Garry Marshall facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Garry Marshall
Marshall in 2013
Born	Garry Kent Marshall (1934-11-13)November 13, 1934 New York City, U.S.
Died	July 19, 2016(2016-07-19) (aged 81) Burbank, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
Alma mater	Northwestern University
Occupation	Screenwriter film director producer actor
Years active	1959–2016
Known for	Creator of Happy Days
Spouse(s)	Barbara Sue Wells (m. 1963)
Children	3, including Scott Marshall
Parent(s)	Anthony W. Marshall (father)
Relatives	Penny Marshall (sister) Tracy Reiner (niece)

Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for The Lucy Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show before he developed Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple for television in 1970. He rose to fame in the 1970s for creating the ABC sitcom Happy Days. He also directed the films The Flamingo Kid, Overboard, Beaches, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, and The Princess Diaries, as well as the romantic comedy ensemble films Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve, and Mother's Day.

Early life
Career
Personal life
Death and tributes
Filmography
Awards and nominations
See also

Early life

Garry Kent Marshall was born in the Bronx, New York City, on November 13, 1934, the only son and the eldest child of Anthony "Tony" Masciarelli (later Anthony Wallace Marshall; 1906–1999), a director of industrial films and producer, and Marjorie Irene (née Ward; 1908–1983), the owner and teacher in a tap dance school. 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, and his mother was of German, English, and Scottish ancestry. His father changed his last name from Masciarelli to Marshall before his son Garry was born. Garry Marshall was baptized Presbyterian and also raised Lutheran for a time.

He attended De Witt Clinton High School and Northwestern University, where he wrote a sports column for The Daily Northwestern, and was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Beginning in 1956, Marshall served a stint in the U.S. Army as a writer for Stars and Stripes and Seoul News, and was production chief for Armed Forces Radio Network; serving in Korea.

Career

Marshall c. 1995

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. He originally partnered with writer Fred Freeman.

In 1961, he and Freeman moved to Hollywood, where they broke into writing sitcoms on The Joey Bishop Show. Freeman, however, found that he did not enjoy sitcom work, and moved back to New York. Marshall teamed up with writing partner Jerry Belson, and the two worked together through the 1960s. 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. Moving into the 1970s, Marshall worked on his own or with others, and created Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley (starring his sister Penny, who had earlier had a recurring role on The Odd Couple), 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 Makin' It, which the three men also produced.

In the early 1980s, he met Héctor Elizondo while playing basketball, and they 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. 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. Of all Marshall's films, Elizondo had his biggest role in The Flamingo Kid as main character Matt Dillon's father.

Marshall had several responsibilities 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 next year, producing The Lucy Show. Then came successes in producing The Odd Couple, Laverne & Shirley, Blansky's Beauties, Mork & Mindy, Angie, and Happy Days.

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

Marshall was also an actor, appearing in Murphy Brown and in such films as Soapdish, On the Lot, his sister's A League Of Their Own and Albert Brooks' Lost in America, and provided a guest-starring voice for The Simpsons episodes "Eight Misbehavin'" and "Homer the Father" (one of his first roles as an undercover cop in the counter-culture drama Psych-Out starring Jack Nicholson). He appeared in two episodes of Happy Days as a drummer. He was a drummer in the second last scene of The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and he plays a drummer in his film Overboard.

His theater credits included 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, February 24, 2006. 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.

Personal life

Marshall married Barbara Sue Wells on March 9, 1963. They had three children, including Scott Marshall. His daughters are Lori Marshall (who he co-wrote a book with) and Kathleen Marshall (who appeared in all of his films).

Death and tributes

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

Henry Winkler paid tribute to Marshall on Barry in 2019 and SAG-AFTRA made a Memoriam Tribute to Marshall on the SAG Awards in 2019. Also, Julia Roberts paid tribute to Marshall in Pretty Woman: The Musical, in 2018.

