Penny Marshall

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Carole Penny Marshall<ref name="claims">Born Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir, p. 10; Template:ISBN. Copyright 2012</ref> (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018)<ref name="claims" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> was an American actress, film director, and producer. She is best known for her role as Laverne DeFazio on the television sitcom Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983), receiving three nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her portrayal.

Marshall made her directorial debut with Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) before directing Big (1988), which became the first film directed by a woman to gross more than $100 million at the U.S. box office. Her subsequent directing credits included Awakenings (1990)(which was nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture), A League of Their Own (1992), Renaissance Man (1994), The Preacher's Wife (1996), and Riding in Cars with Boys (2001). She also produced Cinderella Man and Bewitched (both 2005), and directed episodes of the television series According to Jim and United States of Tara.

Early life

Carole Penelope "Penny" Marshall was born in Manhattan<ref>Penny Marshall birth registration in the New York City birth index at Ancestry.com</ref> on October 15, 1943,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> to Marjorie Irene (née Ward), a tap dance teacher who ran the Marjorie Marshall Dance School, and Anthony W. Marshall (né Masciarelli), a director of industrial films and later a producer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She had a brother, actor/director/TV producer Garry Marshall; and a sister, television producer Ronny Hallin. Penny's birth name, Carole, was selected because her mother's favorite actress was Carole Lombard. Her middle name was selected because her older sister Ronny, wanting a horse, was saving pennies; their mother chose the middle name in an attempt to console Ronny.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Penny's father was of Italian descent, his family having come from Abruzzo,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and her mother was of German, English, and Scottish descent;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Marshall's father changed his surname from Masciarelli to Marshall before she was born.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"...Anthony "Tony" Masciarelli", a handsome, athletic young man majoring in advertising at New York University ... To better his chances, he changed his last name from Masciarelli to Marshall and forevermore denied that he was both Italian and Catholic". My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir, p. 4; Template:ISBN. 2012.</ref> Religion played an odd role in the Marshall children's lives. Garry was christened Episcopalian, Ronny was Lutheran, and Penny was confirmed in a Congregational Church, because Template:Nobreak sent us anyplace that had a hall where she could put on a recital. If she hadn't needed performance space, we wouldn't have bothered."<ref>My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir, p. 18.</ref>

She grew up at 3235 Grand Concourse, the Bronx, in a building which was also the childhood home of Neil Simon, Paddy Chayefsky, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren.<ref name= "Abramowitz">Abramowitz, Rachel (2000). Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? Women's Experience of Power in Hollywood. New York: Random House, Template:ISBN, p. 289</ref> She began her career as a tap dancer at age three, and later taught tap at her mother's dance school. She graduated from Walton High School, a public girls' high school in New York and then went to University of New Mexico for Template:Frac years where she studied math and psychology.<ref name="variety-18dec2018"/> In 1963, while at UNM, Marshall married a football player named Michael Henry; they had a daughter, actress Tracy Reiner (née Tracy Henry).<ref name="variety-18dec2018"/> The couple divorced three years later, in 1966.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During this period, Marshall worked various jobs to support herself, including as a choreographer for the Albuquerque Civic Light Opera Association.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1967,<ref name= "Abramowitz, p. 290">Abramowitz, p. 290</ref> she moved to Los Angeles to join her older brother TV icon Garry Marshall, whose credits at the time already included TV's The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966), The Joey Bishop Show (1962–1965), The Lucy Show (1964–1966) and The Tonight Show Starring Jack Parr (1960).

Career

File:1976 Laverne and Shirley.JPG
Marshall (right) with Cindy Williams in a publicity photo for Laverne & Shirley, 1976

Marshall first appeared on a television commercial for Head and Shoulders shampoo. She was hired to play a girl with stringy, unattractive hair, and Farrah Fawcett was hired to play a girl with thick, bouncy hair. As the crew was lighting the set, Marshall's stand-in wore a placard that read "Homely Girl" and Fawcett's stand-in wore a placard that said "Pretty Girl". Fawcett, sensing Marshall's insecurity about her looks, crossed out "Homely" on the Marshall stand-in placard and wrote "Plain".<ref>Abramowitz, pp. 290–91</ref>

