He was credited as Stephen Lander in Boo, Zino and the Snurks. That’s where this story begins. Lander reprised his role for Smart Ass on the related ride, but his character was renamed Wiseguy. For 15 years, from 1984, when he was first diagnosed with MS, until 1999, when he finally “came out” via a headline story in People magazine, David Lander kept his MS a secret. In the summer of 1999, David Lander revealed publicly that he suffers from multiple sclerosis—a secret he'd kept for 15 years even while living and working in Hollywood's celebrity fishbowl. His wife and daughter knew of his condition, as did a couple of close friends, but that was about it. Lander was born David Leonard Landau in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest son of two Jewish schoolteacher parents. Squiggy, played by David L. Lander, got multiple sclerosis (MS). Weaving his experiences against a backdrop of entertaining celebrity anecdotes, Lander offers a message of affirmation that will provide information and hope to millions of MS sufferers, their friends and caregivers. More details can be found in our, Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), Make the Most of Your Healthcare Provider Visits, Resilience: Addressing the Challenges of MS, Edward M. Dowd Personal Advocate Program, COVID-19 Studies Recruiting People with MS, Independent Review of Society's Research Programs, Scientific Peer Reviewers & Advisory Committees, MS Treatment Guidelines During Coronavirus. Description. Lander and McKean also appeared together in the 1979 Steven Spielberg comedy 1941, and the 1980 Kurt Russell film Used Cars. He has worked as a baseball talent scout since 1997, first for the Anaheim Angels, and later for the Seattle Mariners. Lander reprised his role for Smart Ass on the related ride, but his character was renamed Wiseguy. [1], Lander decided to become an actor when he was 10. He is the father of Natalie Lander. Lander was the voice of Smart Ass, the chief weasel of Judge Doom's Toon Patrol in the 1988 Disney film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. can still enjoy fulfilling and challenging lives. Later voice roles included The Big Bang, A Bug's Life, The Garfield Show, Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills, Oswald, Titan A.E., Tom and Jerry: The Movie and the animated TV series Galaxy High as the six-armed Milo de Venus. [Part 1] : UNT Digital Library", "Squiggy is in the house: 'Laverne and Shirley' star now M's scout", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Lander&oldid=983262586, Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni, Articles needing additional references from March 2013, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Episode: "Love and the Old-Fashioned Father", Episode: "Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection", Episode: "What Do You Call a Call Girl Mystery", Episode: "Married... with Prom Queen: The Sequel", Episode: "Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall All You Gotta Do Is Call...", Episode: "House Party or, Play That Funky White Music Droid", Episode: "I'll Be Down to Get You in a Taxi, Honey", Episode: "Gnome Family Reunion/Adorable Norm", Voice of the Inquisition, Bickering Torch, This page was last edited on 13 October 2020, at 07:00. After Pittsburgh they teamed up in the Los Angeles-based comedy ensemble The Credibility Gap. The actor best known for his role as “Squiggy” on “Laverne and Shirley” finds humor, baseball talent, and life options after MS. David L. Lander has spent most of his entertainment career making people laugh. Lander has multiple sclerosis. Lander and McKean voiced the characters of the penguin cousins Henry and Louie, respectively. David Lander (born June 22, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, composer, musician, activist, and baseball scout. Diagnosed with the illness after filming the last episode of Laverne and Shirley, Lander continued to develop his film and television career while hiding his illness. In the summer of 1999, David Lander revealed publicly that he suffers from multiple sclerosis—a secret he'd kept for 15 years even while living and working in Hollywood's celebrity fishbowl. 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. In 2002, he reprised his role as Squiggy in the animated sitcom, The Simpsons. Officially diagnosed on May 15, 1984, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, he went public in 1999 and regularly speaks at related conventions.