Rise to Fame
The path to Shirley Feeney ran through two Oscar-nominated films that didn't make her a movie star. She appeared in both American Graffiti (1973) and The Conversation (1974), earned a BAFTA nomination, and Screen World named her the most promising movie personality of 1974. Then her film career stalled. Producers couldn't see past her girl-next-door looks. When Garry Marshall paired her with Penny Marshall for a Happy Days guest spot in 1975, the chemistry was undeniable. Laverne & Shirley launched the following January at No. 1 and held that spot for two full seasons, drawing 30 million viewers a week.
In the Spotlight
The show ended badly and took years to explain. In 1982, Williams got pregnant and expected the production to accommodate her. It didn't. Two episodes into Season 8, she walked off set. She and then-husband Bill Hudson filed a $20 million lawsuit against Paramount that dragged through the courts and effectively froze her acting work while pending. The ratings collapsed after she left and Laverne & Shirley was canceled in 1983. The lawsuit settled for an undisclosed amount. The typecasting that followed was severe enough that a producer reportedly told her directly he couldn't cast her even if he wanted to.
Side Notes
Before the sitcom years, she had two turns in Oscar-nominated films back-to-back and an audition for Princess Leia. Lucas reportedly wanted unknowns for Star Wars and cast Carrie Fisher instead, even though Williams had already appeared in one of his films. She graduated a year behind Sally Field at Birmingham High School, where future super-agent Michael Ovitz was also a classmate. None of it added up to the film career those early credits suggested.
Final Chapter
The news of her death wasn't made public until five days after she died. Her children Zak and Emily Hudson announced it on January 30, 2023. Ed Begley Jr., who had known her since they filmed Room 222 in 1970, called her a sister to him and a godmother to his daughter. At the time of her death, she still had upcoming US tour dates booked for her one-woman show, Me, Myself & Shirley.