Hollywood pays tribute to ‘Laverne & Shirley’ star David Lander: ‘RIP Squiggy’

3 min readDec 6, 2020

quiggy’

Sun, December 6, 2020, 6:03 AM GMT+6·5 min read

David L. Lander (L), died on Dec. 4, 2020 from complications of multiple sclerosis. Depicted here with Michael McKean (R). The two played best friends Lenny and Squiggy on the classic television show “Laverne & Shirley.” (Photo: Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

Celebrity tributes are pouring in for Laverne & Shirley star David Lander who died on Friday at age 73, including from Michael McKean who played “Lenny” to David’s “Squiggy” on the classic television show.

The actor’s wife Kathy Lander told TMZ that David died at 6:30 p.m. at Los Angeles’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center due to complications from multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that damages the brain and spinal cord. Kathy and David’s daughter Natalie, and her husband, were by his side at the time of his death.

David played Andrew “Squiggy” Squiggman on the sitcom that aired from 1976 to 1983, with pal Lenny Kosnowski, played by Michael McKean. The tough-talking truck drivers lived upstairs from the show’s namesake characters Laverne DeFazio (played by Penny Marshall, who later became a successful director) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams), best friends and former factory workers.

On Saturday, McKean of Better Call Saul and Batman, posted a vintage photo of the pair standing back-to-back. The men created the legendary characters while attending college at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., and together joined the cast of Laverne & Shirley, a spin-off of Happy Days, as writers before moving into acting roles.

According to People, David, who played in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Scary Movie, was diagnosed with MS in 1984, but only announced his illness in his 1999 book Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn’t Tell Nobody. He was also very involved with MS advocacy.

David L. Lander, depicted in 2013, died on Dec. 4, 2020. (Photo: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

The Twiter hashtag #RIPSquiggy took off while celebs shared memories. Comedian Kathy Griffin and Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormck left heartbreak emojis under McKean’s post while director Kevin Smith tweeted, “This funny man made my childhood happier with his work on “Laverne & Shirley” and his guest appearance on @TheSimpsons as himself still makes me laugh today (“Hello, Laverne…”). Rest In Peace David, and thank you: There’s a little Lenny & Squiggy in the DNA of Jay & Silent Bob.”

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Hollywood pays tribute to ‘Laverne & Shirley’ star David Lander: ‘RIP Squiggy’

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