Garry Marshall, 1934-2016

July 19, 2016 9:05 PM

Garry Marshall, creator of classic television (Happy Days, Mork and Mindy, Laverne and Shirley); director of well-loved movies (Overboard, Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries); character actor (A League of Their Own, Soapdish, Louie); brother to Penny Marshall; and Hector Elizondo superfan, has died at age 81.
posted by sallybrown (63 comments total)

:-(
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posted by Annika Cicada at 9:09 PM on July 19, 2016

Sigh.

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posted by lhauser at 9:15 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by me3dia at 9:17 PM on July 19, 2016

Inconceivable!

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posted by Autumn Leaf at 9:21 PM on July 19, 2016 [3 favorites]

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posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 9:22 PM on July 19, 2016

I guess watching Chachi speak at the RNC was too much for him?

But seriously, "Young Doctors in Love" is my favorite movie of his, and I've been meaning to track it down again since Taylor Negron passed last year.
posted by ejs at 9:31 PM on July 19, 2016 [8 favorites]

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posted by Lynsey at 9:34 PM on July 19, 2016

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posted by bongo_x at 9:46 PM on July 19, 2016

One of the all-time entertainment greats leaves us the same night as Trump's nomination. Seriously, universe, what the fuck?
posted by Gaz Errant at 9:46 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by tonycpsu at 9:47 PM on July 19, 2016

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posted by fluffy battle kitten at 9:48 PM on July 19, 2016

I know of Garry Marshall's legacy of work, and have liked him as a comedic character actor in stuff he's cameoed in in recent years, but I honestly mostly have a weirdly lopsided affection for Mr. Marshall (Please! Call me Garry.) as a recurring goofy caricature by Paul F. Thompkins on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast; that feels like a strange basis for sadness, but here we are.
posted by cortex at 9:51 PM on July 19, 2016 [22 favorites]

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posted by mikelieman at 9:53 PM on July 19, 2016

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posted by Spatch at 9:55 PM on July 19, 2016

Even though it has a very dated moment of trans panic in it, Soapdish is a solid piece of work with an amazing cast and he's really great in it as an actor. "You know what words I like? 'Peppy' and 'cheap.'"

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posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:00 PM on July 19, 2016 [7 favorites]

Oy!
posted by not_on_display at 10:06 PM on July 19, 2016

Please! Call me Garry.

Our Garry privileges have been revoked.
posted by yellowbinder at 10:24 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]

His shows were the background of my childhood.

I hope Penny is ok. :'(

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posted by killy willy at 10:27 PM on July 19, 2016 [4 favorites]

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posted by Joey Michaels at 10:32 PM on July 19, 2016

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posted by mosk at 10:45 PM on July 19, 2016

Aww. Dang.

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posted by notyou at 10:46 PM on July 19, 2016

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Although Marshall was known (and deservedly so) as a writer, I remember him most fondly as the casino manager in Lost In America, listening carefully to Albert Brooks’s character explain how he should be given his ‘nest egg‘ back.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [15 favorites]

This is most definitely uncool.

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posted by bryon at 11:07 PM on July 19, 2016

Most unexpected role: according to his Variety obit, Marshall is in Goldfinger. I'll have to look for him.

RIP, and thanks for all the laughs.
posted by pmurray63 at 11:09 PM on July 19, 2016

I am really hating 2016
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posted by romakimmy at 11:57 PM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

I enjoyed so much of his work, especially his tv shows. 81 is a fine old age; I hope he felt as satisfied with his body of work when he looked back on it as I did when I watched it.
posted by taterpie at 12:35 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

Garry Marshall's 70s sitcom work was the other side of the coin from Normal Lear's. Both were tackling issues, but Lear took that work very seriously (even in a sitcom wrapper) while Marshall took that work with great humor. Happy Days & Laverne And Shirley dealt with things, but it was really Mork And Mindy's end segments (Mork calling Orson) where Marshall was making his clearest statements about the human condition.

This is sad news. He helped shape my formative years.

