David Lander (1947-2020) *73

was an American character actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout who was best known for his portrayal of Squiggy on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley. He also served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Lander was born David Leonard Landau in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest son of two Jewish schoolteacher parents.

Lander decided to become an actor when he was 10. He studied to become an actor at the High School for the Performing Arts and continued at Carnegie Tech and New York University.

He was best known for his role of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman on the situation comedy Laverne & Shirley from 1976 to 1982 along with sitcom sidekick Lenny, played by Michael McKean.

Lander's partnership with McKean began during their acting classes at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where they developed the characters of Lenny and Squiggy. After Pittsburgh, they teamed up in the Los Angeles-based comedy ensemble The Credibility Gap. The duo released an album as Lenny and the Squigtones in 1979 featuring Christopher Guest on guitar, credited as Nigel Tufnel, a name Guest would later reuse in the spoof rock band Spinal Tap. Lander and McKean also appeared together in the 1979 Steven Spielberg comedy 1941, and the 1980 Kurt Russell film Used Cars. Lander and McKean lent their vocal talents to the animated TV series Oswald, which ran from 2001 to 2003. Lander and McKean voiced the characters of the penguin cousins Henry and Louie, respectively.

Lander also appeared in numerous other TV shows and movies, including The Bob Newhart Show, Barney Miller, Happy Days (as Squiggy), Viva Valdez, Married... with Children, Twin Peaks, On the Air, The Weird Al Show, Mad About You, Pacific Blue, and The Drew Carey Show. His film roles were more sparse but still memorable; these included the part of a minor league baseball radio announcer in the film, A League of Their Own and a bit part of the minister officiating the marriage ceremo