Laverne & Shirley's Cindy Williams Talks Success, Midlife and Her New Show

CIndy Williams

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EPISODE LINK

EPISODE SUMMARY:

From acting in a myriad of famous projects, including starring on the hit television show Laverne and Shirley, to creating her own one-woman comedy show, Cindy Williams has charmed millions across the world with her talent and humor. In today’s episode, we sat down with Cindy to discuss her one-woman show, Me, Myself, and Shirley, her love of theater, how she met Jim Morrison, and her time working on Laverne and Shirley.

First, we asked Cindy about how she created Me, Myself and Shirley. She told us that she received a phone call from a creator of Nunsense where they talked about her performing a one-woman show. Eventually, their conversation turned into Me, Myself, and Shirley, a 90-minute comedy special. The show will be performing in various locations across the Midwest, including Palm Springs, Phoenix, Santa Fe, and more. Shirley also told us that Renée Taylor, well known for her role as Sylvia on the television series The Nanny, gave her joke advice for her own woman show. Since the name of the show is Me, Myself, and Shirley, Renée told her to make a joke about the show’s name doesn’t relate to any sex tape. Cindy ended up incorporating the joke, which has been a hit amongst audiences.

When asked about her love of theater, Cindy explained that her passion began in childhood. As a little girl, she was always putting on shows in her garage. However, her exposure to theater did not begin until high school. After trying out for the school talent show, she was approached by the drama teacher, who told her she was invited to join their school’s play production. At the time, Cindy wanted to be a nurse, but decided to give acting a try. She loved it and even ended up being a theater arts major in college. She learned a lot about theater and later found an agency. She also told us that, out of every form of acting, theater is her favorite. Along with acting jobs, during her career, Cindy worked as a waitress at a place called Whiskey Go-go. One night, while waiting tables, she happened to run into Jim Morrison. She ended up taking his order for a bottle of jack for his table, which led to her being caught in the middle of a vicious argument between Jim Morrison and her boss, who refused to serve him the bottle of Jack. After their interactions got heated and Cindy got emotional, both Morrison and her coworker revealed the entire thing was a prank. We also asked Cindy about her feelings on being typecast. She told us that for a long time, she was only ever cast as the supportive friend role. She wanted to do comedy, but it wasn’t until she began working on Laverne and Shirley that she was able to break free of the typecast mold.

Cindy also told us the story behind Boo-Boo Kitty, a recurring joke on Laverne and Shirley. She said that originally, Boo-Boo kitty was an actual cat she and her sister had. One day on set, while rehearsing a scene, Cindy forgot her line and decided to improvise. She pulled a prop cat from beneath the bed and called it Boo-Boo Kitty. The writers liked it so much that they began writing scenes with Boo-Boo Kitty in them. When asked about her experienced working on the television show Happy Days, Cindy explained that initially, both she and Penny Marshall had never seen the show. Both women were offered the parts without having watched a single episode, so they ended up playing their characters as smoking cigarettes and being more provocative. While the director of the episode was furious at their choices, the executives at the network loved their performances and offered them a spin-off. Cindy also spoke to us about her experience working with Penny Marshall, her Laverne and Shirley co-star. Cindy said that they always had fun together, and that no matter what, they could both walk into a room, find something funny, and make the exact same comment about it. Their humor was the same, which helped keep the jokes on the show fresh and entertaining. Cindy went on to tell us about her and Penny’s experiences meeting share, including running into Cher on the way to the premiere of Grease and buying pants that Cher complimented them both on.

Finally, we asked Cindy about the success of Laverne and Shirley. She explained that at the time, the show’s popularity didn’t fully sink in. Despite being shown that they had millions of viewers, she didn’t connect that it was her project, for she was busy working at the time.

Cindy Williams

Cindy Williams is most recognized for her role as “Shirley Feeney” in the TV

comedy series Laverne and Shirley.

Born in Van Nuys, California, Cindy first became interested in acting during high school. After graduation she attended L. A. City College where she majored in Theatre Arts. After leaving college, she landed her first television roles on Room 222, Nanny and the Professor and Love, American Style. Some guest-starring roles include Law and Order: SVU, 7th Heaven and 8 Simple Rules. Other credits include starring in an episode of The Odd Couple for CBS, A Dream of Christmas for Hallmark Channel and Sam and Cat for Nickelodeon.

Cindy’s stage credits include, among other productions, the national tour of

Grease playing Miss Lynch, the national tour of Deathtrap with Elliot Gould, The Female Odd Couple with Joanne Worley, Steel Magnolias as Ouiser Boudreaux and, in 2007, she made her Broadway debut in the role of Mrs. Tottendale in the award-winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone. She also appeared as Rev. Mother Mary Regina in Nunsense and Nunset Boulevard; The Nunsense Hollywood Bowl Show. Most recently, Cindy appeared in Menopause: The Musical in Las Vegas for three years, then reprising her role at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine. She also co-starred in the premiere of Middletown with Don Most, Didi Conn and Adrien Zmed at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas as well reprising her role with Most, Conn and Zmed at The Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Cindy has enjoyed the privilege of working with extraordinary directors. Her first film was for Roger Corman in Gas-s-s-s with Talia Shire and Ben Vereen. She appeared in Travels with My Aunt with Maggie Smith, directed by George Cukor, and The Conversation with Gene Hackman, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. She co-starred with Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford in American Graffiti directed by George Lucas, a low-budget film that went on to become a box office smash and film classic.

Among her favorite honors are her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, her TV Land award for Fan Favorite as well as winning Best Actress at the L. A. Comedy Film Festival for the Indy film Stealing Roses. Cindy also garnered a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) nomination for best supporting actress in American Graffiti. Unfortunately, she was beat out by Ingrid Bergman. Cindy still wonders how the heck that happened.

Her book Shirley, I Jest!: A Storied Life was released to much critical acclaim and is now available in paperback.