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Garry Marshall

 
Writer: Garry Marshall
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  • Born: Nov 13, 1934 in Bronx, New York City, New York
  • Occupation: Writer, Director, Actor
  • Active: '60s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Comedy
  • Career Highlights: Lost in America, Pretty Woman, Nothing in Common
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Lady and the Tiger and the Lawyer (1964)

Biography

The career of producer/director Garry Marshall has been marked by many peaks, the highest of which include such classic television sitcoms as The Odd Couple (1970-1975), Happy Days (1974-1984), and Mork and Mindy (1978-1982), and the phenomenally popular feature film Pretty Woman (1990). A Brooklyn native, Marshall (born Gary Marsciarelli) is the son of an industrial filmmaker and a dance instructor. His sister, Penny Marshall, is a comic actress and noted film director. Marshall majored in journalism at Northwestern University and subsequently served a stint in the army before becoming a reporter for the New York Daily News. He was also a jazz drummer in a band before becoming a television comedy scriptwriter for such artists as Joey Bishop and Phil Foster and the writer for Jack Parr on The Tonight Show.

Marshall moved to Los Angeles in 1961, but he didn't make it big until he teamed up with writer Jerry Belson. Together, they penned numerous episodes for several sitcoms, notably The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Lucy Show. In 1970, Marshall produced The Odd Couple, which starred Jack Klugman and Tony Randall and was based on a popular Neil Simon play and movie. He reached his apex as a television producer during the '70s, with such hits as Laverne and Shirley (1976-1983) (a Happy Days spin-off starring sister Penny) and Mork and Mindy. In addition to his producing and television directorial efforts, Marshall occasionally appeared as a supporting actor.

In features, Marshall co-produced and co-wrote (with Belson) his first film, How Sweet It Is!, in 1968. A year later, the two produced and penned The Grasshopper. Marshall made his directorial feature film debut in 1982 with Young Doctors in Love, a comic look at daytime serials. As a film director, Marshall's output has received uneven critical reviews. Films such as the Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell vehicle Overboard and the Bette Midler/Barbara Hershey melodrama Beaches (1988) had good box-office business, but were considered of average quality. 1990's Pretty Woman was Marshall's first big movie hit. Following its tremendous success, he tried his hand at a serious drama with Frankie and Johnny (1991) starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. Since then, Marshall's films have tended more toward sentimental and straight dramas such as The Twilight of the Golds (1997) and The Other Sister (1999). Marshall returned to comedy -- and to his teaming of Julia Roberts and Richard Gere -- in 1999 with Runaway Bride.

In addition to his work behind the camera, Marshall has occasionally appeared as an actor in films and television shows alike. During the mid-'90s, many TV audiences came to recognize him for playing Candice Bergen's ratings-crazy boss, Stan Lansing, on Murphy Brown. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Garry Marshall
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Garry Marshall
Born Garry Kent Marshall
November 13, 1934 (1934-11-13) (age 74)
Bronx, New York, U.S.
Occupation Actor, director, writer, producer
Years active 1961—present
Spouse(s) Barbara Marshall (1963-present)

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

Contents

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 Anthony Wallace Marshall, a director of industrial films and later a producer.[1] 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 Abruzzo,[2] and his mother was of English and Scottish descent;[3][4] his father changed his last name from "Masciarelli" to "Marshall" before Garry was born.[5] Marshall was baptized Presbyterian and also raised in the Lutheran religion for a time.[6] He attended De Witt Clinton High School and Northwestern University and is a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, where he wrote a sports column for The Daily Northwestern.

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. 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,[7] which was also produced by the three men.

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 the series, "Hey, Landlord" in 1966. He stepped up to 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 was entitled, "Four Stars," which was directed by actress Lynda Goodfriend (who portrayed Lori Beth in "Happy Days"), based on a teleplay she had read at the Lee Strasberg Center, written by John Schulte and K. Mahony. It starred Julie Paris, the daughter of "Happy Days" director, Jerry Paris. Marshall went on to focus on directing, with a series of hits, such as Nothing in Common, Overboard, Beaches, Pretty Woman, Frankie and Johnny, Exit to Eden, The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Raising Helen and most recently Georgia Rule.

Marshall is also an actor, appearing on the television series Murphy Brown and in such movies as Grand Theft Auto, Hocus Pocus, Tomcats, Lost in America, Never Been Kissed, Runaway Bride, Orange County, and Keeping Up With The Steins, as well as Jumpin' Jack Flash and A League of Their Own, both directed by his sister. Ironically, Garry played a day time soap opera producer in the 1991 movie "Soapdish". He also acts in stage productions. He was a permanent judge on FOX's filmmaking-competition reality TV series On the Lot, which aired in 2007. He also guest starred in The Simpsons episode Eight Misbehavin'.

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 Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey in the Fall of 2007.

Marshall has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. His son, Scott Marshall is also a director. His sister is Penny Marshall, who starred as Laverne in the TV show Laverne and Shirley, and later directed hit movies such as Big and The Preacher's Wife.

He most recently co-starred in Race to Witch Mountain, out March 13 2009, as a government fringe scientist and UFO conspiracy theorist.

Directing credits

Television credits (as Writer and/or Producer)

Acting credits

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References

  1. ^ Comedy On Tap- Garry Marshall Interview
  2. ^ This Jewish boy's life will make you laugh (and get a bit verklempt?)
  3. ^ An Interview with the Cast of Keeping up with the Steins
  4. ^ Genealogy.com: Ancestry of Penny Marshall
  5. ^ Groucho Reviews ::
  6. ^ Thunderstruck
  7. ^ BBC - Comedy - Shows A-Z Index

External links

v • d • e
TV series produced by Garry Marshall

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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