Actor David L Lander passes away at 73

Actor David L Lander, who played the character of Squiggy on the popular 'ABC' comedy series 'Laverne and Shirley', passed away at the age of 73 after a decades-long battle with multiple sclerosis.

"Lander died on December 4 in Los Angeles, surrounded by me, my daughter and my son-in-law," wife Kathy Fields Lander told the 'Associated Press'.

She added, "It was very peaceful. He had a tough battle with multiple sclerosis for 37 years and he persevered like no one I have ever seen and it taught me a great deal about the important things of life."

David had a longtime comedic partnership with Michael McKean, whom he met at Carnegie Mellon University. Together they created the characters of Lenny and Squiggy that they would play on the show, which ran from 1976 to 1983. Lenny and Squiggy, or Lenny Kosnowski and Andrew 'Squiggy' Squiggman, were friends and upstairs neighbors of Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams), bottle-cappers in 1950s Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

McKean paid tribute to Lander by tweeting a photo of their early days.

David L Lander is survived by his wife and daughter Natalie Lander.