Penny Marshall
Encyclopedia
Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer
and director
.
After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley. A ratings success, the show ran from 1976 until 1983, and Marshall received three Golden Globe
award nominations for her performance.
She progressed to directing films such as Big
(1988), the first film directed by a woman to gross in excess of $100 million at the U.S. box office
, Awakenings
(1990), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture
, and A League of Their Own
(1992). In more recent years, she has produced Cinderella Man
(2005) and Bewitched (2005), as well as episodes of According to Jim
(2009). She most recently directed an episode of the Showtime original series United States of Tara.
, New York City
, the daughter of Marjorie Irene (née
Ward), a tap dance teacher who ran a dance school, and Anthony Wallace Marshall, a director of industrial film
s and later a producer. She is the sister of actor/director/TV producer Garry Marshall
and Ronny Hallin, a TV producer. Her father was of Italian descent, his family having come from Abruzzo
, and her mother was of English and Scottish descent; her father changed his last name from Masciarelli to Marshall before Penny was born. In the 1950s, she grew up in an apartment on the Grand Concourse
in the Bronx on a block that also spawned Neil Simon
, Paddy Chayefsky
, Calvin Klein
, and Ralph Lauren
. She began her career as a tap dancer at age 3, and later taught tap at her mother's dance school. She is a graduate of Walton High School
in New York City
and attended the University of New Mexico
. In 1967, she moved to Los Angeles
to join her older brother Garry Marshall
, a writer whose credits at the time included TV's The Dick Van Dyke Show
(1961–1966).
was hired to play a girl with thick, bouncy hair. As the crew was lighting the set, Marshall's stand-in wore a placard that read "Homely Girl" and Fawcett's stand-in wore a placard that said "Pretty Girl". Farrah Fawcett, sensing Marshall's insecurity about her looks, crossed out "Homely" on the Marshall stand-in placard and wrote "Plain".
Marshall first gained prominence as a television actress with a recurring guest role of Myrna Turner on The Odd Couple
(1971–1975). In Marshall's ultimate appearance as Myrna Turner, Myrna married her boyfriend, Sheldn ("They forgot the 'o' on his birth certificate; legally, it's 'Sheldn'"), played by her then-real-life husband, Rob Reiner
, and briefly introduced her brother and sister, Werner Turner and Verna Turner (played by, respectively, Marshall's brother, Garry, and her sister, Ronny). Before appearing on The Odd Couple, Marshall was considered to play the role of Gloria Bunker Stivic on All In The Family
. She ultimately lost the part to Sally Struthers
while her husband, Rob Reiner
, was cast as Gloria's husband, Michael "Meathead" Stivic.
In 1974, James L. Brooks
and Allan Burns
, executive producers of the hit situation comedy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, cast Marshall as Janice Dreyfuss, sister-in-law to Paul Dreyfuss (played by actor Paul Sand
). In the series, Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers, Paul was a bachelor, who was a bass violinist for The Boston Symphony Orchestra. It aired on CBS-TV Saturday nights beginning September 14, 1974, as part of the powerhouse lineup of All In The Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show
, and The Carol Burnett Show
. Despite good reviews and decent ratings, it was canceled mid-season. Brooks and Burns, along with studio head Grant Tinker
were so impressed with Marshall's comedic talent that the following season, they hired Marshall and actress Mary Kay Place
to play Mary Richards' new neighbors (Paula and Sally Jo, respectively) on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, when Mary moved out of her old apartment into a high-rise. After appearing as "guest stars" on a few episodes of the series, Marshall and Place were slated to become regulars on the show when fate stepped in for both of them. First, Place was hired by Norman Lear
for the role of Loretta on the syndicated comedy, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
.
Garry Marshall, who was the creator and part-time writer for the hit TV series Happy Days
with Ron Howard
and Henry Winkler
cast Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams
to guest on an episode of that show. The installment, titled "A Date with Fonzie", aired on November 11, 1975 and introduced the characters LaVerne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney (played by Marshall and Williams, respectively). In that episode, Laverne and Shirley were a pair of wise-cracking brewery workers, who were dates for Fonzie (played by Winkler) and Richie (played by Howard). The pair were such a hit with the studio audience that Garry Marshall
decided to co-create and star them in a hit spin-off, Laverne and Shirley (1976–1983). The characters of Laverne and Shirley also appeared in five more episodes of Happy Days
.
