Cindy Williams’ Hasty Exit From Laverne & Shirley Wasn’t A Coincidence

A chance opportunity led to the creation of the characters of Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney, per The New York Times. Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall had been working on creating a show for a production company where Marshall’s brother Garry asked the two to appear on the hit sitcom “Happy Days.” Williams and Marshall developed Shirley and Laverne to be dates for the show’s leading characters — Fonzie, played by Henry Winkler, and Richie, played by Ron Howard (shown above). Laverne and Shirley proved to be popular with TV audiences, and the two actresses got their own show.

Williams believed that the type of humor on “Laverne & Shirley” helped shape the show’s popularity. “We made sure the joke was always on us, we never made fun of anyone else,” she said, per The Hollywood Reporter. The series also highlighted what it meant for two young women living paycheck to paycheck, she explained. “We also wanted to keep the wolf nipping at our heels, like how are we going to pay rent, how are we going to pay the electric bill.”

The comedic chemistry between Williams and Marshall served as the heart of the show. So it took Williams by surprise when she found herself being written out of the series. This shocking move came after Williams ran into some trouble trying to negotiate a new contract.