Her family told the Associated Press today that the actress died Wednesday after a brief illness.
Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege.
The series was an out-of-the-box smash after premiering in January 1976 on ABC.
Cindy WilliamsGetty Images
The midcentury-set sitcom about a pair of lower-class workers at Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee would finish as the No.
3 series in all of primetime for the 1975-76 season, far outpacingHappy Days.
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The next season,Happy Dayswas the No.
Cindy Williams, left, and Penny Marshall in ‘Laverne & Shirley’
1 in primetime, followed byLaverne & Shirleyat No.
before the title theme Making Our Dreams Come True kicked in.
(It was a minor pop hit in the U.S, and Canada.)
Williams scored a Golden Globe nomination for the role in 1978 and directed a 1981 episode of the series.
The pair were honored with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a 2004 dual ceremony.
I called Penny to tell her.
She asks, How was it?
And I said, You will be simultaneously honored and humiliated.
And that was the spirit that those two characters really embodied.
Thats what I love about them.
Watch part of the interview below.
The show only lasted a handful of episodes, though.
Williams, who earned a BAFTA nomination for the pic, also appeared in the 1979 sequelMore American Graffiti.
Among the films and TV shows that reflected the oldies fad wasHappy Days.
Enter Laverne and Shirley.
But beforeLaverne & Shirleyhit the ABC airwaves as America began its bicentennial celebration, Williams was cast inThe Conversation.
It was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar but lost out toThe Godfather Part II.
Williams continued to work steadily afterLaverne & Shirleyended.