Marshall and Billie Hayes were the only actresses to audition for the role of Witchiepoo for H.R. Pufnstuf, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. Marshall thought that she was not right for the part, and Hayes got the role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1968 Marshall accepted an offer from her brother to appear in a movie he had written and was producing, a comedy called How Sweet It Is! (1968). She landed another small role in the biker film The Savage Seven (1968), as well as a guest appearance on the hit television series That Girl, starring Marlo Thomas.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Marshall was considered for the role of Gloria Bunker Stivic on All in the Family, but lost the part to Sally Struthers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1970, Garry Marshall became the executive producer of the television series The Odd Couple. The following year, Marshall was added to the permanent cast to play a secretary, Myrna, and held the role for four years. In Marshall's final appearance on The Odd Couple, her character married her boyfriend, Sheldn ("they left the "o" off the birth certificate", she explains), played by Rob Reiner, her real-life husband.<ref name=":0" /> The episode included Marshall's real-life siblings, Garry and Ronny, as Myrna's brother and sister.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

While she was on The Odd Couple, Marshall played small roles in TV movies such as Evil Roy Slade (1972), starring John Astin and Mickey Rooney (and produced by brother Garry); The Crooked Hearts (1972) starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Rosalind Russell, in which she played a waitress; The Couple Takes a Wife, starring Bill Bixby; and Wacky Zoo of Morgan City (1972).

In 1974, James L. Brooks and Allan Burns cast Marshall as Janice Dreyfuss, sister-in-law to Paul Dreyfuss (played by actor Paul Sand) in the series Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers. It aired on CBS-TV Saturday nights beginning September 14, 1974. Despite good reviews and decent ratings, it was canceled mid-season. Brooks and Burns, along with studio head Grant Tinker, were so impressed with Marshall's comedic talent that the following season, they hired Marshall and actress Mary Kay Place to play Mary Richards' new neighbors (Paula and Sally Jo) on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Garry Marshall, creator and executive producer for Happy Days, cast Marshall and Cindy Williams to guest star on an episode of the show. The installment, titled "A Date with Fonzie",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> aired on November 11, 1975, and introduced the characters Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney (played by Marshall and Williams, respectively) to a viewing audience. In that episode, Laverne and Shirley were a pair of wisecracking, "fast" brewery workers who were dates for Fonzie (Henry Winkler) and Richie (Ron Howard). The pair were such a hit with the studio audience that Garry Marshall decided to co-create and star them in a successful spinoff, Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He pitched it to Fred Silverman who ran ABC at the time and he greenlit it for a mid-season replacement. The show debuted at #1 on Jan 26th 1976 and soon became the highest rated TV series for the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The characters of Laverne and Shirley appeared in five more episodes of Happy Days. In 1982, during Laverne & ShirleyTemplate:'s eighth season, Williams left the show due to her pregnancy. Marshall soldiered on without her, calling in friends like Carrie Fisher, Laraine Newman and Angelica Huston to guest star. The show was canceled after the eighth season, the final episode aired in May 1983.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1983, while still filming Laverne & Shirley, Marshall resumed working with James L. Brooks when she guest starred on Taxi in a cameo appearance as herself. In the Taxi episode "Louie Moves Uptown", Marshall is turned down for residency in a new high-rise condominium in Manhattan. The Laverne & Shirley episode "Lost in Spacesuits"Template:Citation needed is referred to in the scene.

Marshall would again work with Brooks, who later became a co-producer for the animated series The Simpsons, when she lent her voice to Ms. Botz, a.k.a. Ms. Botzcowski, the "babysitter bandit," on the first produced episode of The Simpsons,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> making her the first official guest star to appear on the show.

