UNSPECIFIED - circa 1970: Photo of LENNY & SQUIGGY; Above Lenny (Michael McKean), below Squigy ... [+]
David L. Lander, who is remembered for his iconic role as knucklehead Andrew “Squiggy” Squiggman on ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley, passed away Friday from complications of multiple sclerosis. He was 73.
Originally hired as writers on Laverne & Shirley, Lander and Michael McKean, who portrayed Squiggy’s best friend (and equally odd) Lenny Kosnowski, were immediately used on camera as comedic foils to Laverne (Pennny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams). The sitcom, which ran from 1976 to 1983 and was spun-off from Happy Days, revolved around the exploits of the wisecracking Laverne DeFazio and the more innocent Shirley Feeney, the two title characters, who were roommates and worked together at the fictional Shotz Brewery. Lander as Squiggy and McKean as Lenny drove trucks for the brewery and shared the apartment above Laverne and Shirley's.
The cast of ABC sitcom "Laverne & Shirley."
Upon hearing the news of his death, Lander’s friend and colleague Michael McKean posted a touching photo of the two.
Michael McKean and David L. Lander were friends and colleagues since college.
Born David Leonard Landau on June 22, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, Lander met McKean in 1965 when both were freshmen at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Tech. It was there they developed the characters of Lenny and Squiggy, and eventually they teamed up with the Los Angeles-based ensemble The Credibility Gap as performers. During the sitcom’s run, the duo released an album as Lenny and the Squigtones in 1979, and later appeared together in the 1979 Steven Spielberg theatrical 1941, and the 1980 Kurt Russell film Used Cars.
Lander and McKean also lent their vocal talents to the animated TV series Oswald, which ran from 2001 to 2003, and appeared as Lenny and Squiggy on Happy Days.
Lander, additionally, guest-starred on numerous other TV series including The Bob Newhart Show, Barney Miller, Married With Children, Twin Peaks, Mad About You, Family Matters and The Drew Carey Show. He was also busy as a voice actor on animated series like Galaxy High School, Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone, and Jungle Cubs; and in 1988 Disney film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In 2002, he reprised his role as Squiggy in The Simpsons, and he also had a stint on CBS daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful.
In 2002, Lander published the 2000 book Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody. Eventually, he became a goodwill ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
In addition to his wife, whom he married in 1979, Lander’s survivors include daughter Natalie Lander.