In 1983, while still filming Laverne and Shirley, Marshall guest-starred on Taxi
in a cameo appearance as herself. In the Taxi episode "Louie Moves Uptown", Marshall is turned down for residency in a new high-rise condo in Manhattan. The Laverne and Shirley episode "Lost in Spacesuits" is referenced in the scene.
Because male actors such as co-star Ron Howard
and husband Rob Reiner
later became directors, and at the encouragement of her brother, Marshall became interested in directing. She directed two episodes of Laverne and Shirley and other TV assignments. She soon moved on to theatrical films, her first film being Jumpin' Jack Flash
(1986) starring Whoopi Goldberg
. Marshall has directed several successful feature film
s since the mid-1980s, including 1988's Big
starring Tom Hanks
(the first film directed by a woman to gross over US$100 million), Awakenings
(1990) starring Robin Williams
and Robert De Niro
, A League of Their Own
(1992) with Geena Davis
, Tom Hanks
, Madonna
and Rosie O'Donnell
, and "The Preacher's Wife
" (1996) starring Denzel Washington
and Whitney Houston
.
In 1991, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award. She lent her voice to Ms. Botz a/k/a Ms. Botzukowski, the "babysitter bandit", on the first produced episode
of The Simpsons
, and played a cameo role as herself in HBO's series Entourage
.
in Albuquerque, Marshall met Michael Henry, a football player. She quit college after three years, married him in 1961, and they had a daughter, Tracy, who later guest-starred on Laverne & Shirley. Marshall worked as a secretary and later as a tap dance teacher. The marriage lasted two years. On April 10, 1971, Marshall married actor/director Rob Reiner
, and her daughter took the name of Tracy Reiner
. The marriage would last until 1981. In the mid-1980s she was romantically linked with Art Garfunkel
.
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
.
After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley. A ratings success, the show ran from 1976 until 1983, and Marshall received three Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
award nominations for her performance.
She progressed to directing films such as Big
Big
Big is a 1988 romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight...
(1988), the first film directed by a woman to gross in excess of $100 million at the U.S. box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
, Awakenings
Awakenings
Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa...
(1990), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, and A League of Their Own
A League of Their Own
A League of Their Own is a 1992 American comedy-drama film that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O'Donnell...
(1992). In more recent years, she has produced Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...
(2005) and Bewitched (2005), as well as episodes of According to Jim
According to Jim
According to Jim is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children. It originally ran on ABC from October 3, 2001 to June 2, 2009.-Synopsis:Jim is an abrasive but lovable suburban father...
(2009). She most recently directed an episode of the Showtime original series United States of Tara.
Early life
Marshall was born Carole Penelope Marshall in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the daughter of Marjorie Irene (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Ward), a tap dance teacher who ran a dance school, and Anthony Wallace Marshall, a director of industrial film
Sponsored film
Sponsored film, or ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is film made by a particular sponsor for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited time...
s and later a producer. She is the sister of actor/director/TV producer Garry Marshall
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall is an American actor, director, writer and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.-Early life:Marshall was born in the New York City...
and Ronny Hallin, a TV producer. Her father was of Italian descent, his family having come from Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
, and her mother was of English and Scottish descent; her father changed his last name from Masciarelli to Marshall before Penny was born. In the 1950s, she grew up in an apartment on the Grand Concourse
Grand Concourse (Bronx)
The Grand Concourse is a major thoroughfare in the borough of the Bronx in New York City...
in the Bronx on a block that also spawned Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
, Paddy Chayefsky
Paddy Chayefsky
Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky , was an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for Best Screenplay....
, Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....
, and Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
. She began her career as a tap dancer at age 3, and later taught tap at her mother's dance school. She is a graduate of Walton High School
Walton High School (New York City)
Walton High School was a secondary school located in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx borough in New York.Walton's colors were sky blue and white. Its motto Semper Fidelis means "always faithful". The school seal is an open book supported by the torch of learning, and the school crest...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and attended the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
. In 1967, she moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to join her older brother Garry Marshall
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall is an American actor, director, writer and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.-Early life:Marshall was born in the New York City...
, a writer whose credits at the time included TV's The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
(1961–1966).
Career
One of her first jobs was for a TV commercial for a beautifying shampoo. She was hired to play a girl with stringy, unattractive hair, and Farrah FawcettFarrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
was hired to play a girl with thick, bouncy hair. As the crew was lighting the set, Marshall's stand-in wore a placard that read "Homely Girl" and Fawcett's stand-in wore a placard that said "Pretty Girl". Farrah Fawcett, sensing Marshall's insecurity about her looks, crossed out "Homely" on the Marshall stand-in placard and wrote "Plain".