Marshall also played a cameo role as herself on the HBO series Entourage. She also made a cameo appearance alongside her brother Garry in the Disney Halloween-themed movie Hocus Pocus as husband and wife. She was reunited with her Laverne & Shirley co-star, Cindy Williams, on a November 2013 episode of Sam & Cat.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Directing career

File:Penny Marshall at the 1988 Emmy Awards cropped 3.jpg
Marshall at the 1988 Emmy Awards

With the encouragement of her brother, Marshall became interested in directing.<ref name="TribuneBio">Template:Cite web</ref> While starring on Laverne & Shirley, she began her directing career with four episodes of that show.<ref>Abramowitz, p. 295</ref>

In 1979, she directed several episodes of the short-lived sitcom Working Stiffs, starring Michael Keaton and James Belushi. She soon moved on to theatrical films; her first film was going to be Peggy Sue Got Married (which at that point was scheduled to star Debra Winger in the leading role). Marshall and the writers of the film, however, had creative differences, and Marshall left the project, with Winger also leaving out of loyalty to Marshall.<ref>London, Michael. "IS 'PEGGY SUE' NEAR THE ALTAR WITH COPPOLA?," Los Angeles Times (Nov 28, 1984), p. h1.</ref>

Marshall was soon given the directorial job of the crime comedy Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) starring Whoopi Goldberg after the original director, Howard Zieff, dropped out of the project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="TribuneBio" /> She brought in friends and family to help make sure it was funny: her daughter Tracy Reiner, her brother Garry Marshall, Jon Lovitz, Jim Belushi, Phil Hartman and Carol Kane.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Marshall described her leap into directing feature films as very hard to learn, likening it to "cramming four years of college into one semester."

While on set all day, she spent her nights planning out the rest of the film, trying to get it finished on time. Marshall also added that Whoopi Goldberg would take her aside and calm her down if she was looking exhausted that day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1999, Marshall's Parkaway Productions company was transferred from Universal to Sony. Jessica Cox was hired to run the company in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Marshall directed several blockbuster feature films in the 1980s and 90s. She broke glass ceilings and made history as the first female director to gross over US$100 million at the box office, with her body-swap rom com Big (1988), starring Tom Hanks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She also directed Awakenings (1990) starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, A League of Their Own (1992) with Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell, and The Preacher's Wife (1996) starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. A League of Their Own was her second film to gross over US$100 million at the box office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> AFI included Jimmy Dugan's (Tom Hanks) line "There's no crying in baseball!" on their list of 100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>In 1991, Penny was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award.<ref name="WIF">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1990, Jake Eberts hired her to direct Super Mario Bros. (1993), but she was replaced by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel after Roland Joffé replaced Eberts as producer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2010 and 2011, Marshall directed two episodes of the Showtime series United States of Tara. Women in Film and Video presented her with the Women of Vision Award in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Marshall planned on developing a biopic on Effa Manley, but it never materialized.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

While at the University of New Mexico for two and a half years,<ref name="variety-18dec2018"/> Marshall met Michael Henry, a football player, got pregnant at 19, and left school at age twenty to marry him in 1963.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They had one daughter named Tracy in 1964 (Tracy Reiner). The marriage lasted three years.<ref name="Abramowitz, p. 290" />

On April 10, 1971,<ref>California Marriage Index, 1960–1985, marriage of Carole P. Marshall and Robert Reiner, Los Angeles</ref> Marshall married actor and director Rob Reiner, who later adopted Tracy. Her marriage to Reiner ended in 1981. The couple had five grandchildren.<ref>Abramowitz, p. 291</ref>

Following her divorce from Reiner, Marshall dated actor Larry Breeding, who had made guest appearances on Laverne & Shirley. Breeding was killed in a car accident in 1982.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Marshall had a brief relationship with singer Art Garfunkel in the mid-1980s, and he credits her with helping him through his depression.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After mostly retiring from directing, Marshall's closest friends included Beverly D'Angelo, Cynthia Hargrave, Chico Brown, and Mercedes Ganon.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2010, it was reported that Marshall had been diagnosed with lung cancer that had metastasized to her brain, but two years later she was "fine now".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following her recovery she published a memoir, My Mother Was Nuts.<ref name=":0" />

Death

Marshall died in Los Angeles on December 17, 2018, at age 75. According to her death certificate, her death was attributed to cardiopulmonary failure, cardiac arrest and type 1 diabetes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Marshall was cremated and her ashes are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. An "L", similar to those that her Laverne character wore, is emblazoned at the bottom of her headstone.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards

