The strongest endorsement of the Cindy "Shirley" Williams (with co-author Dave Smitherman) auto-biography "Shirley, I Jest! A Storied Life" is that it proves that sometimes you can meet your idols. Although one can assume that child of the '60s Williams joined her peers in experiencing voo de o doo and many other pleasures that The Summer of Love involved, we see that she is good-girl Shirley Feeney at heart.
Our story aptly begins with the troubled childhood of Williams that involved poverty, a father with challenging issues, and multiple moves. Like many of her professional peers, Williams discovers her love of show business during her teens and starts trying to make her dreams come true on graduating from high school. In this case, we see that karma prevails by giving Williams the breaks that she deserves.
Williams shares how she comes to enroll in a college of the performing arts. In true sitcom fashion, helping a fellow student with his audition for The Actors' Studio lands our heroine a spot in that prestigious program. Another unsolicited lucky break leads to Williams becoming a client of rookie talent agent Garry Marshall years before he casts her in "Laverne and Shirley." This, of course, leads to the sometimes beautiful friendship and always gorgeous collaboration with "Laverne" co-star/Garry sibling Penny Marshall.
The post-adolescent period of Williams includes tales of following the pattern of waitressing and doing odd jobs while pursuing an acting career. One of the most memorable stories in "Shirley" revolves around Jim Morrison of "The Doors" participating in the hazing of Williams during her first shift as a waitress at The Whiskey A Go Go.
The tale of Williams working at a bank is a missed opportunity for a perfect "Laverne" episode. She tells of taking pity on customers and worrying about the backlash. The TV version would have that kindness come back to bite her and have Laverne tell her to not be such a sucker only to be rebuffed.
While doing these day jobs, Williams lands roles that include playing opposite future "Happy Days" star Ron Howard in the George Lucas film "American Graffiti." This gig later puts Williams in the running for the role of Leia in "Star Wars."
We also get the tale of how pre-"Laverne" conflict with Penny comes very close to Williams not being cast in the series. A frustrating aspect of this is we never learn why Penny leaves her then-writing partner in the lurch.
The "behind-the-scenes" tales of "Laverne" include how our two favorite bottle cappers show perfect instincts by subversively changing their living room set. The background here includes stating that that set was the living room set of the Garry '60scom "The Odd Couple," in which Penny had a supporting role.
An omitted topic is the story behind the two adorable small dogs who often appear in the establishing shot in Milwaukee-based episodes of "Laverne."
We also learn how Williams is behind fan favorite stuffed cat Boo Boo Kitty joining the "Laverne" cast. The manner in which these co-stars reunite years later is another example of karma rewarding those who earn good things in life.
Another rare disappointing aspect of "Shirley" is not addressing the reason for having the girls pack up up the beer truck and move to beautiful downtown Burbank in the sixth of eight seasons. Williams does note that that change facilitates adding two stereotypical characters to the series. Hunky stuntman Sonny and bimbo starlet Rhonda do expand the scope of the show.
The saddest part of "Shirley" is the tale of how Williams comes to leave that series that successfully turns Lucy and Ethel into an odd couple. Fans knew at the time that Williams was pregnant and that her relationship with Marshall had ebbed and flowed while starring in the series.
Learning of how Williams tried to help the show go on only to be treated worse than Joan Crawford on Mother's Day will diminish Garry in the eyes of his fans. There does not seem to be any reason that Shirley could not have regularly called Laverne after moving away only to return to temporarily room together for the final several episodes of the season.
The better news is that the book ends with karma once again rewarding Williams. Trying to calm her excitable boy leads to Williams watching TCM. This inspires her to pitch an awesome remake of a classic. This update introduces us to one of the best modern film characters. Like "Laverne," the original classic and the Williams joint prove that PG can be very funny.
The bottom line is that Williams is living a life about which it is well-worth reading. It is awesome to know that keeping high hopes paid off for that '70s American Sweetheart.
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