Written by Jon Williams
We’ve noted
before that 2016 has been a difficult year in the entertainment industry,
having already lost a number of notable names. Sadly, that trend held true this
week with the passing of Garry Marshall, the legendary writer, director, and producer
of comedies for the screen both big and small. He was 81 years old.
Marshall
actually studied for a career in journalism, but he soon found his footing as a
comedy writer. The early to mid-1960s were quite a busy time for him. He
started off writing sketches for
The
Tonight Show when
Jack
Paar was the host, which soon led to gigs writing for some of the most
popular sitcoms of the era, such as
The
Dick Van Dyke Show,
The
Lucy Show, and
Gomer
Pyle, USMC. In 1970 he had another hit on his hands when he, along with
partner Jerry Belson, adapted Neil Simon’s play
The Odd Couple into the beloved
TV
series starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.
And that’s
where Marshall’s TV career really skyrocketed. In 1974 he created the iconic
show
Happy
Days, that idyllic look at American life in the 1950s and ‘60s through
the eyes of the Cunningham family. Spinning off from that show in 1976 came
Laverne
& Shirley, which starred Marshall’s sister Penny. Then, in 1978, he
scored a real coup when he discovered Robin Williams and cast him as the title
alien in the show
Mork
& Mindy, thus changing the face of comedy forever.
If that were
all the credits to Garry Marshall’s name, that would still be a pretty
outstanding career. But that’s not all by any means. Having worked exclusively
in television to that point, in 1982 he stepped into the director’s role for
his first feature film,
Young Doctors in
Love (currently unavailable). One of the movie’s cast members was Hector
Elizondo, who became one of Marshall’s closest friends and would go on to have
at least a minor role in each of his movies to come. And what movies they
were—Marshall’s directorial credits include such well-loved films as
Beaches,
Pretty
Woman,
Runaway
Bride, and
The
Princess Diaries. His final films were a trio of holiday-related
ensemble comedies:
Valentine’s
Day,
New
Year’s Eve, and this year’s
Mother’s
Day.
Garry
Marshall had a stellar career in comedy, and by all accounts he was as fine a
person as he was an entertainer. His voice will be sadly missed, but library
patrons can continue to enjoy and explore his hilarious and timeless work. Make
sure you have all the classics listed above on your shelves, and you can
SmartBrowse his name on our website for more selections.