Marshall first gained prominence as a television actress with a recurring guest role of Myrna Turner on The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple (TV series)
The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....
(1971–1975). In Marshall's ultimate appearance as Myrna Turner, Myrna married her boyfriend, Sheldn ("They forgot the 'o' on his birth certificate; legally, it's 'Sheldn'"), played by her then-real-life husband, Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
, and briefly introduced her brother and sister, Werner Turner and Verna Turner (played by, respectively, Marshall's brother, Garry, and her sister, Ronny). Before appearing on The Odd Couple, Marshall was considered to play the role of Gloria Bunker Stivic on All In The Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
. She ultimately lost the part to Sally Struthers
Sally Struthers
Sally Ann Struthers is an American actress and spokeswoman, best-known for her roles as Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, for which she won two Emmy awards, and as Babette on Gilmore Girls.-Personal life:...
while her husband, Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
, was cast as Gloria's husband, Michael "Meathead" Stivic.
In 1974, James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
and Allan Burns
Allan Burns
Allan Burns is an American screenwriter and television producer. Burns is best known for, alongside James L. Brooks, creating and writing for the television sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda.-Early life:...
, executive producers of the hit situation comedy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, cast Marshall as Janice Dreyfuss, sister-in-law to Paul Dreyfuss (played by actor Paul Sand
Paul Sand
Paul Sand is an American comedic actor.-Background:Sand was born Paul Sanchez in Santa Monica, California, the son of Sonia Borodiansky, a writer, and Ernest Rivera Sanchez, an aerospace tool designer. His father was Mexican and his mother of Russian descent.-Career:At the age of 11, he started at...
). In the series, Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers, Paul was a bachelor, who was a bass violinist for The Boston Symphony Orchestra. It aired on CBS-TV Saturday nights beginning September 14, 1974, as part of the powerhouse lineup of All In The Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
, and The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
. Despite good reviews and decent ratings, it was canceled mid-season. Brooks and Burns, along with studio head Grant Tinker
Grant Tinker
Grant Almerin Tinker is the former chairman and CEO of NBC from 1981 to 1986, co-founder of MTM Enterprises, and television producer. Tinker is the former husband of television actress Mary Tyler Moore...
were so impressed with Marshall's comedic talent that the following season, they hired Marshall and actress Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place is an American actress, singer, director and screen writer. She is best known as portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series in 1977...
to play Mary Richards' new neighbors (Paula and Sally Jo, respectively) on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, when Mary moved out of her old apartment into a high-rise. After appearing as "guest stars" on a few episodes of the series, Marshall and Place were slated to become regulars on the show when fate stepped in for both of them. First, Place was hired by Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
for the role of Loretta on the syndicated comedy, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American soap opera parody that aired in daily syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and starred Louise Lasser...
.
Garry Marshall, who was the creator and part-time writer for the hit TV series Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
with Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
and Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
cast Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams
Cindy Williams
Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams is an American actress best known for starring in the television situation-comedy series Laverne & Shirley, in the role of "Shirley Feeney", and for her role as Laurie Henderson in the classic film American Graffiti.-Early life:Williams was born in Van Nuys,...
to guest on an episode of that show. The installment, titled "A Date with Fonzie", aired on November 11, 1975 and introduced the characters LaVerne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney (played by Marshall and Williams, respectively). In that episode, Laverne and Shirley were a pair of wise-cracking brewery workers, who were dates for Fonzie (played by Winkler) and Richie (played by Howard). The pair were such a hit with the studio audience that Garry Marshall
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall is an American actor, director, writer and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.-Early life:Marshall was born in the New York City...
decided to co-create and star them in a hit spin-off, Laverne and Shirley (1976–1983). The characters of Laverne and Shirley also appeared in five more episodes of Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
.
In 1983, while still filming Laverne and Shirley, Marshall guest-starred on Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
in a cameo appearance as herself. In the Taxi episode "Louie Moves Uptown", Marshall is turned down for residency in a new high-rise condo in Manhattan. The Laverne and Shirley episode "Lost in Spacesuits" is referenced in the scene.
