Laverne & Shirley's Cindy Williams Could Have Played Princess Leia In Star Wars
George Lucas' "Star Wars" (which eventually acquired the subtitle "Episode IV — A New Hope") transformed cinema in a myriad of ways when it blasted onto movie screens in the summer of 1977. The richly imagined tale of a young Tatooine farm boy who becomes the unlikely hero of a galactic rebellion sent kids staggering out of theaters with grandiose dreams of saving the universe. A mere two years after the end of the Vietnam War, America was hungry for a return to the righteousness of World War II flicks and (many, but not all) John Wayne Westerns. "Star Wars," along with "Jaws" and "Rocky," spun that beautiful, aspirational lie. These characters — particularly the trinity of the naive hero, the strong-willed princess, and the charming rogue — were who we wanted to be.
Every age-appropriate actor in Hollywood wanted to be there, too, and Lucas cast the widest of nets to find the perfect Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. The "American Graffiti" director famously held a joint casting process with his friend Brian De Palma, who was drawing from the same talent pool for his adaptation of Stephen King's "Carrie," and the alternate timeline possibilities are endless. Kurt Russell and William Katt could've been Luke Skywalker. Amy Irving and Jodie Foster had a shot at Princess Leia. Christopher Walken and Nick Nolte were seriously considered for Han Solo.
Some of these actors would've drastically altered the dynamic of Lucas' space saga. One of the most intriguing what-ifs had worked with Lucas before. Had he cast her, television history would've looked a great deal different as well.
Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Alderaan Incorporated!
Could you imagine "Laverne & Shirley" without Cindy Williams in the latter role? Had George Lucas gone with the young woman who played Laurie Henderson, the girlfriend of Ron Howard's Steve Bolander in "American Graffiti," as Leia, Penny Marshall would've been doing it her way in Milwaukee with someone else.
You can watch Williams' screen test on YouTube, and she's quite good! Why did Lucas go in another direction?
Perhaps because there's an air of self-parody to Williams' line readings. She's exchanging dialogue with an off-screen Han Solo, and she seems on the verge of a giggle fit as she delivers the line about the Death Star's planet-destroying power. Perhaps, after eight seasons of "Laverne & Shirley," you're primed to laugh at Williams' every utterance. This isn't to say she couldn't handle drama: her small but vital performance in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" is startling. Her, "He'd kill us if he got the chance" lights the fuse that leads to Gene Hackman's detonation.
She could've nailed Leia. She could've done so much more. But she was our Shirley, and we will never stop loving her.