Ford Coppola’s production company, American Zoetrope, that Cindy really got to know her future sitcom soulmate Penny Marshall. They apparently first met on a double date. The two were hired to write comedy for a Zoetrope production, and then Penny’s brother Garry Marshall, asked them to guest star on one episode of his show Happy Days. They were asked to play Richie and Fonzie’s dates, legendary Fleet Week trollops Laverne De Fazio, and her best friend, Shirley Feeney. They easily stole every spotlight:

And the rest was history. Because they were so popular, Gary pitched a spin-off series starring Laverne and Shirley. But as we know, the Laverne and Shirley from Happy Days were de-trollop’d and given more depth for their spin-off show. Cindy Williams’ Shirley became a wholesome daisy of perkiness. Laverne & Shirley, which was originally titled Laverne De Fazio & Shirley Feeney, debuted on January 27, 1976 and ran for eight seasons. And the show gave us an intro that will forever be embedded into many of our brains. I don’t know much but I do know the Laverne & Shirley theme song from start to finish.

By its third season, it was the most-watched TV program in America. During the show’s run, Penny and Cindy also voiced Laverne and Shirley for the 1980s cartoon of pure foolery, Laverne & Shirley in the Army.

After Laverne & Shirley ended, Cindy starred in several television movies, including Tricks of the Trade (with Markie Post) and a 1990 TV movie version of Steel Magnolias that was originally supposed to be a full series. Yes, Cindy Williams played M’Lynn (the role played by Sally Field in the movie) and yes, it really existed. Cindy then starred in the sitcoms Normal Life and Getting By. She guest-starred on episodes of Touched by an Angel, 7th Heaven, 8 Simple Rules, Girlfriends, For Your Love, and Drive. And she reunited with Penny Marshall for a 2013 episode of Sam & Cat. Penny died a few years later in 2018.

Cindy Williams was also a star of the THI-TURR. She was in touring productions of Grease, Deathtrap, and Moon Over Buffalo and made her Broadway debut in The Drowsy Chaperone.

In 1982, Cindy married Bill Hudson of the Hudson Brothers (and Goldie Hawn’s ex-husband and Kate Hudson’s dad). Their daughter Emily was born in 1982, and their son Zak in 1986. They were married for 18 years before divorcing in 2000.

Hopefully when Cindy Williams checks into her VIP suite in Heaven, she finds Shirley’s beloved Boo Boo Kitty waiting for her on her bed:

Rest in peace, Cindy Williams.

Pic: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content

Tags:
SHARE
Our commenting rules: Don't be racist or bigoted, or post comments like "Who cares?", or have multiple accounts, or repost a comment that was deleted by a mod, or post NSFW pics/videos/GIFs, or go off topic when not in an Open Post, or post paparazzi/event/red carpet pics from photo agencies due to copyright infringement issues. Also, promoting adblockers, your website, or your forum is not allowed. Breaking a rule may result in your Disqus account getting permanently or temporarily banned. New commenters must go through a period of pre-moderation. And some posts may be pre-moderated so it could take a minute for your comment to appear if it's approved. If you have a question or an issue with comments, email: michaelk@dlisted.com

src="https://c.statcounter.com/922697/0/f674ac4a/1/"
alt="drupal analytics" >