Because male actors such as co-star Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
and husband Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
later became directors, and at the encouragement of her brother, Marshall became interested in directing. She directed two episodes of Laverne and Shirley and other TV assignments. She soon moved on to theatrical films, her first film being Jumpin' Jack Flash
Jumpin' Jack Flash (film)
Jumpin' Jack Flash is a 1986 spy comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Collins, Carol Kane, John Wood, Annie Potts, and Jonathan Pryce...
(1986) starring Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
. Marshall has directed several successful feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s since the mid-1980s, including 1988's Big
Big
Big is a 1988 romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight...
starring Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
(the first film directed by a woman to gross over US$100 million), Awakenings
Awakenings
Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa...
(1990) starring Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
and Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, A League of Their Own
A League of Their Own
A League of Their Own is a 1992 American comedy-drama film that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O'Donnell...
(1992) with Geena Davis
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...
, Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
, and "The Preacher's Wife
The Preacher's Wife
The Preacher's Wife is a 1996 romantic-family-dramedy-christmas film directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, and Loretta Devine. It is a remake of the 1947 film The Bishop's Wife....
" (1996) starring Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
and Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
.
In 1991, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award. She lent her voice to Ms. Botz a/k/a Ms. Botzukowski, the "babysitter bandit", on the first produced episode
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons)
"Some Enchanted Evening" is the thirteenth, final aired, and first produced episode of The Simpsons first season and originally aired on the Fox network on May 13, 1990. Although it was the first episode produced, it aired as the season finale due to significant animation problems. The episode...
of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, and played a cameo role as herself in HBO's series Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
.
Personal life
While attending the University of New MexicoUniversity of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
in Albuquerque, Marshall met Michael Henry, a football player. She quit college after three years, married him in 1961, and they had a daughter, Tracy, who later guest-starred on Laverne & Shirley. Marshall worked as a secretary and later as a tap dance teacher. The marriage lasted two years. On April 10, 1971, Marshall married actor/director Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
, and her daughter took the name of Tracy Reiner
Tracy Reiner
Tracy Reiner is an American actress. She has appeared in more than 30 movies, among them Apollo 13 and A League of Their Own....
. The marriage would last until 1981. In the mid-1980s she was romantically linked with Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...
.
As actress
- The Savage Seven (1968)
- How Sweet It Is!How Sweet It Is!How Sweet It Is! is a 1968 comedy movie starring James Garner and Debbie Reynolds, with a supporting cast including Terry-Thomas and Paul Lynde. Garner plays a photographer who brings his wife, Jenny, and teenage son, David, along on a Paris shoot, with both husband and wife struggling to stay...
(1968) - The GrasshopperThe Grasshopper (film)The Grasshopper is a 1969 drama film directed by Jerry Paris. It stars Jacqueline Bisset and Jim Brown.-Plot:Christine Adams, a cheerful 19-year-old from British Columbia, Canada, travels to Los Angeles to be with her fiance, who works there in a bank. When the relationship doesn't work out, she...
(1970) - The Odd CoupleThe Odd CoupleThe Odd Couple is a 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight, the other more easygoing and...
(1970) - Where's Poppa?Where's Poppa?Where's Poppa? is a 1970 black comedy film based on the novel by Robert Klane starring George Segal, Ron Leibman and Ruth Gordon. The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer son played by Segal and his senile mother played by Gordon...
(1970) (uncredited) - The Christian Licorice Store (1971) (scenes deleted)
- How Come Nobody's on Our Side? (1975)
- 19411941 (film)1941 is a 1979 period comedy film directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and featuring an ensemble cast including John Belushi, Ned Beatty, John Candy, Toshiro Mifune, Christopher Lee and Dan Aykroyd...
(1979) (uncredited) - Movers & ShakersMovers & ShakersMovers & Shakers is a 1985 comedy movie distributed by MGM. It stars Walter Matthau and was directed by William Asher.The story follows the head of production at a Hollywood studio who wants to make a movie to fulfill a promise made to a dying friend....
(1985) - She's Having a BabyShe's Having a BabyShe's Having a Baby is a 1988 American romance film directed by John Hughes.The film portrays a young newlywed couple, Kristy and Jake Briggs played by Elizabeth McGovern and Kevin Bacon, who try to cope with being married and what is expected of them by their parents. Jake must also deal with the...
(1988) (cameo) - Alice Upside DownAlice Upside DownAlice Upside Down is a film adaptation of the Alice series written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The film was shot at Bishop DuBourg High School in St. Louis, Missouri. Originally screened in limited cinema in 2007, it was released wide straight-to-DVD on July 29, 2008. In North America, it airs on...
