Godspeed David Lander

David Lander, perhaps best known for playing Squiggy on the hit sitcom Laverne & Shirley, died on December 4 2020 at the age of 73.  The cause was complications from multiple sclerosis. He had been diagnosed with the disease in 1984.

David Lander was born David Landau on June 22 1947 in Brooklyn, New York. He decided he wanted to be an actor when he was only 10 years old. He attended the High School for the Performing Arts and then continued his education at both Carnegie Tech and New York University. It was while he was in college that he teamed up with Michael McKean. Together the two moved to Los Angeles where they became part of the comedy ensemble The Credibility Group.

David Lander made his television debut in 1970 providing the voice of Jerry Lewis in the Saturday morning cartoon Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down?. In the early Seventies he guest starred on the shows Love, American Style; The Bob Newhart Show; Rhoda; Barney Miller; and Viva Valdez. He provided the voice of Jud in the animated TV movie Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection, which aired on The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie. It was in 1976 that he began playing Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman on Laverne & Shirley. Along with Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski (played by Michael McKean), Squiggy was a greaser who lived upstairs from Laverne and Shirley's apartment. The characters of Lenny and Squiggy were created by Michael McKean and David Lander while they were still in college. Both Michael McKean and David Lander would remain with Laverne & Shirley until the end of its run. In 1979 David Lander guest starred as Squiggy on Happy Days, from which Laverne & Shirley had been spun off. In the Seventies David Lander also appeared in the movies 1941 (1979), Wholly Moses (1980), and Used Cars (1980). In Used Cars David Lander played Freddie Paris and Michael McKean played Eddie Winslow, two techies who film commercials for the New Deal car lot.

In the Eighties David Lander had a recurring role on the TV show Twin Peaks. He provided the voice of Milo de Venus on the Saturday morning cartoon Galaxy High School and provided voices for the animated series Potsworth & Co. He guest starred on The Love Boat, Highway to Heaven, George Burns Comedy Week, Tall Tales & Legends, Matlock, Simon & Simon, Father Dowling Mysteries, Monsters, Married with Children, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Not Necessarily the News, Knight & Daye, Freddy's Nightmares, Head of the Class, Partners in Life, and Talespin. He appeared in the movies Pandemonium (1982), Imps* (1983), The Man with One Red Shoe (1985), Steele Justice (1987), Funland  (1987), and Masters of Menace (1990). He provided voices for the English version of Le big-Bang (1987), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988).

In the Nineties David Lander continued his recurring role on Twin Peaks. He was a regular on the TV shows On the Air and Pacific Blue, and he appeared on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful from 1997 to 1998. He provided voices for the animated TV shows ProStars, The Little Mermaid, Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills, Jungle Cubs, and 101 Dalmations: The Series. He guest starred on the shows Matrix, Family Album, Getting By, Family Matters, Dream On, The Nanny, Homeboys in Outerspace, The Drew Carey Show, L.A. Heat, Nash Bridges, The Weird Al Show, Diagnosis Murder, Mad About You, and Arli$$. He appeared in the movies A League of Their Own (1992), Ava's Magical Adventure (1994), The Modern Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1998), and Scary Movie (2000). He provided voices for the films Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992), A Bug's Life (1998), and Titan A.E. (2000).

In the Naughts David Lander was the voice of Henry on the animated TV series Oswald and the voice of Doc Boy on The Garfield Show.He guest starred on the shows Black Scorpion, The Simpsons, and Raising the Bar. David Lander appeared in the movies Say It Isn't So (2001), Jane White is Sick and Twisted (2004), Christmas with the Kranks (2004), and Zoom (2006). He provided voices for the movies Dr. Doolittle 2 (2001) and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001). In the Teens he appeared on the show Break a Hip. He was a guest voice on the animated shows SpongeBob Squarepants and Goldie and Bear.

David Lander was a wonderful comedian and actor, creating a number of memorable and at times humorous characters, often in tandem with Michael McKean. He was able to do a number of different voices, which not only helped him create characters in live action film, but made him in demand for animated projects as well. Even when he was only on-screen briefly, his characters remained memorable. Of course, it is likely he will always be best remembered as Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley. It was because of his considerable talent that Mr. Lander was able to create one of the most famous characters on television. That having been said, he did so much more.