Garry Marshall, legendary Hollywood Director, died Tuesday, July 19, at age 81, of pneumonia after a recent stroke. Marshall was the creator of such classics as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, and Mork & Mindy. As a director, he oversaw 18 films, including Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries, Beaches, and Runaway Bride. He had just completed a Broadway musical version of Pretty Woman.
In addition to The Princess Diaries franchise, Marshall worked for Disney on a few other projects as well, voicing characters in Chicken Little and Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero. He also had roles in Hocus Pocus, Race to Witch Mountain, and an episode of the Disney Channel show Liv & Maddie.
Hollywood stars posted tributes to Marshall on their social media accounts, thanking him for giving them their start in the film industry. Rob Lowe posted: “Garry Marshall hired me at 15 years old. He gave my wife her start at 18, as a makeup artist. He changed our lives. And MANY others. #love”
Richard Gere, who worked with Marshall on Pretty Woman, wrote of Marshall to the Hollywood Reporter: “Garry, of course, was one of those truly important people one is blessed to meet in one’s lifetime. Besides being the pulse and life force of Pretty Woman…a steady helmsman on a ship that could have easily capsized…he was a super-fine and decent man, husband and father who brought real joy and love and infectious good spirits to every thing and everyone he crossed paths with. Everyone loved Garry. He was a mentor and a cheerleader and one of the funniest men who ever lived. He had a heart of the purest gold and a soul full of mischief. He was Garry.”
Marshall leaves behind Barbara, his wife of 53 years, two sisters, three children, and six grandchildren.
News sources: The Hollywood Reporter and CNN
Photo credit: Photofest. Marshall directing The Princess Diaries 2
