Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 - July 19, 2016)[2] was an American film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor, best known for creating Happy Days and its various spin-offs, developing Neil Simon's 1965 play The Odd Couple for television, and directing Pretty Woman, Beaches, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve, Mother's Day, The Princess Diaries, and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.

Garry Kent Marshall was born in The Bronx, New York on November 13, 1934, the son of Anthony Wallace Marshall (1906-1999), a director of industrial films and later a producer, and Marjorie Irene (née Ward; 1908-1983), a tap dance teacher who ran a tap dance school.[3] He was the brother of actress/director Penny Marshall and Ronny Marshall Hallin, a television producer. His father was of Italian descent, his family having come from San Martino sulla Marrucina, Chieti, Abruzzo,[4] and his mother was of German, English, and Scottish ancestry.[5] His father changed his last name from Masciarelli to Marshall before his son Garry was born.[2] Garry Marshall was baptized Presbyterian and also raised Lutheran for a time.[6]

He attended De Witt Clinton High School and Northwestern University, where he wrote a sports column for The Daily Northwestern, and is a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.[7][8]

Career

Marshall began his career as a joke writer for such comedians as Joey Bishop and Phil Foster and became a writer for The Tonight Show with Jack Paar.[9]

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). Then they 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.[10] He was also a co-creator of Makin' It,[11] which the three men also produced.

In the early 1980s, he met Héctor Elizondo while playing basketball and became great friends. Elizondo appeared in every film that Marshall directed, beginning with his 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 film or not.[12]

In the opening credits of Exit to Eden (their eighth film together), Elizondo is credited "As Usual ... Hector Elizondo". In 1984, Marshall had a film hit as the writer and director of The Flamingo Kid.[13]

Marshall and Jonny Blu on the set of The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement in 2004

Marshall wore many hats during this period of his career: Most of his hit television series 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.[14] Then came successes in producing The Odd Couple, Laverne and Shirley, Blansky's Beauties, Mork & Mindy, Angie, and Happy Days. He launched independent productions through his theater (The Falcon in Toluca Lake) and in association with productions launched with talent he was grooming and working with for years.[citation needed]

One such project titled Four Stars was directed by 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 Jerry Paris) and Bert Kramer. Schulte later co-wrote with TV veteran writer and producer, Fred Fox, Jr., who penned and produced a number of Marshall's television series, including Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.[15] Marshall went on to focus on directing feature films, with a series of hits, such as Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries, Valentine's Day, and New Year's Eve.

Marshall in January 2008

Marshall was also an actor, appearing in Murphy Brown and in such films as Soapdish, On the Lot, 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.

His theater credits included Wrong Turn at Lungfish, which he wrote in collaboration with Lowell Ganz,[16] The Roast with Jerry Belson,[17] Shelves and Happy Days: A New Musical with Paul Williams,[18] which had its premiere at the Falcon Theater in Burbank, California, February 24, 2006.[19] He portrayed the role of "director" on Burbank's "Lights... camera... action!" float in the 2014 Rose Parade. In 2014, Marshall appeared in a guest star role in a February episode in season 11 of Two and a Half Men.

His son Scott Marshall is a director and his daughter Kathleen Marshall is an actress and producer. In 1997, he co-authored the memoir Wake Me When It's Funny with his daughter Lori Marshall.

Death

On the morning of July 19, 2016, Marshall died at a hospital in Burbank, California at the age of 81 due to complications of pneumonia after suffering a stroke.[20][21]

Awards and nominations

In 1996, Marshall 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.[22] He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame for his contributions to the field of television in 1997.[23]

In 2012, he was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters' Broadcasting Hall of Fame.[24]

Marshall received the Valentine Davies Award (1995) and Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement (2014)[25] from the Writers Guild of America.[26]

Filmography

Directing credits

Year	Film
1982	Young Doctors in Love
1984	The Flamingo Kid
1986	Nothing In Common
1987	Overboard
1988	Beaches
1989	The Lottery (short film)
1990	Pretty Woman
1991	Frankie and Johnny
1994	Exit to Eden
1996	Dear God
1999	The Other Sister
1999	Runaway Bride
2001	The Princess Diaries
2004	Raising Helen
2004	The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
2007	Georgia Rule
2010	Valentine's Day
2011	New Year's Eve
2016	Mother's Day

Television credits as producer or writer

Years	Program	Notes
1959-61	Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1961-64	The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy)
1961-65	The Joey Bishop Show
1961-66	The Dick Van Dyke Show
1962-68	The 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	The Odd Couple
1972	Me and the Chimp
1972	Evil Roy Slade
1974-84	Happy Days	creator, executive producer
1974	The 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	The New Odd Couple	executive producer
1982-83	Joanie Loves Chachi	creator, executive producer
1986	Four Stars
1986	Nothing in Common
2015-16	The Odd Couple	executive consultant

Acting credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	Goldfinger	Hoodlum	Uncredited
1977	Blansky's Beauties
1985	Lost In America	Casino Manager
1986	Jumpin' Jack Flash	Police Detective	Uncredited
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
1996	Twilight of the Golds	Walter Gold	TV Movie
1997	Pinky & The Brain	Mr. Itch - The Devil	Voice; Episode: "A Pinky and the Brain Halloween"
1999	Never Been Kissed	Rigfort
1999	Runaway Bride	Softball First Baseman	Uncredited
1999-2011	The 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	The Strangest Rugrats Adventure	Garry Marshall
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	Chicken Little: The Video Game
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	The Looney Tunes Show	Dr. Weisberg	Voice
2012	Louie	Lars Tardigan	2 episodes
2013	See Dad Run	Grandpa Bernie	Episode: "See Dad See Dad Run"
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	The Wiggles: Rock and Roll Darkness	Buck Cluck	Voice
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"

Charities

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

[ Source: Wikipedia ]