‘Pretty Woman’ filmmaker Garry Marshall dies at age 81
LOS ANGELES — Garry Marshall knew how to tug at moviegoers’ heartstrings, whether with unlikely love in “Pretty Woman” or sentimental loss in “Beaches.”
But it was goofy, crowd-pleasing comedy that endeared the writer and director to generations of TV viewers in hit sitcoms including “Happy Days, “Laverne & Shirley” and “Mork & Mindy.” Marshall, who died Tuesday at 81, said in a 1980s interview that humour was his necessary path in life.
“In the neighbourhood where we grew up in, the Bronx, you only had a few choices. You were either an athlete or a gangster, or you were funny,” the New York native said.
Marshall also had a memorable on-screen presence, using his hometown accent and gruff delivery in colorful supporting roles that included a practical-minded casino boss untouched by Albert Brooks’ disastrous luck in “Lost in America” and a crass network executive in “Soapdish.”