Actor David Lander, known to a generation as Andrew “Sqiggy” Sqiggman passed away on Friday December 4th 2020 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of the disease he had been fighting for decades, Multiple Sclerosis.
On the sitcom Laverne & Shirley, Lander played one half of the upstairs neighbors of Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney who stole the show every time they entered Laverne & Shirley’s Apartment.
the show was a Happy Days spinoff set in Milwaukee where the main characters all worked for the fictional Shotz Brewery it ran from 1976-1983, Penny Marshall who played Laverne DeFazio and went on to be a top notch hollywood director in her own right with films including Big, Renaissance Man and A League Of Their Own passed away in December 2018 at age 75
Lander was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1984, one year after Laverne & Shirley came to an end, He later became known for speaking at conventions, fundraisers and galas where he advocated for others who live with multiple sclerosis.
He later became known for speaking at conventions, fundraisers and galas where he advocated for others who live with multiple sclerosis.
“My doctor painted a fairly bleak picture of the disease, even going so far as to tell me I probably wouldn’t walk again…,” Lander said during an interview in Brain & Life Magazine. “Whatever happens, MS can’t take it all. I will always have my heart and soul, my wit and wisdom. Wherever the chips may fall, if I fall with them I will make it a point to do so gracefully—and laughing.”
The actor leaves behind his wife of 41 years, Kathy Lander, and 37-year-old daughter Natalie Lander.
My first exposure to Lenny & Squiggy was in reruns of the show as I didn’t see it until 1998, years after it came to an end. But I loved the childlike innocence of Squiggy and how he was always the comic foil to Laverne & Shirley, truly a one in a million character
His longtime friend and co-star Michael McKean who played Leonard “Lenny” Koznowski expressed his condolences by tweeting a photo of him and Lander
I read somewhere that Michael McKean and David Lander created the comedy routine while performing together in college. When the two became writers on L&S, they suggested adding the characters to the mix. Studio execs gave them the green light on one condition: The character Anthony Squiggliano had to be renamed Squiggy because execs thought there were too many Italians on the show.
So I Conclude with this: Say Hi To Penny in Heaven Dave, We’ll all miss you RIP
