Sitcom star, Hollywood director dead at age 75
ENTERTAINMENT
NEW YORK — Penny Marshall, who starred in “Laverne & Shirley” before becoming one of the topgrossing female directors in Hollywood, has died. She was 75.
Marshall’s publicist, Michelle Bega, said Marshall died in her Los Angeles home on Monday due to complications from diabetes.
“Our family is heartbroken,” the Marshall family said in a statement.
Marshall starred as Laverne DeFazio, the Milwaukee brewery worker, alongside Cindy Williams in the hit ABC comedy “Laverne & Shirley.” The series, which aired from 1976 to 1983, was among the biggest hits of its era.
It also gave Marshall her start as a filmmaker. She directed several episodes of “Laverne & Shirley.”
Her character of Laverne DeFazio, a brewery worker in Milwaukee in the late 1950s, was first introduced in a guest spot on “Happy Days.” Marshall stayed with “LaVerne & Shirley” for its entire 178-episode run, including the final season when Williams departed due to a pregnancy. “LaVerne & Shirley,” helped by a “Happy Days” lead-in, was No. 1 in the ratings for its third and fourth seasons.
She and Williams famously did not get along, often arguing with producers about which actress was given the funnier lines. The two later reconciled and would participate together in cast reunions.
Her first TV series was “Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers,” which lasted only 14 episodes, but she had recurring roles on the hit shows “Mary Tyler Moore” and “The Odd Couple.”
She made her feature film directorial debut in “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” the 1986 comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg.
Her next film made Marshall the first woman to direct a film that grossed more than $100 million. Her 1988 hit comedy “Big,” starring Tom Hanks, was about a 12-year-old boy who wakes up in the body of a 30-year-old New York City man. The film earned Hanks his first Oscar nomination.
In 1990, “Awakenings” with Robin Williams and Robert DeNero was nominated for three Oscars, including best picture, but she wasn’t nominated as best director..
Marshall reteamed with Hanks for “A League of Their Own,” the 1992 comedy about the women’s professional baseball league begun during World War II. That, too, crossed $100 million, making $107.5 million domestically.
A Bronx native, Marshall became a dedicated Los Angeles Lakers fan, and a courtside regular. Her brother Garry Marshall, who died in 2016, was also one of Hollywood’s top comedy directors. Penny Marshall was married to Michael Henry for two years in the 1960s and to the director Rob Reiner from 1971-1981. Their daughter Tracy Reiner is an actress; one of her first roles was a brief appearance in her mother’s “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
“I loved Penny. I grew up with her. She was born with a great gift. She was born with a funnybone and the instinct of how to use it. I was very lucky to have lived with her and her funnybone. I will miss her,” Rob Reiner posted on Twitter.
“Penny Marshall was a sweet woman. I was very fortunate to spend time with her. So many laughs. She had a heart of gold. Tough as nails. She could play round ball with the best of them,” said actor Danny DeVito, who Marshall directed in the 1994 film “Renaissance Man.”.
Marshall is also survived by her older sister, Ronny, and three grandchildren.
Her final appearance was a guest appearance in the 2016 television reboot of “The Odd Couple.”