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Cindy Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams as Shirley Feeney in 1976 | |
| Born | Cynthia Jane Williams (1947-08-22)August 22, 1947 Los Angeles, California |
| Died | January 25, 2023(2023-01-25) (aged 75) Los Angeles, California |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park,Hollywood Hills, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1970–2023 |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Cynthia Jane Williams (August 22, 1947 – January 25, 2023) was an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcomsHappy Days (1975–1979), andLaverne & Shirley (1976–1982). She also appeared inAmerican Graffiti (1973),The Conversation (1974),Mr. Ricco (1975), andMore American Graffiti (1979).
Williams was born inVan Nuys, Los Angeles on August 22, 1947. Her mother Cindy was a waitress and her father Beachard “Bill” Williams worked at an electronics manufacturing company.[1][2] The family moved toDallas when she was a year old and returned to Los Angeles when she was ten years old.[3] She had a sister named Carol Ann.[citation needed]
Williams wrote and acted at a church during childhood and later acted in productions atBirmingham High School; she graduated in 1965, a year behindSally Field. She attendedLos Angeles City College where she majored in theater.[3]
After college, Williams began her professional career by landing national commercials, which includedFoster Grant sunglasses andTWA.[3] Her first roles in television, among others, were onRoom 222,[3]Nanny and the Professor, andLove, American Style.
Williams accompanied an actor-friend fromLos Angeles City College who needed a scene partner for the audition and was also accepted atThe Actors Studio West, but rarely attended due to acting commitments.[3][4][5] Williams picked up important film roles early in her career:George Cukor'sTravels with My Aunt (1972); as Laurie Henderson,Ron Howard's character's high school sweetheart inGeorge Lucas'sAmerican Graffiti (1973) for which she earned aBAFTA nomination as Best Supporting Actress;[6] andFrancis Ford Coppola'sThe Conversation (1974). She auditioned along with thousands of others, for Lucas'sStar Wars for the role ofPrincess Leia, but Leia was ultimately played byCarrie Fisher because Lucas wished to cast unknowns, as inAmerican Graffiti.[7][8]
Williams metPenny Marshall, first on a double date, and later atFrancis Ford Coppola’sZoetrope company.[9] The company hired them as comedy writers, because "they wanted two women"[10][11] on a prospective TV spoof for theBicentennial.[3] While the two were writing for Zoetrope, Penny Marshall's brother,Garry Marshall, called to ask if they would like to make an appearance on an episode ofHappy Days, a television series he produced.[12]
In 1975, Williams was cast as a fun-loving brewery bottle capper,[3]Shirley Feeney, in an episode ofHappy Days with Penny who played her best friend and roommateLaverne De Fazio. The girls were cast as "sure-thing"[3][10] dates ofRichie andFonzie (Henry Winkler). Their appearance proved so popular that Garry Marshall commissioned a spin-off series for the characters of Shirley and Laverne. Williams continued her role on the very successfulLaverne & Shirley series from 1976 until 1982. At one point during its run, the series was the number one rated show on television. Williams was praised for her portrayal of Shirley Feeney. She left the show after the second episode of the show'seighth and what would become its final season, after she became pregnant with her first child. The show's various producers were not enthusiastic that Williams was pregnant. Williams and co-star Penny Marshall had also been feuding for quite some time on the set long before Williams became pregnant.[13] (They would reconcile many years later.[14][15]) The success of the TV series led to a short-lived Saturday morning animated seriesLaverne & Shirley in the Army (1981–82), created byHanna-Barbera.[16]
In 1979, she reprised her role of Laurie fromAmerican Graffiti in its sequel,More American Graffiti.
In 1985, Williams starred in the ABC sitcom pilotJoanna, which aired as a special on April 30 of that year.[17] The premise involved Williams's character, Joanna, following her boyfriend from Los Angeles to New York, though he leaves her for another woman. Joanna then decides to stay in New York, becoming the operations manager of a trucking company. The pilot was not picked up as a series. That same year, Williams starred in thesci-ficomedyUFOria alongsideFred Ward andHarry Dean Stanton, a movie which was already completed in 1981.