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posted by hippybear at 12:52 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]

Marc Maron interviewed Garry Marshall for an episode of WTF that was released on May 2, 2016. It's worth listening to, if you like that sort of thing.
posted by hippybear at 2:02 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]

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Thanks for all the laughs, sir.
posted by Gelatin at 2:32 AM on July 20, 2016

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posted by On the Corner at 2:33 AM on July 20, 2016

I remember Marrshall's stuff as sweet, not biting. And I agree that it was wound through the background of my 70s childhood. We should be grateful for the good actors and directors who must have learned from him on those sets, and then went on to do good work of heir own.

Thanks for the laughs, sir.
posted by wenestvedt at 3:36 AM on July 20, 2016

My favorite Garry Marshall cameo was in The Odd Couple(the original TV show, not the remakes). Penny Marshall played Oscar's secretary, Myrna Turner, and Garry showed up at the end of one episode, playing her brother (naturally), Werner Turner. Another sibling played another sibling.
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posted by dannyboybell at 4:00 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]

and Hector Elizondo superfan

As are we all.

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posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:06 AM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]

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posted by readery at 4:09 AM on July 20, 2016

Above all his other cretaions (except maybe the TV version of The Odd Couple). the man gave us Lenny & The Squigtones.

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posted by KingEdRa at 4:14 AM on July 20, 2016 [5 favorites]

In re PFT's "impression" -- it always struck me that if that was how people chose to "mock" Garry Marshall, then he must be a pretty great guy that no one really dislikes, and that ain't a bad legacy.
posted by Etrigan at 4:32 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

. The original Odd Couple is still my favorite sit-com. The writing and timing on that show was just so good.
posted by octothorpe at 4:35 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by Thorzdad at 4:40 AM on July 20, 2016

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posted by oneironaut at 4:47 AM on July 20, 2016

and Hector Elizondo superfan

My favourite Garry Marshall film, The Flamingo Kid, include Elizondo in a supporting role as Matt Dillon's working-class father.

RIP.
posted by HillbillyInBC at 4:52 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

Carl Reiner is settling all of the family business.

but seriously,
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posted by DigDoug at 4:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

When you think about it, there's a heck of a constellation of directors around Marshall. His sister Penny, her ex- Rob Reiner, his dad Carl and of course Happy Day's star Ron Howard.
posted by octothorpe at 5:14 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]

I had so many moments of bonding with other women - my mom (Beaches), sister (The Princess Diaries), cousins (A League of Their Own), and friends (Pretty Woman) - center around Garry Marshall. These films informed my idea of what women were and could be from a very young age. They might not end up in the Criterion Collection, but they are classics to me.

"Cinda-FUCKIN-rella!"

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posted by sallybrown at 5:17 AM on July 20, 2016 [6 favorites]

Came in to mention his Marc Maron interview as well. He may not have been Scorsese, but he did a lot of films that made a lot of people happy, and that's a really hard thing to do.
posted by Mchelly at 5:29 AM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

Can't we all agree that his best TV appearances were his work on Murphy Brown?
posted by DanSachs at 5:31 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

Aw, man. His work permeated my childhood. I'm sorry so hear this.
posted by PussKillian at 5:39 AM on July 20, 2016

To expand on Etrigan, deeply embedded in the interactions with PFT-as-Call-Me-Garry was real respect and recognition for the actual Garry Marshall. Or at least that's how I perceived it.

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posted by whuppy at 5:41 AM on July 20, 2016

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posted by Mogur at 5:43 AM on July 20, 2016

A couple of Garry Marshall stories shared by Donal Logue:

Garry Marshall was the nicest guy in Hollywood. Truth. I was lucky enough to work for him a couple of times and everyday was a joy. He would egg us on to improv, mess up, goof off, do anything to get a laugh. He had competitions who could do the goofiest “slates” for camera. He'd always say, “Do the funny with the funny!” I met him once at his office in the Falcon Theater in Burbank and a sign over the door to his office read: “It’s nice to be important, it’s more important to be nice.” He lived by that. And, by any standard imaginable, he was important.

