Who Buys a “Lenny & The Squigtones” Album?

Back in the late 70s and early 80s, many of us would be in front of the TV on Tuesday evening, watching "Laverne and Shirley" on ABC. Two of Laverne and Shirley's friends were Lenny and Squiggy. In 1979, an album featuring Lenny and Squiggy was released on the Casablanca record label. The album was recorded live at the Roxy in Hollywood and featured the two performing parodies of 50s rock ballads like "Night After Night" and "Creature Without a Head". Who would buy such an album?

David Lander, who played "Squiggy", just recently passed away on December 4th, from complications of multiple sclerosis at the age of 73. Whenever a celebrity dies, the popularity of anything that they did in their careers usually skyrockets.

Local record collector Bruce Parrott (who you may remember providing news updates on "The Dave and Jeri Show" mornings on 95.7 WLHT for many years) remembered this album. He actually owns a copy of it. He also remembered seeing a copy for sale at the Corner Record Shop in Grandville. It was a beautiful copy with the original poster included. (Bruce remembered meeting Lander once, when he came through the radio station in 2002, while on a book tour for his autobiography, "Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody".)

In a Facebook post, Bruce writes: "I was at the store a couple days after his death, remembered it, looked for it and bought it. I listed it on ebay and the auction ended last night. With about four minutes left, a new bidder swooped in and won the auction."

The winning bidder also had the last name of "Lander". Could there be a connection? Yes! The auction winner and new owner of this record is David's daughter, Natalie Lander, also an actress in Los Angeles. Bruce explained: "The LP came out in '79 and she was born in '83. On one hand, I feel bad that she had to buy a copy of her dad's record. On the other hand, it feels pretty cool to be able to match up this record with the person, who more than anyone else, should own it. Bruce's Record Matchmaking Service."

How cool that Bruce was able to set up David's daughter with a copy of the album featuring her father.

Bruce send Natalie a note and received the following response: "Thank you for you message Bruce! Yes, I am his daughter! And I'm so happy I won the album!! I know my mom has a copy of it somewhere but I didn't want to take the risk that it got lost. So I'm so excited to know that I have my own copy! I will treasure it! And yes, it's found it's right home! And I love that you met my Dad too! This will make the album even more special. I have to say, the outpouring of love that my Dad has been receiving has been so amazing and healing. I am so proud of him. His memory will live on through all of us. Sending love to you!!"\

What a great story!

Here's a performance from "Lenny and the Squigtones" from when they appeared on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" in 1979...