Were Cindy Williams & Penny Marshall Friends? Inside The Laverne & Shirley Feud Rumors

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Spinning out of "Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley" hit the airwaves in 1976 and was an instant hit, running for eight seasons and even getting an animated series, "Laverne & Shirley in the Army." While the sitcom was staffed with top-notch writers coming up with great gags, what really made the show work was the chemistry between the show's stars, Penny Marshall, who played the rough and tumble Laverne DeFazio, and Cindy Williams, who played the sweet and optimistic Shirley Feeney. Each week, 30 million people tuned in to see the two best friends share a basement apartment and deal with life in Milwaukee, which is why audiences were shocked when Williams' character Shirley was written out of the show in the eighth season. Rumors spread that Williams' disappearance was due to friction between her and costar Marshall, but the reality was more complicated.

Williams told Today that tensions between her and the producers led to her departure, with her pregnancy being the last straw. When Williams became pregnant, she expected the show to work around her condition – movies and shows often hide pregnancies in some very inventive ways, but there was one sticking point she couldn't budge on. "When it came time for me to sign my contract for that season, they had me working on my due date to have my baby," she explained. 

Williams and the producers went back and forth trying to work something out, but in the end, she walked away from the show. Her departure created a rift between her and Marshall. She told Women's World: "There were a lot of misunderstandings. We didn't talk for a long time and that made me very sad." The show finished its final season without Williams. In 2000, a change in Williams' life would bring them back together.

"Laverne & Shirley" ended after its eighth season. In the years that followed, Cindy Williams stayed busy making guest appearances on other shows and producing the "Father of the Bride" movies that starred Steve Martin. Penny Marshall also continued to act, but became better known for directing the hit movies "Big" and "A League of Their Own." In her autobiography, "My Mother Was Nuts: A Memoir,"  (via MeTV), Marshall discussed her relationship with Williams after "Laverne & Shirley," saying, "I had seen Cindy once or twice over the years at TV Land specials, but these occasions were more professional than personal, always fleeting and in crowds." But when Williams and her husband divorced in 2000, Marshall wanted to be there for her one-time co-star and friend. 

Marshall invited Williams to her home, and the two hashed out their issues. In the process, they reignited their friendship. Williams and Marshall became very close friends again, with Williams telling Entertainment Weekly (via People), "I go to Penny's house I get in bed with her and we watch TV. She's like my sister." The two even worked together again, making guest appearances on "Sam & Cat" and the 2015 "Odd Couple" reboot. When Marshall died in 2018, Williams took to X to give a simple but heartbreakingly beautiful message, writing only "I love you, partner" and including a picture of the cursive 'L' Marshall's Laverne had stitched onto all of her shirts. Cindy Williams died in 2023, but she and Marshall will live on in the hearts and minds of sitcom lovers for generations to come.