Actress Penny Marshall, who costarred in the hit ABC sitcom “Laverne & Shirley” and went on to direct such films as “Big” and “A League of Their Own,” Has died. She was 75.
Marshall died from complications from diabetes. She was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer in 2009.
“Our family is heartbroken,” the Marshall family said in a statement.
“Laverne & Shirley,” which ran from 1976 to 1983 on ABC, centered around two single roommates looking for love and just coping with everyday life while working at a fictional Milwaukee brewery in the early 1960s. Marshall’s world-wise Laverne was the perfect foil for the sweet and naive Shirley Feeney played by Cindy Williams. She also had a recurring role on the sitcom “The Odd Couple,” as Myrna Turner, secretary to sportswriter Oscar Madison (played by Jack Klugman).
The sitcoms also gave Marshall her start as a filmmaker. She directed several episodes of “Laverne & Shirley” before making her feature film directorial debut in “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” the 1986 comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg.
Her next film, “Big,” made Marshall the first woman to direct a film that grossed more than $100 million. Her 1988 hit comedy, starring Tom Hanks, was about a 12-year-old boy who wakes up in the body of a 30-year-old New York City man. The film earned Hanks an Oscar nomination.
Marshall reteamed with Hanks for “A League of Their Own,” the 1992 comedy about the women’s professional baseball league begun during World War II. That, too, crossed $100 million, making $107.5 million domestically.
Marshall would also direct the Robert De Niro-Robin Williams vehicle, “Awakenings,” a film which went on to earn a best picture Academy Award nomination. According to Variety, “Marshall was the first woman to direct a film that grossed more than $100 million, the first woman to direct two films that grossed more than $100 million, and she was only the second woman director to see her film Oscar-nominated for best picture.”
Carole Penny Marshall was born Oct. 15, 1943, in the Bronx. Her mother, Marjorie Marshall, was a dance teacher, and her father, Anthony, made industrial films. Their marriage was strained. Her mother’s caustic wit — a major source of material and of pain in Marshall’s memoir — was formative. (One remembered line: “You were a miscarriage, but you were stubborn and held on.”)
“Those words are implanted in your soul, unfortunately. It’s just the way it was,” Marshall once recalled. “You had to learn at a certain age what sarcasm is, you know? When she says it about somebody else, you laughed, but when it was you, you didn’t laugh so much.”
Marshall became a dedicated Los Angeles Lakers fan, and a courtside regular. Her brother Garry Marshall, who died in 2016, was also one of Hollywood’s top comedy directors. Penny Marshall was married to Michael Henry for two years in the 1960s and to the director Rob Reiner from 1971-1981.
The Hollywood community took to Twitter on Tuesday to pay tribute to Marshall, including actor Russell Crowe, who wrote, in part: “She was kind, she was crazy, so talented and she loved movies.”
I loved Penny. I grew up with her. She was born with a great gift. She was born with a funnybone and the instinct of how to use it. I was very lucky to have lived with her and her funnybone. I will miss her.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) December 18, 2018
Sad to hear of Penny Marshall’s passing. a great comedienne a terrific director and a dear friend.
— Billy Crystal (@BillyCrystal) December 18, 2018
Yesterday I held a Golden Gloves award from the 1930’s, given to me by Penny Marshall.
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) December 18, 2018
Hadn’t seen it in years.
Then today’s news...
Penny told me the story of Jim Braddock, which became the movie Cinderella Man. She was kind, she was crazy,so talented and she loved movies. RIP
Thank you, Penny Marshall. For the trails you blazed. The laughs you gave. The hearts you warmed. pic.twitter.com/7qPKJa6ApH
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 18, 2018
Marshall is survived by a daughter, actress Tracy Marshall, and a sister, Ronny Hallin.
Contributing: Associated Press