Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American actor, director, writer, and producer. He was the creator of and the executive producer of Happy Days and its spinoffs Laverne & Shirley, Blansky's Beauties, Mork & Mindy and Joanie Loves Chachi, and also developed Neil Simon's 1965 play The Odd Couple for television, and directing Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve, Mother's Day, The Princess Diaries', and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. He provided the voice of Buck Cluck in Chicken Little.
Life & career[]
Career[]
Garry 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.[1]
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 & Shirley (starring his sister Penny), and Mork & Mindy, which were produced by his associates Thomas L. Miller, Robert L. Boyett, and Edward K. Milkis.[2] He was also a co-creator of Makin' It,[3] 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.[4]
In the opening credits of Exit to Eden (their eighth film together), Elizondo is credited "As Usual ... Hector Elizondo".[5] In 1984, Marshall had a film hit as the writer and director of The Flamingo Kid.[6]
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.[7] 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.
Death[]
On the morning of July 19, 2016, Marshall died at a hospital in Burbank, CA at the age of 81 due to complications of pneumonia after suffering a stroke.[8][9]
News of his death spread worldwide and many celebrities paid tributes to Marshall.[10]
References[]
- ↑ "Writer-director Garry Marshall dies at age 81". Retrieved on July 20, 2016.
- ↑ Staiger, Janet (October 1, 2000). Blockbuster TV: Must-See Sitcoms in the Network Era (en). NYU Press. ISBN 9780814783511.
- ↑ Makin' It | TV Series | 1978 (en-US). Hollywood.com (February 3, 2015).
- ↑ Kung, Michelle. "Loyal Subject", Entertainment Weekly, August 20, 2004.
- ↑ Hector Elizondo.
- ↑ Eisenberg, Eric (September 20, 2012). Brett Ratner Producing Remake Of The Flamingo Kid. CINEMABLEND.
- ↑ The Museum of Broadcast Communications - Encyclopedia of Television - Marshall, Garry. Retrieved on July 20, 2016.
- ↑ "TV, film legend Garry Marshall dies at 81", USA Today, July 19, 2016. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Director Garry Marshall Dead At 81", The Huffington Post (.com), July 19, 2016. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.
- ↑ 'The Odd Couple' Will Honor Garry Marshall with All-Star Tribute. Retrieved on November 20, 2016.
External links[]
- Garry Marshall article at Wikipedia
