Garry Marshall was a successful director, actor, producer, and voice artist. He is most famous for having created the beloved television sitcoms Happy Days, Mork and Mindy, and Laverne and Shirley, as well as adapting The Odd Couple by Neil Simon for television. Marshall went on to direct the films Pretty Woman, Beaches, Runaway Bride, The Princess Diaries, and The Princess Diaries 2. He first worked as a writer in Hollywood, before transitioning into directing acclaimed romantic comedies.
Marshall was born in the Bronx to an Italian family, before attending Northwestern University. After graduating, he became a writer for The Tonight Show with Jack Paar, among other shows. He then created the sitcoms Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy, and Happy Days. In the 80s, he began his career as a film director, going on to direct iconic movies as Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries, Valentine's Day, and New Year's Eve. He had a particularly strong working relationship with the actor Hector Elizondo who appeared in 18 of his films.
Marshall's siblings also got into show business. His sister Penny Marshall is a screenwriter and actress, and starred in Garry's sitcom Laverne and Shirley. His brother Ronny was a television producer. In 1996 he was awarded a Women in Film Lucy Award which recognized his achievements in changing the perception of women in film. He also received an award from the Writer's Guild for TV Writing Achievement. Additionally, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He died in 2016 of pneumonia after enduring a stroke.
Pretty Woman is considered one of the most iconic American romantic comedies. It is interpreted by many as a modern American retelling of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, in which a rich and successful benefactor plucks a naive girl from the wrong...