ABC aired the special The Happy Days of Garry Marshall on May 12, 2020.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer	Actor	Role	Notes
1961	The Phony American	No	No	No	Yes	U.S. Recruiting Officer
1968	Maryjane	No	No	No	Yes	Service Station Attendant	Credited as Garry K. Marshall
1968	Psych-Out	No	No	No	Yes	Plainclothesman	Credited as Gary Marshall
1968	How Sweet It Is!	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Man in top bunk	Voice, Uncredited Screenplay
1970	The Grasshopper	No	Yes	Yes	No		Screenplay/story
1977	Walkin' Walter	No	Yes	No	No		Executive Producer
1977	Grand Theft Auto	No	No	No	Yes	Underworld Boss	Credited as Gary K. Marshall
1982	Young Doctors in Love	Yes	No	No	No
1984	The Flamingo Kid	Yes	No	Yes	No		Screenplay
1985	Lost in America	No	No	No	Yes	Casino Manager	Credited as Garry K. Marshall
1986	Jumpin' Jack Flash	No	No	No	Yes	Police Detective	Credited as Garry K. Marshall
1986	Nothing in Common	Yes	No	Yes	No		First rewrite — uncredited
1987	Overboard	Yes	No	No	Yes	Drummer	Uncredited
1987	Nothing in Common	No	Yes	No	No
1988	Beaches	Yes	No	No	Yes	Audition Director	Uncredited
1989	The Lottery	Yes	No	No	No		Short film
1990	Pretty Woman	Yes	No	No	Yes	Bum Tour Guide	Uncredited
1990	Secret Agent OO Soul	No	No	No	Yes	Unknown role
1991	Frankie and Johnny	Yes	Yes	No	No
1991	Soapdish	No	No	No	Yes	Edmund Edwards
1992	A League of Their Own	No	No	No	Yes	Walter Harvey
1993	Hocus Pocus	No	No	No	Yes	Devil (Husband)	Uncredited
1994	Exit to Eden	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Priscilla's Client	Voice, Uncredited
1995	Statistically Speaking	No	No	No	Yes	Unknown role	Short
1996	The Twilight of the Golds	No	Yes	No	No		Executive producer
1996	Dear God	Yes	No	No	Yes	Preston Sweeney, Postmaster	Uncredited
1996	Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore	No	No	No	Yes	Complaining Customer
1996	The Twilight of the Golds	No	No	No	Yes	Walter Gold
1998	With Friends Like These...	No	No	No	Yes	Frank Minetti
1998	Hole in the Paper Sky	No	No	No	Yes	Warren	Short
1999	The Other Sister	Yes	No	Yes	No		Screenplay/story
1999	Runaway Bride	Yes	No	No	Yes	First Baseman in Softball	Uncredited
1999	Kismet	No	No	No	Yes	Stepfather	Short
1999	Never Been Kissed	No	No	No	Yes	Rigfort
1999	The Space Between Us	No	No	No	Yes	Steve Mayland
1999	Can't Be Heaven	No	No	No	Yes	Pawn Shop Broker
2000	It's a Shame About Ray	No	No	No	Yes	Mr. Brezhnev	Short
2001	The Princess Diaries	Yes	No	No	No
2001	Tomcats	No	No	No	Yes	Uncle Murray	Uncredited
2001	The Hollywood Sign	No	No	No	Yes	Director
2001	The Majestic	No	No	No	Yes	Studio Executive	Voice
2002	Orange County	No	No	No	Yes	Arthur Gantner
2002	Mother Ghost	No	No	No	Yes	Arthur
2003	The Long Ride Home	No	No	No	Yes	Arthur
2003	They Call Him Sasquatch	No	No	No	Yes	Stu Glassman
2003	Devil's Knight	No	No	No	Yes	Big Eddie
2004	Raising Helen	Yes	No	No	No
2004	The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement	Yes	No	No	Yes	Drummer
2005	Mute	No	No	No	Yes	Pastor	Short
2005	Chicken Little	No	No	No	Yes	Buck Cluck	Voice
2006	Keeping Up with the Steins	No	No	No	Yes	Irwin Fiedler
2006	I-See-You.Com	No	No	No	Yes	Himself
2007	Georgia Rule	Yes	No	No	No
2008	Chronic Town	No	No	No	Yes	The Doctor
2009	Finding Bliss	No	No	No	Yes	Himself
2009	Race to Witch Mountain	No	No	No	Yes	Dr. Donald Harlan
2009	Grand Drip	No	No	No	Yes	Larry Rosenberg	Short
2010	Valentine's Day	Yes	No	No	Yes	Musician	Uncredited
2011	New Year's Eve	Yes	Yes	No	No
2014	Life After Beth	No	No	No	Yes	Grandpa
2015	Scooby-Doo! And Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery	No	No	No	Yes	Manny Goldman	Voice, Direct-to-DVD
2016	Mother's Day	Yes	No	Yes	No		Story

