Early life

Marshall was born in the New York City borough of The Bronx, the son of Marjorie Irene (née Ward; 1908-1983), a tap dance teacher who ran a tap dance school, and Anthony Wallace Marshall (1906-99), a director of industrial films and later a producer. He is the brother of actress/director Penny Marshall and Ronny Marshall Hallin, a TV producer. His father was of Italian descent, his family having come from San Martino sulla Marrucina, Chieti, Abruzzo, and his mother was of German, English, and Scottish ancestry. His father changed his last name from "Masciarelli" to "Marshall" before Garry was born. Marshall was baptized Presbyterian and also raised Lutheran for a time. He attended De Witt Clinton High School, where he was a classmate of Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko, and Northwestern University, where he wrote a sports column for The Daily Northwestern, and is a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

Career

Marshall began his career as a joke writer for such comedians as Joey Bishop and Phil Foster, and then became a writer for The Tonight Show with Jack Paar. In 1961 he moved to Hollywood, where he teamed up with Jerry Belson as a writer for television. The pair worked on The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Joey Bishop Show, The Danny Thomas Show, and The Lucy Show. Their first television series as creator/producers was Hey, Landlord, which lasted one season (1966-67). They then adapted Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple for television. On his own, Marshall created Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, starring his sister Penny, and Mork & Mindy, which were produced by his associates Thomas L. Miller, Robert L. Boyett, and Edward K. Milkis. He was also a co-creator of the short-lived sitcom Makin' It, which the three men also produced.

In the early 1980s, Marshall met Hector Elizondo while playing basketball and became great friends. Elizondo appears in every movie that Marshall directed, beginning with Marshall's first feature film, Young Doctors in Love. Elizondo once noted that he is written into all of Marshall's contracts whether he wanted to do the movie or not. In the opening credits of Exit to Eden, their eighth movie together, Elizondo is credited "As Usual ... Hector Elizondo".

In 1984 Marshall had a movie hit as the writer and director of The Flamingo Kid.

A consummate producer, Marshall wore many hats during this period of his career: most of his hit TV shows were created and executive produced by him. His first producing assignment came with Hey, Landlord in 1966. He stepped up the very next year, producing The Lucy Show. Then came successes in producing The Odd Couple, Laverne and Shirley, Blansky's Beauties, Mork & Mindy, Angie, and Happy Days.

Marshall also launched independent productions, via his theatre (The Falcon in Toluca Lake) and in association with productions launched with talent he was grooming and working with for years. One such project, titled Four Stars, was directed by actress Lynda Goodfriend (who portrayed Lori Beth in Happy Days), and was based on a play Goodfriend had read when she was studying at the Lee Strasberg Center, which had been written by John Schulte and Kevin Mahoney. It starred Julie Paris (the daughter of Happy Days director and Dick Van Dyke Show co-star Jerry Paris) and film veteran Bert Kramer. Marshall went on to focus on directing feature films, with a series of hits, such as Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries, and most recently Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve.

Marshall is also an actor, making his TV acting debut starting as a child with a recurring role in the long-running CBS series The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950-58), appearing on the television series Murphy Brown and in such movies as Soapdish, on FOX's filmmaking-competition reality TV series On the Lot, which aired in 2007, and provided a guest-starring voice for The Simpsons episodes Eight Misbehavin' and Homer the Father. He also appeared in two episodes of Happy Days as a drummer.

Marshall's theater credits include Wrong Turn at Lungfish, which he wrote in collaboration with Lowell Ganz, The Roast with Jerry Belson, Shelves and Happy Days: A New Musical with Paul Williams, which had its premiere at The Falcon Theater in Burbank, California in the summer of 2006.

In 1996 he was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of excellence and innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.

In 1997, Marshall was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame for his contributions to the field of television.

Marshall also has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. He played the role of "director" on Burbank's "Lights...camera...action!" float in the 2014 Rose Parade. His son, Scott Marshall, is also a director. In 2014, he appeared in a guest star role in a February episode in season 11 of Two and a Half Men on CBS.

In 2014, Marshall received the Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement from the Writers Guild of America.