In 1990, Williams starred in an unsold pilot forCBS that was adapted from the 1989 filmSteel Magnolias.[18] Williams was cast as M'Lynn Eatenton, the role that was played bySally Field in the film. Also in 1990, Williams returned to series TV in the short-lived sitcomNormal Life[19] and, a couple of years later, reunited with formerLaverne & Shirley producersThomas L. Miller andRobert L. Boyett to star in their family sitcomGetting By (1993–94).[20] She guest-starred on several television shows, including two episodes of8 Simple Rules.
Williams performed onstage in the national tours ofGrease,Deathtrap, andMoon Over Buffalo as well as a regional production ofNunsense. She reunited with herLaverne & Shirley co-starEddie Mekka in a November 2008 regional production of theRenée Taylor-Joseph Bologna comedy playIt Had to Be You.[21]
She made herBroadway debut as daffy Mrs. Tottendale inThe Drowsy Chaperone at theMarquis Theatre on December 11, 2007, succeedingJo Anne Worley in the role which was first played on Broadway byGeorgia Engel.[22]
Williams reunited with Penny Marshall on the TV seriesSam & Cat in the episode "#SalmonCat" (2013).[23][24][25] In 2015, her memoirShirley, I Jest! (co-written with Dave Smitherman) was published.[26] In the same year, Williams engaged incelebrity branding for the home care service Visiting Angels.[27]
Williams marriedBill Hudson of the musical trioThe Hudson Brothers in 1982. They had two children, Emily and Zachary before divorcing in 2000.[28]
Williams was aRoman Catholic.[29][30]
Williams died in Los Angeles on January 25, 2023, at age 75, following a brief illness.[31][32]
Williams was interred atForest Lawn Memorial Park inHollywood Hills, Los Angeles.[citation needed]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Gas-s-s-s | Marissa | |
| 1971 | Drive, He Said | Manager's Girlfriend | |
| 1972 | Beware! The Blob | Randy's Girl | |
| 1972 | Travels with My Aunt | Tooley | |
| 1973 | The Killing Kind | Lori Davis | |
| 1973 | American Graffiti | Laurie Henderson | Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role[3] |
| 1974 | The Conversation | Ann | |
| 1975 | Mr. Ricco | Jamison | |
| 1976 | The First Nudie Musical | Rosie | |
| 1979 | More American Graffiti | Laurie Henderson Bolander | |
| 1983 | The Creature Wasn't Nice | Annie McHugh | |
| 1985 | UFOria | Arlene Stewart | |
| 1985 | The Joy of Natural Childbirth | Herself | |
| 1989 | Big Man on Campus | Diane Girard | |
| 1989 | Rude Awakening | June Margolin | |
| 1991 | Bingo | Natalie Devlin | |
| 1997 | Meet Wally Sparks | Emily Preston | |
| 2002 | The Biggest Fan | Debbie's Mom | |
| 2006 | The Legend of William Tell | Jillian | |
| 2012 | Stealing Roses | Rose | Also associate producer |
| 2018 | Waiting in the Wings: Still Waiting | Rosie | |
| 2020 | Canaan Land | Talk Show Guest |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–1971 | Room 222 | Rhoda Zagor / Rita Zagor | 3 episodes |
| 1970 | My World and Welcome to It | Lydia #2 | Episode: "Child's Play" |
| 1970 | Barefoot in the Park | Agnes | Episode: "The Marriage Proposal" |
| 1971 | Nanny and the Professor | 2nd Coed | Episode: "The Art of Relationships" |
| 1971 | The Funny Side | Teenage Wife | 6 episodes |
| 1971 | Getting Together | Cathy | Episode: "Cathy's Clown" |
| 1973 | Love, American Style | Karen Brown / Naomi Brubaker | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Hawaii Five-O | Sue Reynolds | Episode: "Secret Witness" |
