Penny Marshall: The Life Story Behind the Laverne and Shirley Star
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Penny Marshall was a woman who did two remarkable things in one lifetime, and either one of them would have been enough for a fine career. First, she became Laverne DeFazio on Laverne and Shirley, one of the funniest and most loved characters on American television, a tough, funny, working class woman from Milwaukee who made millions of people laugh every week. Then, when most actresses of her age were finding that the work had dried up, she became a film director, and she directed Big, the first film directed by a woman to earn more than one hundred million dollars at the box office. She did not stop there. She directed A League of Their Own, a film about women playing baseball during the Second World War, and it became a classic that is still loved today.
She was born in the Bronx, New York, on 15 October 1943, and she grew up in a loud, funny, working class family. Her father made industrial films, her mother ran a dance school, and her brother Garry Marshall became one of the most successful television producers in America. Penny was not a pretty girl in the usual Hollywood sense, and she was not a glamorous star. She was funny, she was smart, and she was tough, and those qualities made her a great comedian and a great director. She had a voice that was loud and a laugh that was bigger, and she was not afraid to be herself.
Her story is worth telling because it is the story of a woman who refused to be put in a box. Hollywood told her she was only a comedian, and she became a director. Hollywood told her that women could not direct big films, and she directed two of the biggest films of her time. She had a daughter, Tracy, she was married twice, and she lived a full and complicated life. She died on 17 December 2018, at the age of seventy-five, and she left behind films and television shows that still make people laugh and cry. This is the story of how a girl from the Bronx became one of the most important women in American film.
A Loud Family in the Bronx
Carole Penny Marshall was born on 15 October 1943 in the Bronx, New York City. Her father, Anthony Marshall, was born in Italy and worked as a director of industrial films, and her mother, Marjorie, ran a tap dance school. The family was loud, funny, and full of life, and Penny grew up in a home where people talked over each other, where jokes were constant, and where everyone had an opinion. Her older brother, Garry Marshall, became a famous television producer and director, and her sister, Ronny Hallin, became a television producer. The Marshall family was a show business family, even if they did not start out rich or famous.
Penny was not a child who dreamed of being a movie star. She was a tomboy, and she liked to play sports, and she liked to make people laugh. She was not the prettiest girl in her class, and she knew it, but she did not care, because she was funny, and funny was more useful than pretty. She went to school in the Bronx, and she was a good student, but she was more interested in being with her friends and in making them laugh. She had a loud voice, and she had a big personality, and she was not afraid to use them.
After school, she went to the University of New Mexico, where she studied mathematics and psychology, but she did not finish her degree. She left college and moved to Los Angeles, where her brother Garry was working in television. Garry helped her get small parts on television, and she began to work as an actress. She was not a leading lady, and she did not try to be one. She was a character actress, a woman who could play a funny neighbour, a tough secretary, or a working class girl, and make each one feel real. That was her strength, and she built her career on it.
She also married young. In 1963, she married Michael Henry, a football player, and they had a daughter, Tracy, in 1964. The marriage did not last, and they divorced in 1966, but Penny kept her daughter, and she raised her as a single mother for a time. That was hard, especially in Hollywood, where single mothers were not common, but Penny managed it with the same toughness she brought to her acting. She worked, she raised her daughter, and she kept going. Her daughter Tracy later became an actress and a producer, and Penny was proud of her.
Laverne and the Big Break
In the 1970s, Penny Marshall began to get noticed as a comedian. She appeared on The Odd Couple, a television show produced by her brother Garry, and she played Myrna, a secretary, in a recurring role. She was funny, she was natural, and audiences liked her. Then, in 1976, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio on Happy Days, in a guest appearance, and the character was so popular that she was given her own show, Laverne and Shirley, with Cindy Williams as her best friend Shirley Feeney. The show ran from 1976 to 1983, and it became one of the most popular comedies in America.
Laverne was a tough, funny, working class woman from Milwaukee who worked in a brewery with Shirley. She wore a letter L on her sweaters, she drank milk and Pepsi together, and she had a loud laugh and a big heart. Penny played her with warmth and with humour, and audiences loved her. She was not a glamorous star. She was a real woman, and that was why people loved her. She was the kind of woman they knew in real life, a woman who worked hard, who loved her friends, and who laughed at the hard parts of life. The show was a hit, and Penny became famous.