Television

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer	Actor	Role	Notes
1960	The Jack Paar Tonight Show	No	No	Yes	No		3 episodes
1962–1965	The Joey Bishop Show	No	No	Yes	No		12 episodes
1963–1964	Make Room for Daddy	No	No	Yes	No		5 episodes
1964	The Bill Dana Show	No	No	Yes	No		2 episodes
1964	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	No	No	Yes	No		Teleplay Episode: "Think Pretty"
1964	Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.	No	No	Yes	No		2 episodes
1964	Danny Thomas Special	No	No	Yes	No		Television Special
1964–1966	The Lucy Show	No	No	Yes	No		11 episodes
1965	Hank	No	No	Yes	No		Episode: "Will the Real Harvey Wheatley Pleas Stand Up?"
1965	I Spy	No	No	Yes	No		Episode: "No Exchange on Damaged Merchandise"
1965–1966	The Dick Van Dyke Show	No	Yes	No	Yes	Referee, Bartender	Episodes: "Body and Sol", "The Gunslinger" Producer: (18 episodes)
1966–1967	Hey, Landlord	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Big Leonard	Episode: "A Legend Dies" 31 episodes
1967	Sheriff Who	No	Yes	No	No		Television Movie
1967	Good Morning World	No	No	No	Yes	Man	Episode: "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, Maybe"
1967	Sheriff Who	No	Yes	No	No		Television Movie
1967	The Danny Thomas Hour	No	Yes	No	No		Episode: "It's Greek to Me"
1968	Dick Van Dyke	No	Yes	No	No		Television Special
1968	The Danny Thomas Hour	No	Yes	No	No		Episode: "My Pal Tony"
1970	The Murdocks and the McClays	No	Yes	Yes	No		Television Movie
1970	Barefoot in the Park	No	No	Yes	No		Episode: "The Bed"
1970–1971	Love, American Style	No	No	Yes	No		19 episodes
1970–1975	The Odd Couple	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Man #2 / Werner Turner / Drummer / Man #1	Director: (6 episodes) Writer: (7 episodes) Actor: (4 episodes)
1972	Me and the Chimp	Yes	No	Yes	No		Creator: (13 episodes) Executive Producer: (13 episodes)
1972	Evil Roy Slade	No	No	Yes	No		Television Movie
1972	Wednesday Night Out	No	No	Yes	No		Television Movie
1972–1974	The Brian Keith Show	No	Yes	Yes	No		Creator: (47 episodes) Executive Producer: Episode: "Tonsils for Two"
1974	Dominic's Dream	Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Television Movie
1974–1984	Happy Days	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Prom Drummer/Drummer	Creator (255 episodes) Director: Episode: "Haunted" Executive producer: (255 episodes) Writer: (2 episodes) Actor: (2 episodes)
1975	Wives	No	Yes	Yes	No		Television Movie Executive Producer
1976–1983	Laverne & Shirley	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Drummer	Creator: (178 episodes) Director: Episode: "The Society Party" Executive producer: (178 episodes) Actor (2 episodes)
1977	Blansky's Beauties	Yes	Yes	Yes	No		Creator: (13 episodes) Director: Episode: "Blansky's Biking Beauty" Executive Producer: (2 episodes)
1978–1982	Mork & Mindy	No	Yes	Yes	No		Creator: (94 episodes) Director: Episode: "Dueling Skates" Executive Producer (94 episodes)
1978–1979	Who's Watching the Kids?	No	Yes	No	No		Executive Producer: (10 episodes)
1979	Beane's of Boston	No	Yes	No	No		Television Movie Executive Producer
1979–1980	Angie	No	Yes	Yes	No		Creator: (36 episodes) Producer: (36 episodes)
1980	The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang	No	No	Yes	No		Based on characters created by Garry Marshall
1980	Vega$	No	No	No	Yes	Dr. Middleton	Episode: "Lost Monday"
1981	The Way We Were	No	No	No	Yes	Himself	Television Special
1981	Mean Jeans	Yes	Yes	No	No		Executive Producer
1982	Young Doctors in Love	Yes	Yes	No	No		Executive Producer
1982–1983	The New Odd Couple	No	Yes	Yes	No		Developed for Television by Garry Marshall (18 episodes) Executive Producer: (4 episodes)
