If Garry Marshall had only co-written 18 episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, and created the classic The Odd Couple for television with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, I’d have been eternally grateful.
But Marshall, who died recently at the age of 81, was also the creator of Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Mork & Mindy, and a lot more. His shows dominated the ABC-TV lineup in the 1970s. (I could, but I won’t, blame him for Scott Baio of Joanne Loves Chachi.)
He also directed movies, including Nothing in Common (1986, with Jackie Gleason in his final film role, and Tom Hanks), Pretty Woman, and those Princess Diaries movies The Daughter enjoys.
And he shows up as an actor in several TV shows and movies, including Murphy Brown and Hot in Cleveland. He also played the brother of the Penny Marshall character on The Odd Couple, for which he was well-qualified.
