"Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams" book, Chapter Three

Cindy explains that she didn't grow up "dirt poor" but "lower middle class," yes, like Shirley.  Also, like Shirley, Cindy was an optimist.  And like Penny, she's half-Italian, although on the mother's side.  She got her sense of humor from both parents.

She wanted to be a nurse, "but the sight of blood was my downfall," interesting in light of how interested Shirley would be in medicine, and doctors.  Like Penny, she worked as a secretary for awhile but really wanted to get into show biz.

There is no mention of her father's alcoholism, perhaps not surprisingly.  It does mention that his death when she was 21 hit her hard.

The chapter seems to end around '71, as she goes to an interview with Garry Marshall, who told her (when she weighed 132 pounds), "I like you; you're like a chunky Barbara Harris."

This chapter doesn't have any of the memorable anecdotes of Williams's Shirley, I Jest and makes Cindy seem like a much less colorful character than Penny.