Directing credits

Year	Film
1982	Young Doctors in Love
1984	Flamingo Kid, TheThe Flamingo Kid
1986	Nothing In Common
1987	Overboard
1988	Beaches
1990	Pretty Woman
1991	Frankie and Johnny
1994	Exit to Eden
1996	Dear God
1999	Other Sister, TheThe Other Sister
1999	Runaway Bride
2001	Princess Diaries, TheThe Princess Diaries
2004	Raising Helen
2004	Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, TheThe Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
2007	Georgia Rule
2010	Valentine's Day
2011	New Year's Eve
2016	Mother's Day

Television credits as writer or producer

Years	Program	Notes
1959-61	Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1961-64	Danny Thomas Show, TheThe Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy)
1961-65	Joey Bishop Show, TheThe Joey Bishop Show
1961-66	Dick Van Dyke Show, TheThe Dick Van Dyke Show
1962-68	Lucy Show, TheThe Lucy Show
1964	Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theater
1964	Gomer Pyle, USMC
1965-66	Hank
1966	Hey, Landlord	creator, writer, director
1967	Sheriff Who?
1970-75	Odd Couple, TheThe Odd Couple
1972	Me and the Chimp
1972	Evil Roy Slade
1974-84	Happy Days	creator, executive producer
1974	Brian Keith Show, TheThe Brian Keith Show
1974	Dominick's Dream
1974	Love, American Style
1975	Wives
1976-83	Laverne and Shirley
1977	Blansky's Beauties	creator, executive producer
1978-82	Mork & Mindy	creator, executive producer
1978	Who's Watching the Kids	creator, executive producer
1979-80	Angie	creator, executive producer
1979	Beanes of Boston
1979	Out of the Blue
1979	Makin' It
1981	Mean Jeans
1982-83	New Odd Couple, TheThe New Odd Couple	executive producer
1982-83	Joanie Loves Chachi	creator, executive producer
1986	Four Stars
1986	Nothing in Common
2011	New Year's Eve
2015-present	The Odd Couple

Acting credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950-58	The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
1964	Goldfinger	Hoodlum	Uncredited
1977	Blansky's Beauties
1985	Lost In America	Casino Manager
1991	Soapdish	Edmund Edwards
1992	A League of Their Own	Walter Harvey
1993	Hocus Pocus	Devil (Husband)	Cameo
1994-97	Murphy Brown	Stan Lansing	24 episodes
1997	Pinky & The Brain	Mr. Itch - The Devil	Voice; Episode: "A Pinky and the Brain Halloween"
1999	Never Been Kissed	Rigfort
1999-2011	Simpsons, TheThe Simpsons	Larry Kidkill / Sheldon Leavitt	Voice; 2 episodes
2001	Tomcats	Uncle Murray	Uncredited
2001	The Majestic	Studio Executive	Voice
2002	Orange County	Arthur Gantner
2002	Monk	Warren Beach	Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Airplane"
2002	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch	Mickey Brentwood	Episode: "Bada-Ping!"
2004	Father of the Pride	Bernie	Voice; 5 episodes
2005	Chicken Little	Buck Cluck	Voice
2005-08	Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze		Voice
2006	Keeping Up with the Steins	Irwin Fiedler
2006	Brothers and Sisters	Major Jack Wiener	2 episodes
2008	Hole in the Paper Sky	Warren
2008	The Sarah Silverman Program	Sharkcorp President	Episode: "High, It's Sarah"
2009	Race to Witch Mountain	Dr. Donald Harlan
2009	According to Jim	Doctor	Episode: "Physical Therapy"
2011-13	Looney Tunes Show, TheThe Looney Tunes Show	Dr. Weisberg	Voice
2012	Louie	Lars Tardigan	2 episodes
2014	Two and a Half Men	Garry	Episode: "Bite Me, Supreme Court"
2014	Liv and Maddie	Vic Defazerelli	Episode: "Space-Werewolf-A-Rooney"
2014	Life After Beth	Grandpa
2015	Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero	Soda Jerk	Voice; 2 episodes
2015	Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Marvin Miller	Episode: "The Wednesday Incident"
2015	Hot in Cleveland	Ari	Episode: "All Dolled Up"
2015	BoJack Horseman	Abe	Voice; Episode: "Yes And"
2016	The Odd Couple	Walter Madison	Episode: "Madison & Son"

In popular culture

Comedian Paul F. Tompkins plays a parody of Garry Marshall on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast and TV show.

Charities

Garry Marshall supports the following charitable cause: Alzheimer's.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]