Ron Howard wanted to direct Cindy Williams before she died

Director Ron Howard is lamenting a missed opportunity with his old friend Cindy Williams, almost a week after she died at the age of 75.

The Academy Award-winning A Beautiful Mind filmmaker told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that the death of his American Graffiti co-star will “leave a little void” and said he hopes to work with ” Laverne & Shirley”. actor again.

“I was always hoping that a role would come along that I could cast her in, and we could kind of complete that cycle of collaboration in our career with me behind the camera, and the right role never came around,” he said in One phone interview. “I’ve always assumed, and it makes me a little sad to know that we’ll never have that chance.”

Williams, who died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a short illness, initially worked with Howard on George Lucas’ “American Graffiti.” They portrayed teenage lovebirds in the 1973 film, and in the years that followed, they both appeared in the television series Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Love, American Style.

Those were the days before Howard, 68, turned his focus to working behind the camera.

Howard told the Times he would have liked to have cast Williams in a role that highlighted her “complexity and breadth.”

“I would have tried to find something, a character full of surprises that you think is one thing and turns out there’s more than meets the eye,” he said. “I think she had the ability to switch gears and tones on a dime. I was always looking for something where I had a character where I could exploit that.”

Like his “Happy Days” actor Henry Winkler and other Hollywood peers, Howard remembered Williams for her talent, honesty, kindness and authenticity. He also praised Williams for her professionalism and work ethic.

“In Cindy, I saw my first glimpse of this new generation of woman asserting herself and her potential for creative control over her work,” he said. “She was silent about it. She was polite. She was polite but determined to assert herself in this way and that impressed me.”

Howard was never able to reunite with Williams for one final project, but he said she leaves behind memorable performances for years to come.

“We as fans and those who have worked with her know that she had many moments that will stand the test of time,” he said, “whether in the drama or in the brilliant physical comedies that she and Penny Marshall created together.” .”