Actress Cindy Williams is speaking about her new book, where she gives behind-the-scenes details of 'Laverne and Shirley.'
Cindy Williams was one half of the classic duo from the hit 70's sitcom, Laverne and Shirley.
Williams played Shirley Feeney opposite Penny Marshall's Laverne Defazio. Their comedic chemistry was TV magic.
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Cindy Williams is now 67 and is revealing the behind the scenes story of Laverne and Shirley in her new book, Shirley, I Jest.
INSIDE EDITION’s Megan Alexander spoke to her and asked, "You were hesitant to do Laverne and Shirley and had to be convinced?"
She said, “It was just at the end of this two year period where I had been up for all these parts and been up for all of these big parts and hadn't gotten them. I was kind of depressed at the time. I was going to get a job as a waitress.”
Laverne and Shirley was an instant hit and lasted from 1976 to 1983.
Fans were disappointed when Williams disappeared from the show. The show kept that iconic open but no more Cindy Williams. It only lasted one more season.
Alexander asked, “Why did you leave the show?’
“I was almost four months pregnant. Then, I got my contract it said I was working on my due date, I was shooting a show on the date I was due to deliver my baby,” she replied.
There were rumors of a feud between her and Penny Marshall.
Williams said, ‘We did have some tense times but when we got on that stage we were on the same page at the same time, the same note, in total harmony. It could get operatic in temperament at times."
And here's something else she reveals in the book. She had auditioned for the part of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars but lost out to Carrie Fisher.
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But she'll always be known as one of America’s favorite blue collar gals and forever immortalized by that classic theme song.
Click Here To Read An Excerpt of the Book. Shirley, I Jest! by Cindy Williams with Dave Smitherman. Copyright © 2015 Rowman & Littlefield. Used by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or printed without permission in writing from the publisher.
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