Departures

Bobby Hull

Hull, a hockey left-winger whose combination of speed and power altered the game during professional hockey’s formative years, died on Jan. 30. He was 84. After a childhood playing hockey in Ontario, Canada, Hull signed with the National Hockey League’s Chicago Black Hawks in 1957 as an 18-year-old. Hull’s speed quickly earned him the moniker “the Golden Jet.” But it was his crushing slap shot from the left wing that defined his career and earned him accolades. Popular Mechanics once clocked Hull’s slap shot at 118.3 mph—well above the 100 mph average. Hull led the NHL in scoring during three seasons and was the World Hockey Association’s league MVP twice while playing for the Winnipeg Jets.

Cindy Williams

Williams, whose portrayal of Shotz Brewery worker Shirley Feeney in Laverne & Shirley endeared her to a generation of Americans, died Jan. 25 at age 75. Williams grew up in Los Angeles and studied acting before landing bit roles on television shows and in a handful of national commercials. Williams and future co-star Penny Marshall met on a double-date in the early 1970s, foreshadowing the duo’s first appearance as Laverne and Shirley, double dates of Richie and Fonzie during a 1975 episode of Happy Days. They parlayed their bit parts into their own show that ran from 1976 to 1983.