Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016)[1][2] was an American screenwriter, film director, producer and actor.

Marshall went on to direct numerous films including Young Doctors in Love (1982), The Flamingo Kid (1984), Nothing in Common (1986), Overboard (1987), Beaches (1988), Pretty Woman (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Exit to Eden (1994), Dear God (1996), The Other Sister and Runaway Bride (Both in 1999), The Princess Diaries (2001), Raising Helen (2004), Georgia Rule (2007), Valentine's Day (2010), New Year's Eve (2011), and Mother's Day (2016).

Garry Kent Marshall was born in Manhattan[4] on November 13, 1934, the only son and the eldest child of Anthony "Tony" Masciarelli (later Anthony Wallace Marshall; 1906–1999), a director of industrial films and producer, and Marjorie Irene (née Ward; 1908–1983), the owner and teacher in a tap dance school.

His father was of Italian descent, his family having come from San Martino sulla Marrucina, Chieti, Abruzzo,[6] and his mother was of German, English, Irish and Scottish ancestry.

They resided in Los Angeles; the couple have three children: Scott; Lori (with whom he co-wrote a book); and Kathleen (who appeared in all of his films).

[citation needed] In 1961, he and Freeman moved to Hollywood, where they broke into writing sitcoms on The Joey Bishop Show.

Moving into the 1970s, Marshall worked on his own or with others, and created Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley (starring his sister Penny, who had earlier had a recurring role on The Odd Couple), and Mork & Mindy, which were produced by his associates Thomas L. Miller, Robert L. Boyett, and Edward K.

[18] Of all Marshall's films, Elizondo had his biggest role in The Flamingo Kid as main character Matt Dillon's father.

[19] Then came successes in producing The Odd Couple, Laverne & Shirley, Blansky's Beauties, Mork & Mindy, Angie, and Happy Days.

[20] Marshall went on to focus on directing feature films, with a series of hits, such as Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries, Valentine's Day, and New Year's Eve.

Marshall was also an actor, appearing in Murphy Brown and in such films as Soapdish, On the Lot, his sister's A League of Their Own and Albert Brooks' Lost in America, and provided a guest-starring voice for The Simpsons episodes "Eight Misbehavin'" and "Homer the Father" (one of his first roles as an undercover cop in the counter-culture drama Psych-Out starring Jack Nicholson).

Marshall died at a hospital in Burbank, California, on the morning of July 19, 2016, due to complications of pneumonia after suffering a stroke.