(2007)
- The Hard WayThe Hard Way (1991 film)The Hard Way is a 1991 action-comedy film starring Michael J. Fox and James Woods. It is directed by John Badham. The film also had notable performances by Stephen Lang, Annabella Sciorra, Luis Guzmán, LL Cool J, Delroy Lindo, Penny Marshall, and Bryant Gumbel, as himself...
(1991) - Hocus Pocus (1993) (uncredited)
- Get ShortyGet ShortyGet Shorty is a 1990 novel by American novelist Elmore Leonard. In 1995, the novel was adapted into a film of the same name.-Plot summary:...
(1995) (cameo) - One VisionOne Vision"One Vision" is a song written and recorded by the rock band Queen, first released as a single in November 1985 and then included on their 1986 album A Kind of Magic...
(1998) (documentary) - Special Delivery (1999)
- StatesideStateside (film)Stateside is a 2004 romantic drama film film based on a true story. It is an adventurous love story about a high school rich kid serving in the Marine Corps to avoid jail, who eventually falls in love with a schizophrenic actress. Those around them ask them to keep their distance from each other,...
(2004) (uncredited) - Looking for Comedy in the Muslim WorldLooking for Comedy in the Muslim WorldLooking for Comedy in the Muslim World is a 2006 film starring and directed by Albert Brooks. It was shown at the Dubai International Film Festival.-Synopsis:...
(2005) (cameo) - Everybody Wants to Be ItalianEverybody Wants to be ItalianEverybody Wants to Be Italian is a 2008 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Jason Todd Ipson. The screenplay focuses on the relationship between a blue collar worker and a veterinarian....
(2007) - Alice Upside DownAlice Upside DownAlice Upside Down is a film adaptation of the Alice series written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The film was shot at Bishop DuBourg High School in St. Louis, Missouri. Originally screened in limited cinema in 2007, it was released wide straight-to-DVD on July 29, 2008. In North America, it airs on...
(2007) (Mrs. Plotkin) - Blonde AmbitionBlonde AmbitionBlonde Ambition is a film released in December 2007 and inspired by the theme of the Academy Award-winning movie Working Girl starring singer/actress Jessica Simpson playing the part of a small town girl who moves to New York City and rises up into a career as a business woman...
(2007) (bolo excutive)
Television
- That GirlThat GirlThat Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
(2 episodes, 1968–1969) - Then Came BronsonThen Came BronsonThen Came Bronson is a short-lived adventure/drama television series that aired on NBC from 1969 to 1970, and was produced by MGM Television. The series, created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, began with a movie pilot on Monday, March 24, 1969. The series was greenlit for one year and began its first...
(1 episode, 1969) - Love, American StyleLove, American StyleLove, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
(1 episode, 1970) - Barefoot in the Park (1 episode, 1970)
- Wacky Zoo of Morgan City (1970)
- Disneyland (2 episodes, 1970)
- The Feminist and the Fuzz (1971)
- Getting Together (1 episode, 1971)
- Funny FaceFunny FaceFunny Face is an American musical film released in 1957 in VistaVision Technicolor, with assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. The film was written by Leonard Gershe and directed by Stanley Donen. It stars Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, and Kay Thompson...
(TV series) (pilot, 1971) (uncredited) - The Odd CoupleThe Odd Couple (TV series)The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....
(26 episodes, 1971–1975) - Evil Roy SladeEvil Roy SladeEvil Roy Slade is a 1972 made-for-television comedy film about the "meanest villain in the West."-Plot:Orphaned and left in the desert as an infant, Evil Roy Slade grew up alone—save for his teddy bear—and mean...
(1972) - The SuperThe SuperThe Super is a 1991 American comedy film starring Joe Pesci as a New York slum landlord sentenced to live in one of his own buildings until it is brought up to code...
(1 episode, 1972) - The Bob Newhart ShowThe Bob Newhart ShowThe Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
(1 episode, 1972) - The Crooked Hearts (1972)
- The Couple Takes a Wife (1972)
- BanacekBanacekBanacek is a short-lived, light-hearted detective TV series starring George Peppard on NBC from 1972 to 1974. It alternated in its timeslot with several other shows but was the only one to last beyond its first season...