Back in the 70’s, between “The Odd Couple,” “Laverne and Shirley,” “Happy Days,” and “Mork and Mindy,” probably eighty percent of Americans watching television were watching something Garry made. He made the world laugh and maybe no greater gift can be given. It’s what Preston Sturges taught us with “Sullivan’s Travels.”

Working with Garry was a trip. Here are two stories (one first-hand, the other I heard about) that capture him well: We were working on a film called “Dear God” starring Greg Kinnear in which I played a sleazy “street-guy” on the hustle. I had a scene with Greg in a diner off Hollywood Boulevard that opened with me talking to some young women who’d just moved to town with dreams of working in Hollywood before immediately leaving them when Greg (his character owed me money or something) entered the restaurant.

I would always start bs small talk with the women as the camera rolled just to have some flow that could be interrupted by Greg’s entrance. Take after take, Garry would delay Greg's entrance and let me riff.

Now, we were shooting in one of those LA diners covered wall to wall in headshots ranging from the vaguely to the completely unrecognizable. There were three headshots on the wall of our booth and (God bless him) one was of a guy named Don Cluff (apologies if my memory is off). He was wearing a seventies style-tux and had the strangest expression on his face. It may quite well have been the world’s most awkward headshot. It screamed to be commented on. My riffs became all about Don Cluff. I would tell the women if they wanted to make it in Hollywood, they had to do it the “Don Cluff way.” I told some a story about how he came to Hollywood after serving in the military and mopped theater floors just to learn the craft. I invented movies he starred in: “Fast Nights in Phoenix,” “Delta Seven” “The Heart Takes what the Heart Takes.” I reenacted scenes from fictional Don Cluff flicks, one in which Don says, “Not today compadre,” before kicking the ass of seventeen ninjas. It was fun, silly and the kind of time-waster that probably pissed off the line producer.

The weeks went by. It was a blast. Garry’s son, Scott, was directing the second-unit. We were tight. One of my fondest memories, and I know one of Mike Horan’s (RIP) fondest memories, was sitting with Mike, Tim Conway, Garry, and Greg Kinnear, and Mike busting us up with corny jokes. As much as a bad ass as Mike was, he was the sweetest, and a huge goofball and jokester. He told me, years later, with tears in his eyes, that making Garry Marshall and Tim Conway laugh was one of his proudest moments.

One day, we were back shooting on Hollywood Boulevard and I had to run out of a shop and bump into Greg Kinnear on the street. We did a take and Garry uncharacteristically blasted me. He said, “No, no- that was all wrong! Do it again and do it better! You’re surprised to see this guy- you’ve been looking for him!”

I went back in confused, wondering what I could do better. I got into it, they called rolling, Garry called “Action,” the PA nodded when it was my cue, and I ran out the door to find the entire crew gathered in a semi-circle around me. I was so confused. Standing in the center was a man holding a head-shot. Even though he was much older than in the pic, I recognized Don Cluff.

“Oh my God.”

“Heard you’re a fan of the “Don Cluff way,” he said.

I stammered and Garry kept the cameras rolling. I said, “Fast Nights in Phoenix” changed my life. Garry called cut and stumbled over to me, laughing. Everyone was howling. Even Don Cluff. I gave him a hug and asked how this all happened. Don said Garry tracked him down in Spokane, Washington and flew him out to pull a prank on me. He also said he paid him for a couple of SAG days and he was going to have health-insurance that year and he needed it for his family.

That was Garry. Now this is a story I heard second-hand (so take it with a grain of salt.) Back in 1990, Garry was directing an adaptation of the Terrence McNally play “Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune.” The film’s title was shortened to “Frankie and Johnny,” and starred Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino.

I wasn’t there, but I feel confident the vibe on the set was less of a free-for-all than it was on “Dear God.” I don’t know Al Pacino, I met him only once to do a read-through of his Kervorkian project. While he was as nice as could be, I got the sense when he worked, he didn’t like to f**k around (as Tony Montana might say). I respect that. The proof ‘s in the pudding of his work and he’s on the Mount Rushmore of film actors as far as I’m concerned.

