Garry Marshall Biography

Film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor, Garry Marshall is often referred as one of the founding fathers of modern American sitcom. The stars discovered by him include Julia Roberts, Robin Williams, and his own sister, Penny Marshall. He started his career by writing jokes and later teamed up with Jerry Belson to write scripts for television shows. The first sitcom created by them was ‘Hey, Landlord’ followed by a television adaption of Neil Simon’s play, ‘The Odd Couple.’ He went on to independently create the sitcom, ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Laverne & Shirley.’ He has directed 18 feature films, including the box office hits, ‘Pretty Women, ‘The Princess Diaries,’ and ‘Valentine’s Day.’ He has acted in the sitcom ‘Murphy Brown’ and the film ‘Soapdish.’ He wrote the play ‘Wrong Turn at Lungfish’ in collaboration with Lowell Ganz and co-produced the musical ‘Shelves and Happy Days: A New Musical’ with Paul Williams, which premiered at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, owned by him. Marshall died at the age of 81 due to complications related to a stroke followed by pneumonia.