(1 episode, 1973) - Paul SandPaul SandPaul Sand is an American comedic actor.-Background:Sand was born Paul Sanchez in Santa Monica, California, the son of Sonia Borodiansky, a writer, and Ernest Rivera Sanchez, an aerospace tool designer. His father was Mexican and his mother of Russian descent.-Career:At the age of 11, he started at...
in Friends and Lovers (14 episodes, 1974-1975) - Mary Tyler MooreThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
(3 episodes, 1974–1976) - Let's Switch! (1975)
- Wives (1975)
- Chico and the ManChico and the ManChico and the Man is an American sitcom which ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974 to July 21, 1978. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown , the cantankerous owner of a run down garage in an East Los Angeles barrio, and Freddie Prinze as Chico Rodriguez, an upbeat, optimistic Chicano...
(1 episode, 1975)
- Happy DaysHappy DaysHappy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
(6 episodes, 1975–1979) - Good HeavensGood HeavensGood Heavens was a comedy anthology produced by Columbia Pictures Television that aired between February 29 to June 26, 1976. It ranked #17 in the Nielsen ratings during the 1975-76 television season....
(1 episode, 1976) - Laverne & ShirleyLaverne & ShirleyLaverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
(178 episodes,, 1976–1983) - Blansky's BeautiesBlansky's BeautiesBlansky's Beauties is an American sitcom which aired on the ABC network in 1977. The main character of the series was introduced in an episode of Happy Days.-Synopsis:...
(1 episode, 1977) - Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
(2 episodes, 1977–1996) - Mork & Mindy (1 episode, 1978)
- More Than Friends (1978)
- Laverne & Shirley in the ArmyLaverne & Shirley in the ArmyLaverne & Shirley in the Army is a 1981 Hanna-Barbera cartoon series based on the TV show Laverne & Shirley, with the title characters voiced by Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams. The show aired on Saturday mornings for one season of 13 episodes on ABC...
(1981) - The Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour (1982) (voice)
- The New ShowThe New ShowThe New Show was a NBC sketch comedy show produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, which ran for only one season from January 6 to March 23, 1984. Apart from being 60 minutes in length and entirely pre-recorded, the show is similar in format to SNL...
(1 episode, 1984) - Love Thy Neighbor (1984)
- Challenge of a LifetimeChallenge of a LifetimeChallenge of a Lifetime is a 1985 television film directed by Russ Mayberry. Starring Penny Marshall and Jonathan Silverman, the film focuses on a 35-year-old woman entering a Triathlon.- Plot :...
(1985) - The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
TV series, episode "Some Enchanted EveningSome Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons)"Some Enchanted Evening" is the thirteenth, final aired, and first produced episode of The Simpsons first season and originally aired on the Fox network on May 13, 1990. Although it was the first episode produced, it aired as the season finale due to significant animation problems. The episode...
" (1990) (voice) - The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993)
- Nash BridgesNash BridgesNash Bridges is an American television police drama created by Carlton Cuse. The show starred Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit. The show ran for six seasons on CBS from March 29, 1996 to May 4, 2001 with a total of...
(1 episode, 1998) - FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
(1 episode, 2004) - Campus LadiesCampus LadiesCampus Ladies is an American sitcom that premiered on Oxygen on January 8, 2006. It stars Christen Sussin and Carrie Aizley as two 40-something women who decide to go enroll at the fictional University of the Midwest...
(1 episode, 2006) - The Game (1 episode, 2008)
As Director
- Jumpin' Jack FlashJumpin' Jack Flash (film)Jumpin' Jack Flash is a 1986 spy comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Collins, Carol Kane, John Wood, Annie Potts, and Jonathan Pryce...
(1986) - BigBigBig is a 1988 romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight...
(1988) - AwakeningsAwakeningsAwakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa...
(1990) - A League of Their OwnA League of Their OwnA League of Their Own is a 1992 American comedy-drama film that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O'Donnell...
(1992) - Renaissance Man (1994)
- The Preacher's WifeThe Preacher's WifeThe Preacher's Wife is a 1996 romantic-family-dramedy-christmas film directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, and Loretta Devine. It is a remake of the 1947 film The Bishop's Wife....
(1996) - Riding in Cars with BoysRiding in Cars with BoysRiding in Cars with Boys is a 2001 film based on the autobiography of the same name by Beverly Donofrio, about a woman who overcame difficulties including being a teen mother to earning a master's degree from the span of 1961 to 1986. It stars Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Brittany Murphy, and James...
(2001)