Penny Marshall was born into a show-biz family. Her father being an
industrial filmmaker and her mother taught dance. Penny began acting in the
mid '60s, while her brother, Garry Marshall was pursuing a career as a producer.
Her first major appearance was on "The Danny Thomas Hour" in 1967, and she became a
famous face when her brother hired her for the role of Myrna Turner on "The Odd
Couple" in 1970. She went on to many parts in TV comedy including "Mary Tyler Moore
Show" and "The Bob Newhart Show," but became a star on "Laverne & Shirley" (which
was also produced by her brother, Garry.)
Marshall has gone on to tremendous success behind the scenes as a Director of
feature films like megahits "Big" and "A League of Their Own." She currently can
be seen with her pal Rosie O'Donnell in a series of commercials for K-Mart.
L.A. native Cindy Williams began acting almost immediately after graduating
from Los Angeles City College in the late '60s. She turned up on "Room 222," "Nanny
and the Professor" in addition to a handful of B-flicks before her breakthrough
performance in the classic "American Graffiti." When her film career didn't take off
as quickly as anticipated, Williams accepted the role of the daffy Shirley Feeney, a
role she will always be identified with. While appearing on "Laverne & Shirley,"
Williams also appeared in a number of other productions including the well-received
TV movie "Suddenly Love" and "More American Graffiti."
She has since acted in more than a dozen TV movies and theatrical releases like
"Bingo" and appeared recently in a series of commercials for Jenny Craig's
weight loss clinics. She is married to Bill Hudson (of the Hudson Brothers) and
together they have a production company that has been responsible for the
"Father of the Bride" movies.
Comic actor Michael McKean began acting in the late '60s as a student at
the Carnegie Mellon Institute. He joined a number of theater companies,
and eventually decided to move to Los Angeles in 1970 where he was a charter
member of comedy troupe "The Credibility Gap." After some success with comedy,
McKean and fellow "Gap" members David L. Lander and Harry Shearer were hired to
write for the new comedy show "Laverne and Shirley" in 1975. Penny Marshal had
seen McKean and Lander perform as street kids "Lenny and Ant'ny," and asked
them to do an episode with them on "Laverne & Shirley." They were so popular,
that "Lenny and Squiggy" became regulars and staples of the show.
Since "Laverne & Shirley," McKean has starred in dozens of feature films
including the legendary "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Brady Bunch Movie" and "That
Darn Cat." He was a regular on "Saturday Night Live" for a while in addition to
doing voices for "Animaniacs" and "Dinosaurs." McKean also received an ACE
nomination for his role as Gibe on "Dream On" as well as a nomination for his
part in HBO's "Sessions."
Actor David Lander will always be remembered as sassy "Squiggy" from
"Laverne & Shirley." His first regular gig was with comedy group "The
Credibility Gap" in the early '70s, although he has already worked as a
voice-over artist, providing the cartoon voice for Jerry Lewis on Filmation's
"Will The Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down." Later in the decade, he and partners
Harry Shearer and Michael McKean took a writing gig for the upcoming sitcom,
"Lavern & Shirley." He soon became one of the most famous greasers in history
when his character, Squiggy (which was written as an occasional role) became a
regular on the ratings-topping sitcom.
Lander has acted in a multitude of guest spots since "Laverne & Shirley,"
including "Star Trek: Next Generation," "The Drew Carey Show," "Twin Peaks" and
"The Bold and the Beautiful." He also has provided voices for cartoons like
"Tom and Jerry" and "The Little Mermaid." In 1997, Lander made a career change
and became a baseball scout for the Anaheim Angels.
Eddie Mekka was trained as an opera singer(I can't see him doing opera...), and was an active member of the Worcester
County Light Opera in his home state of Massachusetts. He was also trained in dancing,
and appeared in theater before relocating to Hollywood in the '70s. Playing "The Big
Ragu" on "Laverne & Shirley" was his first part as a television regular, and will
always be his best remembered. While still on "Laverne and Shirley," Mekka moved over
to Garry Marshall's short-lived sitcom "Blansky's Beauties," and later appeared in
"America's Most Wanted," "Moonlighting," and a "Rockford Files" reunion movie.
Phil Foster broke into show biz in the 1930s, and remained a little-known
comic until he became Laverne's father on "Laverne & Shirley." Previously, he
had appeared in a few films like "Conquest of Space" in 1955, "The Patsy"
in 1964 and "Bang the Drum Slowly" in 1973. Later, he appeared in "The Happy
Hooker Goes to Washington" in 1977 and the unforgettable TV disaster movie
"The Great American Traffic Jam." Foster passed away in 1985 at the age of 71.
Betty Garrett is a true Hollywood and Broadway veteran. She began appearing in musicals
in the late '40s, and is known for her work in some of the MGM classics featuring
Gene Kelley and Frank Sinatra. Her career has spanned over 60 years of theater,
musicals and film.
Garrett entered the TV forum on "All in the Family" as Archie's acerbic neighbor,
Irene Lorenzo in 1973, for which she won a Golden Globe award for "Best Supporting
Actress." After leaving "All in the Family" in 1976, she went right back to work on
"Laverne & Shirley," where she remained until 1983. In January of 1998, her
autobiography, "Betty Garrett and Other Songs" was published, which chronicles her
illustrious career.