Works

Central themes in Marshall's films

Marshall's films tend to address contemporary issues in society such as coming of age, women’s accomplishments, and oppression of the mentally disabled.<ref>“Big’: THR’s 1988 Review” The Hollywood Reporter, June 3, 2016, accessed November 2, 2021,</ref> For instance, the oppression of the mentally disabled is well elaborated in the film Awakenings. The film unites two big stars in a story about the plight of mentally disabled individuals and how a person who is not living with any life-threatening condition gets to learn a lesson about humanity after spending time with a mentally disabled person.<ref>Emanuel Levy, “Awakenings (1990): De Niro as Patient in Penny Marshall’s Oscar-Nominated Medlodrama, Co-Starring Robin Williams” Emanuel Levy Cinema, February 1, 2007, accessed November 2, 2021.</ref><ref>Keltner, Norman L. "Real Reels (Movie Review) Awakenings Penny Marshall (Director)." Perspectives in Psychiatric Care 42, no. 2 (2006): 156–157.</ref> Achievement of women has been elaborated well in the film A League of Their Own, a film that stars two blood sisters joining the women’s baseball league during World War II. In that time, many men in professional leagues joined the armed forces.<ref>Peter Brandshaw, “Penny Marshall: a Hollywood power player and comedy connoisseur,” The Guardian, December 19, 2018, accessed November 2, 2021.</ref> The movie exposes exciting victories and personal conflicts on the field, while, at the same time, building sisterhood and strong bonds among teammates.

Film

Year Title Director Executive
Producer
1986 Jumpin' Jack Flash Template:Yes Template:No
1988 Big Template:Yes Template:No
1990 Awakenings Template:Yes Template:Yes
1992 A League of Their Own Template:Yes Template:Yes
1994 Renaissance Man Template:Yes Template:Yes
1996 The Preacher's Wife Template:Yes Template:No
2001 Riding in Cars with Boys Template:Yes Template:No

Producer

Acting roles

Year Film Role Notes
1968 The Savage Seven Tina <ref name="variety-18dec2018">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1968 How Sweet It Is! Tour Girl <ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
1970 The Grasshopper Plaster Caster <ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
Where's Poppa? Courtroom Spectator Uncredited
1975 How Come Nobody's on Our Side? Theresa aka Capers<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1979 1941 Miss Fitzroy Uncredited<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref>
1985 Movers & Shakers Reva Cameo<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1988 She's Having a Baby Herself Uncredited
1991 The Hard Way Angie <ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1993 Hocus Pocus The Master's Wife Uncredited<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1995 Get Shorty Herself Cameo<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
1998 The Emperor's New Clothes:
An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale		 The Imperial Lady-in-Waiting #2 Voice<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1999 Special Delivery
2000 High Fidelity Funeral Attendee Uncredited
2004 Stateside Lt. Chevetone Uncredited<ref name=":3" />
2005 Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World Herself Cameo<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
2007 Everybody Wants to Be Italian Teresa the Florist <ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Alice Upside Down Mrs. Plotkin Direct-to-video film<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Blonde Ambition Bolo Executive <ref name=":1" />
2011 New Year's Eve Herself (segment "Ahern Party")
2014 Going to America Herself – Famous Director
2015 Staten Island Summer Dolores
Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery The Elder Voice, Direct-to-video film<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016 Mother's Day Narrator Voice<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Television