1982–1983	Joanie Loves Chachi	No	Yes	Yes	No		Creator: (17 episodes) Executive Producer: (3 episodes)
1983	Laverne & Shirley	Yes	No	No	No		Episode: "The Monastery Show"
1983	Herndon	Yes	Yes	No	No		Television Movie Executive Producer
1986	Four Stars	No	Yes	No	No		Television Movie Executive Producer
1987–1988	The New Hollywood Squares	No	No	No	Yes	Himself (Panelist)	Recurring role (5 episodes)
1989	Let's Get Mom	Yes	No	No	No		Television Movie
1992	Street Scenes: New York on Film	No	No	No	Yes	Himself	Television Documentary
1993	A League of Their Own	No	No	No	Yes	Walter Harvey	2 episodes
1993	The Last Shot	No	No	No	Yes	Mark Tullis, Sr.	Television Short
1994–1997	Murphy Brown	No	No	No	Yes	Mr. Stan Lansing	Recurring role (24 episodes)
1995	Night Stand	No	No	No	Yes	Garry Marshall	Episode: "Arctic Heat"
1995	Wheel of Fortune	No	No	No	Yes	Himself (Celebrity Contestant)	Episode: "Celebrity Award Winners (Game 3)"
1995	The Laverne & Shirley Reunion	No	No	No	Yes	Himself	Television Special
1997	Pinky and the Brain	No	No	No	Yes	Mr. Itch – The Devil	Voice, Episode: "A Pinky and the Brain Halloween"
1997	The Naked Truth	No	No	No	Yes	Garry Marshall	Episode: "Brideface Revisited"
1997	City Guys	No	No	No	Yes	Mr. Giordano	Episode: "Bye Mom"
1998	CHiPs '99	No	No	No	Yes	Tour Bus Driver	Television Movie
1999	Norm	No	No	No	Yes	Big Nick	Episode: "Norm vs. Norm"
1999	The Simpsons	No	No	No	Yes	Mr Larry Kidkill	Voice, Episode: "Eight Misbehavin"
1999	Jeopardy!	No	No	No	Yes	Himself (Celebrity Contestant)	Episode: "A Celebrity Jeopardy! (Game 5)"
2000	MADtv	No	No	No	Yes	Himself	Episode: "#5.23"
2001	Hollywood Squares	No	No	No	Yes	Himself (Panelist)	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2001–2002	Three Sisters	No	No	No	Yes	Vince	2 episodes
2002	Monk	No	No	No	Yes	Warren Beach	Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Airplane"
2002	Rugrats	No	No	No	Yes	Fred	Voice, Episode: "Club Fred"
2002	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch	No	No	No	Yes	Mickey Brentwood	Episode: "Bada-Ping!"
2004	Listen Up	No	No	No	Yes	Max Kleinman	Episode: "The Gift of the Ton-I"
2004	Father of the Pride	No	No	No	Yes	Bernie	Voice, recurring role (5 episodes)
2004–2008	Biography	No	No	No	Yes	Himself (Interviewee)	5 episodes
2007	Brothers & Sisters	No	No	No	Yes	Major Jack Wiener	2 episodes
2008	The Sarah Silverman Program	No	No	No	Yes	Sharkcorp President	Episode: "High, It's Sarah"
2009	ER	No	No	No	Yes	Harry Feingold	Episode: "Love Is a Battlefield"
2009	According to Jim	No	No	No	Yes	Doctor	Episode: "Physical Therapy"
2011	The Simpsons	No	No	No	Yes	Sheldon Leavitt	Voice, Episode: "Homer the Father"
2011–2013	The Looney Tunes Show	No	No	No	Yes	Dr. Weisberg	Voice, recurring role (9 episodes)
2012	Louie	No	No	No	Yes	Lars Tardigan	2 episodes
2013	See Dad Run	No	No	No	Yes	Bernie	Episode: "See Dad Run See Dad Run"
2014	See Dad Run	No	No	Yes	No		Episode: "See Dad See Joe Sleepwalk"
2014	Two and a Half Men	No	No	No	Yes	Garry	Episode: "Bite Me, Supreme Court"
2014	Liv and Maddie	No	No	No	Yes	Vic Defazerelli	Episode: "Space Werewolf-A-Rooney"
2015	Brooklyn Nine-Nine	No	No	No	Yes	Marvin Miller	Episode: "The Wednesday Incident"
2015	Hot in Cleveland	No	No	No	Yes	Ari	Episode: "All Dolled Up"
2015	BoJack Horseman	No	No	No	Yes	Abe	Voice, Episode: "Yes And"
2015	Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero	No	No	No	Yes	Soda Jerk	Voice, 2 episodes
2015	Celebrity Family Feud	No	No	No	Yes	Himself (Celebrity Contestant)	Episode: "Dr. Phil McGraw vs. Garry & Penny Marshall"
2015–2016	The Odd Couple	No	Yes	No	No		Executive Consultant (16 episodes)
2015–2016	Grandfathered	No	Yes	No	No		Executive Consultant (5 episodes)
2016	The Odd Couple	No	No	No	Yes	Walter Madison	Episode: "Madison & Son", (final appearance)