| 1974 | The Migrants | Betty | Television film |
| 1974 | Cannon | June Bowers | Episode: "The Stalker" |
| 1975 | Insight | Flora | Episode: "Somewhere Before" |
| 1975 | Police Story | Joanna | Episode: "Test of Brotherhood" |
| 1975–1979 | Happy Days | Shirley Feeney | 5 episodes |
| 1976 | Petrocelli | Carol Janssen | Episode: "Survival" |
| 1976–1982 | Laverne & Shirley | Shirley Feeney | 159 episodes Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy(1978)[3] |
| 1977 | Saturday Night Live | Velocity / Self | Episode: "Live from Mardi Gras" |
| 1978 | Suddenly, Love | Regina Malloy | Television film |
| 1979–1980 | CHiPs | Cindy Williams | 2 episodes |
| 1981–1982 | Laverne & Shirley in the Army | Shirley Feeney (voice) | 13 episodes |
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour | Shirley Feeney (voice) | Episode: "The Speed Demon Get-Away Caper" |
| 1985 | When Dreams Come True | Susan Matthews | Television film |
| 1985 | Joanna | Joanna Weston | Television film |
| 1986 | Help Wanted: Kids | Lisa Burke | Television film |
| 1986 | The Leftovers | Heather Drew | Television film |
| 1988 | Save the Dog! | Becky | Television film |
| 1988 | Tricks of the Trade | Catherine | Television film |
| 1990 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen | Rita Sue Bliss | Television film |
| 1990 | Normal Life | Anne Harlow | 13 episodes |
| 1990 | Steel Magnolias | M'Lynn Eatenton | Television film |
| 1990 | Menu for Murder | Connie Mann | Television film |
| 1991 | Earth Angel | Judith | Television film |
| 1993–1994 | Getting By | Cathy Hale | 31 episodes |
| 1994 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Wandamae | Episode: "A Bolt from the Blue" |
| 1995 | Escape from Terror: The Teresa Stamper Story | Wanda Walden | Television film |
| 1995 | The Laverne & Shirley Reunion | Herself | Television special |
| 1995 | The Magic School Bus | Gerri Poveri (voice) | Episode: "Ups and Downs" |
| 1996 | Touched by an Angel | Claire | Episode: "Jacob's Ladder" |
| 1996 | The Stepford Husbands | Caroline Knox | Television film |
| 1996 | Hope & Gloria | Connie Carlucci | Episode: "Come Back Lil' Tina" |
| 1999 | The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights | Sue Ellen Caldwell | Television film |
| 2000–2001 | Strip Mall | Herself | 6 episodes |
| 2000–2002 | For Your Love | Ronnie | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | Son of the Beach | Bobbi | Episode: "Grand Prix" |
| 2001 | The Brothers García | Mrs. Barbacoa | Episode: "The Student Buddy" |
| 2001 | The Weakest Link | Herself | Classic TV Stars Edition #2 |
| 2002 | Laverne & Shirley: Together Again | Herself / Shirley Feeney | Television special |
| 2002 | 7th Heaven | Vice Principal Val | Episode: "The Enemy Within" |
| 2002 | Less than Perfect | Joan Casey | Episode: "Meet the Folks" |
| 2003 | 8 Simple Rules | Mary Ellen Doyle | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Nora Hodges | Episode: "Sick" |
| 2004–2005 | Girlfriends | Lisa James | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Drive | House Mother | 3 episodes |
| 2012 | Strawberry Summer | Ruth Yates | Television film[33] |
| 2012 | Are We There Yet? | Erin | Episode: "The Thanksgiving Episode" |
| 2013 | Sam & Cat | Janice Dobbins | Episode: "#SalmonCat" |
| 2016 | The Odd Couple | Vivian | Episode: "Taffy Days" |
| 2016 | A Dream of Christmas | Jayne 'The Angel' | Television film |
