Cindy Williams Dies At 75

Above, actress Cindy Williams.

Jeez, what is going on here? Celebrities seem to be dying in rapid succession 

The latest is actress Cindy Williams, one of the stars of the Laverne & Shirley television show of the 1970s and of the movie, American Graffiti.

The Associated Press reported:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cindy Williams, who played Shirley opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the popular sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” has died, her family said Monday.

Williams died in Los Angeles at age 75 on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis.

“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”

I didn't think Williams was that old. She played Ron Howard's girlfriend in American Graffiti and he is a month younger than me. I assumed she was around our age (68). 

To read more, go here.

Lauren Bacall, R.I.P.

Above, Lauren Bacall in the 1940s.

It was in the early or mid-1970s that I first took notice of actress Lauren Bacall. It was in To Have And Have Not, her first on-screen pairing with future husband Humphrey Bogart.

Her sultry looks and mannerisms leaped off the screen. She definitely had it. It later became the "the look" that Bacall became famous for. And that voice of hers, husky but sexy at the same time.

Since then, I saw other films in which she was in, some with Bogart like Key Largo and The Big Sleep, and others with John Wayne such as Blood Alley and The Shootist (Wayne's last film).

Lauren Bacall died yesterday at home at age 89, reportedly from a massive stroke. She had a good run. She never really retired. She continued acting up to this year. Not bad.

Above, Ron Howard, Lauren Bacall and John Wayne in a lobby card for The Shootist.

Her passing, it is being written, marks the "end of an era" of the golden age of Hollywood. At this moment, I really can't think of any other stars remaining from that era. Lauren Bacall was definitely in the "upper tier" of stars from that era. Thankfully, her work lives on in film and forever preserved on DVD.