Actor David Lander passed away on December 4 at the age of 73, according to Variety. The actor is best known for his role Squggy on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley which aired on ABC from 1976 to 1983. Lander starred as a member of the ABC series’ main cast and appeared in 156 episodes of the series.
Lander was reported to have died due to “complications related to multiple sclerosis” which was an on-going battle for the comedy actor for the past 37 years, via Variety.
Lander’s Andrew “Squiggy” Squiggman was a featured player in the sitcom program as a supporting role to the titular characters. Laverne & Shirley was based upon the friendship between Penny Marshall’s (Big, A League of Their Own) Laverne DeFazio and Cindy Williams’ (American Graffiti, The Conversation) Shirley Feeney who had previously appeared as minor characters in Happy Days. Lander’s character appeared as a member of the lead characters’ friend group along with Michael McKean’s (This is Spinal Tap, Better Call Saul) Lenny Kosnowski. McKean shared a photo on his Twitter account of the duo from their time together on the ABC sitcom on the day following his passing.
Following the conclusion of the series, Lander had appeared in guest or support roles on series such as Pacific Blue, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Married…with Children. He also further reprised his role as Squiggy for appearances on Saturday Night Live, Scary Movie, The Simpsons, and Happy Days.