David L. Lander (born David Leonard Landau, June 22, 1947 - December 4, 2020) was an American actor. voice actor, comedian, composer, musician, activist, and baseball scout. He was best known as Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman on the ABC sitcom, Laverne & Shirley from 1976 to 1983.
On Married... with Children he played Eli, a friend of Al Bundy from Polk High School in the season 3 episode, "Married... with Queen: The Sequel (Part 2)".
Biography[]
Lander was born David Leonard Landau in Brooklyn, New York. He was the youngest son of two Jewish schoolteacher parents. At the age of 10, he decided that he wanted to become an actor. He began studying drama first at the High School for the Performing Arts, before continuing his education and training at Carnegie Mellon University.
Acting Career[]
While attending Carnegie, he met Michael McKean, with whom he would form a lifelong creative partnership. Together, they developed the characters of Lenny and Squiggy. After graduation, the duo moved to Los Angeles, California and joined the comedy troupe, The Credibility Gap.
After the troupe broke up in 1976, the duo would use those developed characters for the television series, Laverne & Shirley from 1976 to 1983. In 1979, the duo would form a fictional band release an album called Lenny & Squiggy Present Lenny and the Squigtones. Besides playing Lenny and Squiggy, both of them would act together in various films and television shows such as 1941, Used Cars, Hollywood Squares and Happy Days.
He would reprise his role as Squiggy several times in various films and television shows, including:
- an uncredited guest appearances on Saturday Night Live in 1994 with host John Travolta, in a sketch parodying the 1970s sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter with the 1991 film Reservoir Dogs (and also reunited him with McKean, who was a SNL cast member during the mid 1990s)
- an uncredited appearance on SNL in 1996 with Lisa Kudrow, where he played a panelist at the 1996 presidential debate.
- in a 1995 episode of The Nanny titled "Val's Apartment" where he played an unnamed gay landlord with Squiggy's looks and mannerism (but wears a leopard print coat instead of his leather biker jacket) and has been married to a man named "Leonard" for 17 years.
- in a 2002 episode of The Simpsons titled "Helter Shelter", where he is brought in to boost ratings after the family star in a reality television show.
- in the 2000 film, Scary Movie, where he played Principal "Squiggy" Squiggman.
He has appeared various shows and films such The Drew Carey Show, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Pacific Blue, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Christmas with the Kranks and Black Scorpion.
As a voice actor, he probably known for his role as Smart Ass (a.k.a. Smarty / Wiseguy) the Weasel in the 1988 live-action/animated film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. He also provided voice over work for animated films and series, such as 101 Dalmations: The Animated Series (with Michael McKean), TailSpin, Green Lantern: First Flight, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, Batman: The Animated Series and Oswald.
His final credited acting role was a guest voice over for the animated series, Goldie and Bear in 2017, which also starred his daughter, actress Natalie Lander.
Baseball Career[]
Besides acting, he was also a huge baseball fan, notably for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He owned shares in the Portland Beavers minor league team. In 1997, he began work as a baseball talent scout, first for the Anaheim Angels, and later for the Seattle Mariners. He also makes an uncredited appearance as a baseball stadium announcer in the 1992 film , A League of Their Own. He would use his love of baseball and advocacy for MS to help publish reviews of handicap accessible areas in different ballparks.
Personal Life[]
Lander was married to Thea Markus from 1969 until the couple divorced in 1976. He married Kathy Fields in 1979. His daughter is actress Natalie Lander.
On May 15, 1984, he was officially diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Fearing that it would end his career, he decided to keep it a secret. He later decided to finally make it public in 1999. In 2002, he published his autobiography, Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody which detailed his battle with MS and offered advice to those who were diagnosed with it. He continued to speak at conventions, attend fundraising galas and work as a Goodwill Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. In 2003, he would team up once again with friend and comedic partner, Michael McKean, for a theatrical PSA for multiple sclerosis. They would continue appearing together to help promote awareness. He spent the last several years of his life using an electric scooter to get around but continued advocating for awareness and various treatments of the disease.
Death[]
Lander died on December 4, 2020 at Ceder-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from complications of multiple sclerosis. He was cremated and interned at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
His death occurred almost two years after his Laverne & Shirley co-star, Penny Marshall died in December 2018 and two years before his other co-star, Cindy Willams died in January 2023, leaving Michael McKean as the last surviving actor from the show.
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
External Links[]
- IMDb Profile
- David L. Lander at Find a Grave