Director

Year Title Notes
1979 Working Stiffs 1 episode: "The Preview Presentation"
1979–1981 Laverne & Shirley 4 episodes: "Squiggy in Love", "The Duke of Squigman", "The Dating Game", "But Seriously, Folks"<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
1987 The Tracey Ullman Show 1 episode
1993 A League of Their Own 1 episode: "Dottie's Back"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2009 According to Jim 2 episodes: "The Yoga Bear", "Physical Therapy"<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
2010–2011 United States of Tara 2 episodes: "Explosive Diorama", "Wheels"<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
1968–1969 That Girl Assistant Librarian / Joan Episodes: "Secret Ballot", "Fix My Screen & Bug Out"<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
1969 My Friend Tony Janet Episode: "Computer Murder"
Then Came Bronson Claire Episode: "The Runner"<ref name=":4" />
1970 Love, American Style Mary Agnes Episode: "Love and the Pick-Up" segment<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
Barefoot in the Park Episode: "In Sickness and in Health"
The Wonderful World of Disney Mayor's Secretary Episodes: "The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City" (Parts 1 & 2)
1971 The Feminist and the Fuzz Liberation Lady Television film<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Getting Together Mona Episode: "Those Oldies But Goodies Remind Me of You"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1972–1974 The Odd Couple Myrna Turner 27 episodes<ref name=":3" />
1972 Evil Roy Slade Bank Teller Television film<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Super Janice Episode: "The Matchmaker"<ref name=":5">Template:Cite book</ref>
The Bob Newhart Show Stewardess Episode: "Fly the Unfriendly Skies"<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
The Crooked Hearts Waitress Television film<ref name=":5" />
The Couple Takes a Wife Paula Television film<ref name=":5" />
1973 Banacek Receptionist Episode: "The Greatest Collection of Them All"
1974–1975 Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers Janice Dreyfuss 14 episodes<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
1974–1976 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Toni / Paula Kovacs Episodes: "I Was a Single for WJM", "Murray in Love", "Menage-a-Lou"<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
1975 Let's Switch! Alice Wright Television film<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Wives Connie Television film
Chico and the Man Anita Cappuccino Episode: "Chico and the Van"<ref name=":5" />
Saturday Night Live Herself Episode: "Rob Reiner"<ref name=":3" />
1975–1979 Happy Days Laverne DeFazio 5 episodes<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
1976 Good Heavens Episode: "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1976–1983 Laverne & Shirley Laverne DeFazio 178 episodes<ref name="variety-18dec2018" />
1977 Saturday Night Live Herself Episode: "Live from Mardi Gras"<ref name=":3" />
Blansky's Beauties Laverne DeFazio Episode: "Nancy Remembers Laverne"<ref name=":6" />
1978 Mork & Mindy Laverne DeFazio Episode: "Pilot"<ref name=":3" />
More Than Friends Matty Perlman Television film<ref name=":5" />
1979 Carol Burnett & Company Herself Episode #1.3<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1981–1982 Laverne & Shirley in the Army Laverne DeFazio Voice, 13 episodes<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref>
1982 Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour Laverne DeFazio Voice, 8 episodes (Laverne & Shirley with the Fonz segment)<ref name=":3" />
1983 Taxi Herself Episode: "Louie Moves Uptown"<ref name=":3" />
1984 The New Show Various Characters Episode #1.4<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Love Thy Neighbor Linda Wilson Television film<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1985 Challenge of a Lifetime Nora Schoonover Television film<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1990 The Simpsons Ms. Botz Voice, Episode: "Some Enchanted Evening"<ref name=":3" />
1993 The Odd Couple Together Again Myrna Television film<ref name=":4">Template:Cite book</ref>
1996 Saturday Night Live Various Characters Episode: "Rosie O'Donnell/Whitney Houston"<ref name=":3" />
1998 Tracey Takes On... Herself Episode: "Hollywood"
Nash Bridges Iris Heller Episode: "Skin Deep"
1999 Jackie's Back! Herself Cameo
2004 Frasier Celeste Voice, Episode: "Frasier-Lite"
2006 Campus Ladies Episode: "Webcam"<ref name=":3" />
Bones Herself Episode: "The Woman at the Airport"<ref name=":3" />
2008 The Game Doris Fox Episode: "A Delectable Basket of Treats"<ref name=":3" />
2012 The Life & Times of Tim PR Executive Voice, Episode: "The Smug Chiropractor/Corporate Disaster"
Portlandia Barbara Episode: "Feminist Book Store 10th Anniversary"<ref name=":3" />
2013 Sam & Cat Sylvia Burke Episode: "#SalmonCat"<ref name=":2"/>
2014 Mulaney Tutti Episode: "Sweet Jane"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016 The Odd Couple Patty Dombrowski Episode: "Taffy Days", (final appearance)<ref name="rs-18dec2018">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

References

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