So Al comes into the diner to film a scene with Michelle Pfeiffer and they’re doing the scene and it’s intense and all of a sudden, Pacino goes off. “What the f*&K?! Garry?! I’m doing this scene, I’m trying to work and I look over and I see myself in a MIRROR? What the hell is a god***ned mirror doing in here?!

Garry comes over to placate Al and asks what’s wrong and Al points out some small mirror on the set (that I think was part of the diner) and that he could see himself and it was unacceptable. Garry agreed and apologized and told Al to go back to his trailer while he took care of the problem. So Al leaves the set and immediately Garry grabs a couple of PA’s and says, “Get on the phone, do whatever you have to do, but buy me the biggest damn mirror in New York and get it here as fast as possible.”

A half hour later, Al Pacino comes back on set and Garry apologizes again and tells him everything’s fixed. Al nods and they roll the cameras, start the scene and when Al looks to his left, he’s staring at his reflection in a mirror it takes eight guys to hold in place. He laughs so hard, he cries.

Love to Garry Marshall and the whole Marshall family.

posted by ocha-no-mizu at 5:56 AM on July 20, 2016 [50 favorites]

By all accounts a mensch. Thanks for all the fun. Mr. Marshall.

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posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:40 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

🦈
posted by radwolf76 at 6:56 AM on July 20, 2016

the “Don Cluff way.”

Got-DAY-im!

Even though in the retelling I could see the punch-line coming down the street, I LOVE this kind of stuff and hope it can still happen in our more highly organized times.

Nice work, Garry.
 
posted by Herodios at 6:57 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

The only incidence of poor timing in the man's life.

We coulda used you a bit longer, pal.

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posted by allthinky at 7:04 AM on July 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

Give us any chance, we'll take it
Read us any rule, we'll break it
We're gonna make our dreams come true
Doin' it our way

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posted by Melismata at 7:55 AM on July 20, 2016 [3 favorites]

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posted by double bubble at 8:59 AM on July 20, 2016

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Oh, my childhood!


And another recommendation for the Maron interview from May. Garry Marshall was a delight.
posted by blurker at 10:51 AM on July 20, 2016

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posted by bjgeiger at 2:26 PM on July 20, 2016

My brush with greatness: I was in Chicago's Borders Book Store (formerly across from Water Tower Place (sniff)) when Mr. Marshall walked by with a small retinue, giving a reading later of some book he wrote. I'm a big guy, but he was a bit larger than expected. Later I read that he had played football at Northwestern and was not surprised. He was actually the second brilliant success I've encountered that was a Wildcat. I guess we live in a world where a season or two on that heartbreaking loser team confers a bit of magic dust.
posted by Chitownfats at 2:50 PM on July 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

Show biz insider Mark Evanier: "I knew Garry Marshall just well enough to think he'd laugh at a joke that the cause of his death was seeing Chachi endorse Donald Trump.'

I'm old enough to remember his first sitcom, 1966's slightly-less-than-one-season "Hey, Landlord", which aired right after Disney on Sunday Night (I think I remember all the short-lived sitcoms in that bad timeslotin the '60s... it was one of the most interesting, if not funniest). One the most 'New York City-ish' comedies I remember, which led into his adaptation of "The Odd Couple" just a few years later.

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posted by oneswellfoop at 6:32 PM on July 20, 2016

I honestly mostly have a weirdly lopsided affection for Mr. Marshall (Please! Call me Garry.) as a recurring goofy caricature by Paul F. Thompkins on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast

Paul F. Tompkins' Remembrance of Garry Marshall is really lovely, and I think Tompkins would be delighted you felt that way.
posted by gladly at 6:34 PM on July 20, 2016 [4 favorites]

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posted by condour75 at 7:05 PM on July 20, 2016

Without him, who knows what would have become of the careers of Robin Williams and Michael McKean, among many others.

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posted by mubba at 7:19 PM on July 20, 2016

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posted by getawaysticks at 8:07 PM on July 20, 2016