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Director of Pretty Woman
Background:
Hollywood director, writer, producer and sometime actor Garry Marshall is a
renowned figure in the world of television. He was the creative force behind
various classic, popular television series such as “Happy Days” (1974-1984),
“Laverne and Shirley” (1976-1983), “Mork and Mindy” (1978-1982) and “The Odd
Couple” (1977-1975). The latter show, which he adapted from Neil Simon’s play,
even brought Marshall four Emmy nominations. Aside from his numerous TV
accomplishments, Marshall has also built a flourishing career as a motion
picture director. He is probably best known for his outstanding work in the
highly successful romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990), starring Richard Gere and
Julia Roberts. Other credits include the Matt Dillon comedy/drama The Flamingo
Kid (1984), the Al Pacino-Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle Frankie and Johnny (1991),
Runaway Bride (1999, again starred Richard Gere and Julia Roberts), The Princess
Diaries (2001) and its sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004),
as well as Raising Helen (2004).
Also a respectable comic actor, Marshall frequently portrays wisecracking men
who tell it like it is. He became famous for playing the recurring character of
network executive Stan Lansing in the CBS hit sitcom “Murphy Brown” (1994-1997)
and is known for appearing in such movies as Hocus Pocus (1993), Never Been Kiss
(1999), The Majestic (2001), Orange County (2002), Chicken Little (2005) and
Keeping Up with the Steins (2006). He was also in the animated series “Father of
the Pride” (2004).
For his significant contribution to the entertainment business, Marshall
received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also picked up a 1990 American
Comedy Award for Creative Achievement, a 1995 Writers Guild of America Award for
Valentine Davies, a 1995 Casting Society of America Award for Lifetime
Achievement and a 1998 PGA Golden Laurel Award for Lifetime Achievement. More
recently, he won a Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year award from the 2004
American Cinema Editors.
As for his personal life, Marshall is the husband of Barbara, whom he married in
1963. He is the father of actor-director Scott Marshall, and actresses Kathleen
and Lori Marshall.
Brother of Penny
Childhood and Family:
Son of Anthony Wallace Marsciarelli, an Italian-American, and Marjorie Irene
Ward, a dance instructor of English and Scottish ancestry, Garry Kent
Marsciarelli, who would later be famous as Garry Marshall, was born on November
13, 1934, in New York, New York. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the
Bronx, New York, and after his 1952 graduation, he studied at the Medill School
of Journalism at Northwestern University, where he graduated in 1956. Gary is
the brother of producer-actress Ronny Hallin and actress-director Penny
Marshall.
On March 9, 1963, Gary was married to Barbara Marshall, who made a brief
appearance as a nurse on “Frankie and Johnny” (1991). They have three children
together, Kathleen, Scott and Lori Marshall.
Creator of Happy Days
Career:
A native of New York, Gary Marshall started his career as a copy boy and sports
reporter for the DAILY NEWS while also pursuing a second job as a joke writer
for stand-up talents like Joey Bishop and Phil Foster. A drummer in his own
flourishing jazz group and a feeble stand-up comic, Marshall had his first taste
in front of the TV camera by playing a recurring role in the CBS long-running
“George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” (1950-1958).
In 1960, Marshall was recruited by Jack Paar to write material for the original
“Tonight Show,” and in 1962, he was brought to Hollywood to write for ‘The Joey
Bishop Show.” It was also in Hollywood that Marshall met his long-term
collaborator Jerry Belson, with whom he wrote episodes for such celebrated
sitcoms as “The Danny Thomas Show” (ABC), “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (CBS, 1961),
“The Lucy Show” (CBS, 1962), and for the dramatic adventure series “I Spy” (NBC,
1965). The two also teamed up for a number of primetime specials and created, as
well as produced, the soon cancelled NBC sitcom “Hey, Landlord” (1966-1967)
before adapted Neil Simon’s Broadway hit “The Odd Couple” into the long-running
television comedy of the same name. The show, starring Jack Klugman and Tony
Randall, ran from 1970 until 1975, and Marshall jointly earned four Emmy
nominations for Outstanding New Series and Outstanding Comedy Series. Still with
Belson, Marshall also made his debut as a producer and scriptwriter in a feature
with 1968’s romantic comedy How Sweet it Is, starring Debbie Reynolds and James
Garner. The movie was directed by veteran TV director Jerry Paris.
