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‘Laverne’ found more success behind camera
Penny Marshall, who costarred as a Milwaukee brewery worker in the top-rated 1970s and ’80s sitcom “Laverne & Shirley” before becoming a director of hit movies such as “Big” and “A League of Their Own,” has died. She was 75.
Penny Marshall, who co-starred as a Milwaukee brewery worker in the top-rated 1970s and ’80s sitcom “Laverne & Shirley” before becoming a director of hit movies such as “Big” and “A League of Their Own,” has died. She was 75.
Marshall died peacefully Monday night in her Hollywood Hills home of complications from diabetes, Michelle Bega, a spokeswoman for Marshall’s family, told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.
“Our family is heartbroken over the passing of Penny Marshall,” the Marshall family said in a statement.
A spinoff of “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley” starred Marshall as the feisty Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as the idealistic Shirley Feeney, two 1950s working-class roommates who worked on the assembly line at the Shotz Brewery.
The midseason replacement was launched on ABC in January 1976 and soared to the top of the ratings. Known for its broad physical comedy, it was the No. 1-rated show for the 1977 and ’78 seasons and aired until 1983.
“There were no bluecollar girls on television” when “Laverne & Shirley” debuted, executive producer Garry Marshall, Penny’s brother, once said in an interview for the Archive of American Television. (Garry Marshall died in 2016.)
With her deadpan demeanor and flat-toned Bronx accent, Marshall had been making minor inroads in Hollywood for several years before the Laverne and Shirley characters debuted as Richie and Fonzie’s double dates on an episode of “Happy Days” in 1975. That included being a semiregular on “The Odd Couple” as Oscar Madison’s secretary and a regular on the short-lived “Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers.”
Marshall’s career received big boosts from brother Garry, who had been an executive producer on “The Odd Couple.” He also created “Happy Days” and co-created “Laverne & Shirley.”
At the time “Laverne & Shirley” debuted, Marshall was married to Rob Reiner, who had gained fame on “All in the Family” playing Archie Bunker’s son-in-law. They later divorced.
“Laverne & Shirley” had been off the air three years when Marshall made her feature film debut as a director of the 1986 Whoopi Goldberg comedy “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
The film was not a success, but her next one was.
“Big,” a fantasy tale in which a boy wakes up in the body of an adult man played by Tom Hanks, earned Hanks an Oscar nomination and made Marshall the first woman director in Hollywood history to direct a movie that grossed more than $100 million.
“Awakenings” (1990), a medical drama starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, came next. It received three Oscar nominations, including for best picture and actor in a leading role (for De Niro).
Marshall went on to direct “A League of Their Own” (1992), and “The Preacher’s Wife” (1996).
Dedicated sports fan Marshall had a documentary in postproduction about former NBA superstar and recent international diplomat Dennis Rodman. “Rodman” is scheduled for release Sept. 1, 2019.
“With directing, I know people on movie sets want leadership, but I don’t exude that captain-of-the-ship image. I’d get on the phone with (‘Big’ producer) Jim Brooks and apologize all the time and say, ‘I’m no good at this.’”
Countered Brooks at the time: “Penny has an iron will, which is a thing that almost everybody misses.”
She was born Oct. 15, 1943, in the Bronx. Her father, Tony, was an industrial filmmaker and her mother, Marjorie, ran a tap dancing school.
Marshall is survived by her sister Ronny, daughter Tracy Reiner and three grandchildren. Plans for a memorial service have yet to be made.