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Chicken Little	Buck Cluck	Voice

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. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame for his contributions to the field of television in 1997.

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

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

Association	Year	Category	Title	Result
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards	2011	Hall of Shame	Valentine's Day	Nominated
American Cinema Editors	2004	Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award	—	Won
American Comedy Awards	1990	Creative Achievement Award	—	Won
BAFTA Awards	1991	Best Film	Pretty Woman	Nominated
Casting Society of America	1995	Lifetime Achievement Award	—	Won
Cesar Awards	1991	Best Foreign Film	Pretty Woman	Nominated
Gold Derby Awards	2008	Lifetime Achievement Award	—	Nominated
Gold Derby Awards	2010	Lifetime Achievement Award	—	Nominated
Golden Raspberry Awards	2012	Worst Director	New Year's Eve	Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards	1971	Outstanding New Series	The Odd Couple	Nominated
	1971	Outstanding Comedy Series	The Odd Couple	Nominated
	1972	Outstanding Comedy Series	The Odd Couple	Nominated
	1974	Outstanding Comedy Series	The Odd Couple	Nominated
	1979	Outstanding Comedy Series	Mork & Mindy	Nominated
PRISM Awards	2008	Best Feature Film	Georgia Rule	Won
Producers Guild Awards	1998	Lifetime Achievement Membership Award	—	Won
Producers Guild Awards	1998	Lifetime Achievement Award in Television	—	Won
Publicists Guild of America	1980	Showmanship Award – Television	—	Won
Publicists Guild of America	1992	Showmanship Award – Motion Picture	—	Won
TV Land Awards	2008	Legend Award	—	Won
Walk of Fame	1983	Star on the Walk of Fame — Television 6838 Hollywood, Blvd.	—	Won
Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards	1996	Lucy Award	—	Won
Writers Guild of America	1965	Episodic Comedy (for "The Bowling Partners")	Make Room for Daddy	Nominated
	1966	Episodic Comedy (for "Romance, Roses and Rye Bread", "4 1/2")	The Dick Van Dyke Show	Nominated
	1995	Valentine Davies Award	—	Won
	2014	Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement	—	Won