Marshall also created the hit comedy/family series “Happy Days” (1974-1984),
which starred Ron Howard, Marion Ross, Anson Williams and Henry Winkler.
Debuting in 1974, the show became television’s number one program during the
1976-1977 seasons. From the popular “Happy Days,” Marshall spun-off two
successful ABC sitcoms, “Laverne and Shirley” (1976-1983, starred his sister
Penny) and “Mork and Mindy” (1978-1982, starred Robin Williams). During that
same period, Marshall also chased other projects, like directing episodes of the
ABC series “Blansky’s Beauties (1977), where he also served as executive
producer.
By the early 1980s, Marshall ventured into feature film directing and made his
debut with Young Doctors in Love (1982), a star-studded comedy that didn’t quite
hit the spot. He continued with such well-received films as the coming-of-age
teen The Flamingo Kid (1984, starred Matt Dillon), the Goldie Hawn-Kurt Russell
comedy Overboard (1987) and the Bette Midler starring Beaches (1988). Marshall,
however, did not experience a huge box office hit until he directed Julia
Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman (1990), which nabbed a BAFTA Film
nomination for Best Film and a César nomination for Best Foreign Film. The
romantic comedy became one of Disney’s highest grossing live-action films,
earning over $400 million worldwide. This was followed by Frankie and Johnny
(1991, starred Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer), the disappointing Exit To Eden
(1992), Dear God (1996), The Other Sister (1999) and Runaway Bride (1999).
A lifelong theater lover, Marshall, who made his debut as a playwright with
“Shelves” (1973), which ran for four weeks in Chicago’s Pheasant Run Playhouse
and co-wrote (with Belson) the play “The Roast” (1980), which lasted four days
on Broadway, had better fortune with “Wrong Turn at Lungfish” (1993), co-written
with Lowell Ganz. The play enjoyed regional publicity in Los Angeles and at
Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre before its off-Broadway run at NYC’s Promenade
Theatre. From 1994-1997, Marshall gained fans for his recurring role in the
popular CBS sitcom “Murphy Brown,” where he was cast as network boss Stan
Lansing. He also made cameos in such films as Hocus Pocus (1993) and Soulmates
(1996), and starred and executive produced the Showtime movie The Twilight of
the Golds (1997). He went on to appear in films like With Friends Like These ...
(1998), Never Been Kiss (1999), Can’t Be Heaven (2000), Tomcats (2001), The
Hollywood Sign (2001), The Majestic (2001), Orange County (2002) and The Long
Ride Home (2003). He also played Bernie on the CGI-animated NBC series “Father
of the Pride” (2004). Back in the director’s chair, Marshall scored another
victory with The Princess Diaries (2001), a Cinderella-like story starring Anne
Hathaway. The comedy film was a hit and spawned a 2004 installment, The Princess
Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Also in 2004, he directed Kate Hudson in the comedy
film Raising Helen.
In 2005, the character actor found himself playing Pastor in a short by Melissa
Joan Hart, Mute, and providing the voice of Buck Cluck, the father of the title
character, in the animated film Chicken Little. His most recent acting gig is
costarring with Jeremy Piven, Daryl Hannah and Jemi Gertz in the independent
comedy Keeping Up with the Steins (2006), directed by son Scott Marshall.
Currently, the 73-year-old director has completed the comedy/drama film Georgia
Rule, which is set to be released on May 11, 2007. The Mark Andrus-written movie
stars Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman, Cary Elwes and Garrett
Hedlund.
Awards:
