David Lander, best known for his role as Andrew “Squiggy” Squiggman on the classic ABC sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” died Friday, according to a statement from his family. He was 73.
The Brooklyn-born David Lander had more than 120 movie and television credits under his belt, including roles in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Used Cars,” “Scary Movie” and 101 Dalmatians: The Series.” He’d continued to work as a voice actor until 2017.
He was perhaps most famous for portraying Squiggy, the upstairs neighbour and constant foil of the title characters in the “Happy Days” spinoff, “Laverne & Shirley.”
David Lander was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1983, a year after the sitcom ended. Originally private about his illness, he became an advocate for MS after revealing his diagnosis in a 1999 memoir, “Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn’t Tell Nobody.”
Lander is survived by his wife of 41 years, Kathy, and his daughter Natalie.