Garry Marshall

Garry Marshall
Born	Garry Kent Marshall November 13, 1934 (1934-11-13) The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, director, writer, producer
Years active	1961–present
Spouse	Barbara Marshall (1963–present)

Garry Kent Marshall (born November 13, 1934) is an American actor, director, writer, and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.

Early life

Marshall was born in the New York City borough of the Bronx, the son of Marjorie Irene (née Ward), a tap dance teacher who ran a tap dance school, and the late 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 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 in the Lutheran religion for a time. 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.

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 an avalanche of successes in producing The Odd Couple, Laverne and Shirley, Blansky's Beauties, Mork & Mindy, Angie, and of course, 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 teleplay Goodfriend had read when she was studying at the Lee Strasberg Center, which had been written by John Schulte and K. Mahony. 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, with a series of hits, such as Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries, and most recently Valentine's Day.

Marshall is also an actor, making his TV acting debut starting as a child with a recurring role in the long-running George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (CBS, 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.

Marshall has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. His son, Scott Marshall, is also a director.

Directing credits

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

Television credits (as Writer and/or Producer)

• The Tonight Show (with Jack Paar)
• The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966)
• Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theater (1964)
• The Joey Bishop Show (1961–1964)
• Hank (1965–1966)
• The Danny Thomas Show (1953–64) (aka Make Room for Daddy)
• The Lucy Show (1962–68)
• Hey Landlord! (1966)
• Sheriff Who? (1967)
• The Odd Couple (1970–75)
• Me and the Chimp (1972)
• Evil Roy Slade (1972)
• Dominick's Dream (1974)
• Love, American Style (1974)
• The Brian Keith Show (1974)
• Happy Days (1974–84)
• Wives (1975)
• Laverne and Shirley (1976–1983)
• Blansky's Beauties (1977)
• Who's Watching the Kids (1978)
• Beanes of Boston (1979)
• Angie (1979–80)
• Mork & Mindy (1978–1982)
• Out of the Blue (1979)
• Makin' It (1979)
• Mean Jeans (1981)
• Joanie Loves Chachi (1982–83)
• The New Odd Couple (1982–83)
• Nothing in Common (1986)

Acting credits

George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (CBS, 1950–58)

• Blansky's Beauties (1977)
• Lost In America (1985)
• Soapdish (1991)
• A League of Their Own (1992)
• Murphy Brown (1994)
• Hocus Pocus (1993) (cameo)
• Pinky & The Brain (1997) (voice) (animated)
• Never Been Kissed (1999)
• The Simpsons (1999) (voice) (animated)
• Orange County (2002)
• Monk (2002)
• Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (2002)
• Father of the Pride (2004) (voice) (animated)
• Chicken Little (2005) (voice) (animated)
• Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze (2005–08) (voice) (animated)
• Keeping Up with the Steins (2006)
• Brothers and Sisters (2006)
• Race to Witch Mountain (2009)
• "The Looney Tunes Show" (voice)-Dr. Weisberg

Further reading

• Marshall, Garry (1995). Wake Me When It's Funny: How to Break into Show Business and Stay There. Newmarket Press. ISBN 1557042888. 

External links

• Garry Marshall at the Internet Movie Database
• Garry Marshall Archive of American Television Interview