Laverne & Shirley Star David Lander Passes Away at 73

David L. Lander, the actor known for playing the iconic sitcom character Squiggy on Laverne & [...]

By Jamie Jirak

David L. Lander, the actor known for playing the iconic sitcom character Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley, has passed away at age 73. According to TMZ, the legendary funnyman died due to complications from multiple sclerosis, a battle he fought for 37 years. The actor appeared in multiple films over the years in both a live-action and animated capacity. His film credits include 1941, Used Cars, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, A League of Their Own, and much more.

As for television, Lander's portrayal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman opposite Michael McKean's Lenny Kosnowski is a huge part of sitcom history. Their fictional band, Lenny and the Squigtones, was a fan-favorite part of the show, which ran from 1976 to 1983. McKean took to Twitter today to share a throwback photo in Lander's honor.

Hailing from Brooklyn, Lander met McKean while taking acting classes at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. This is where they invented their iconic characters, Lenny and Squiggy. They appeared together in multiple projects, including Steven Spielberg's 1941. They reunited in 2001 to voice penguin cousins Henry and Louie on Oswald.

Lander was best known for playing Squiggy and even revisited the role throughout his career, appearing in films such as Scary Movie as Principal Squiggy (a great reference to Scream, which featured a principal played by Happy Days' Henry Winkler.) Laverne & Shirley was actually a spin-off of Happy Days, so Lander appeared on the original series as Squiggy in 1979 during Laverne & Shirley's run. He also voiced Squiggy on The Simpsons in 2002 and played the character in a couple of Saturday Night Live episodes in the 1990s.

Other television appearances by Lander included The Bob Newhart Show, Married... with Children, Twin Peaks, The Weird Al Show, Mad About You, and The Drew Carey Show. Lander's last live-action role was playing Charlie on Break a Hip in 2015. He also voiced Donnie on SpongeBob SquarePants in 2016 and was last heard voicing Rumpelstiltskin on Goldie and Bear in 2017.

Lander was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1984 but did not go public with the news until 1999. In 2002, he published an autobiography titled Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody.

According to TMZ, Lander's wife Kathy and daughter Natalie were with him when he passed. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

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