She was nominated for Golden Globe Awards for her work on the show, and she became one of the most loved comedians on television. She also married Rob Reiner in 1971, an actor and director who later became famous for directing films such as When Harry Met Sally and This Is Spinal Tap. The marriage lasted ten years, and they divorced in 1981, but they remained friends, and Rob became a father figure to Penny’s daughter Tracy. Penny’s personal life was complicated, but her work was strong, and she kept going.
During the Laverne and Shirley years, Penny also began to think about directing. She directed episodes of the show, and she found that she loved the work. Directing gave her a control over the story that acting did not give her. She could shape the whole thing, not just one part. She was learning, and she was getting ready for the next stage of her career, even if she did not know it yet. She was a woman who was always learning, and always looking for the next challenge.
From Actress to Director
When Laverne and Shirley ended in 1983, Penny Marshall was forty years old, and many actresses of that age find that the work dries up. Penny did not wait for the work to come to her. She decided to become a director, and she worked hard to make it happen. She directed the film Jumpin’ Jack Flash in 1986, a comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg, and it was a success. It showed that she could direct a film, and that she could work with a big star. It was a good start, but it was only the beginning.
Her next film was Big in 1988, a comedy about a boy who wishes to be big and wakes up as an adult, played by Tom Hanks. The film was a huge success, and it earned more than one hundred million dollars at the box office, making Penny the first woman director to have a film earn that much money. It was a historic achievement, and it changed the way Hollywood thought about women directors. Penny had proved that a woman could direct a big, popular film, and that audiences would love it. Tom Hanks was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance, and the film is still loved today.
She followed Big with Awakenings in 1990, a drama about a doctor, played by Robin Williams, who treats patients who have been in a coma for many years. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and it showed that Penny could direct a serious and moving film, not only a comedy. She was a versatile director, and she could handle different kinds of stories with skill and with heart. She cared about her actors, and she cared about the truth of a story, and that showed in her films.
In 1992, she directed A League of Their Own, a film about the All American Girls Professional Baseball League during the Second World War. The film starred Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell, and it told the story of women who played baseball while the men were at war. The film was a huge success, and it became a classic. It is still watched and loved today, and it is one of the most important films about women in sports ever made. Penny directed it with warmth, with humour, and with respect for the real women who had played in the league. It was a film she was proud of, and it is a film that will last.
Later Films and a Full Life
After A League of Their Own, Penny Marshall continued to direct, but her later films were not as successful. She directed Renaissance Man in 1994, a comedy starring Danny DeVito, and The Preacher’s Wife in 1996, a film starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. Both films were liked by some viewers, but they did not do as well at the box office as her earlier films. She also directed episodes of television, and she produced films and shows. She was still working, but the big hits were behind her, and she knew it. She did not let that stop her. She kept working, and she kept doing the work she loved.
She also wrote a book. Her memoir, My Mother Was Nuts, was published in 2012, and it told the story of her life with humour and honesty. She wrote about her childhood in the Bronx, her time on Laverne and Shirley, her work as a director, and her family. The book was funny, and it was sad, and it was honest, and readers liked it because it felt like sitting down with Penny herself. She did not pretend her life was perfect. She wrote about the hard parts as well as the happy ones, and that made the book feel real.
Her health began to fail in her later years. She had diabetes, and she had other health problems, and she was in and out of hospital. She kept working when she could, and she kept seeing her friends, but she was not as strong as she had been. She died on 17 December 2018, at her home in Los Angeles, at the age of seventy-five. The cause of death was reported as complications from diabetes and heart disease. Her death was mourned by many people, including Tom Hanks, who said she was a great director and a great friend, and Rosie O’Donnell, who said she had changed her life.
She left behind a daughter, Tracy, and a body of work that includes some of the most loved films and television shows in American history. She was a woman who broke barriers, who made people laugh, and who told stories about women that had never been told before. Her legacy is a large one, and it is one that will last for a long time.
A Woman Who Broke the Rules
Penny Marshall’s legacy is about breaking rules. She was a woman who became a comedian when women were not expected to be funny, and she became a director when women were not expected to direct big films. She did both, and she did them well, and she opened doors for other women. Today, there are many women directors in Hollywood, and they owe a debt to Penny, who proved that a woman could direct a one hundred million dollar film. She did not set out to be a pioneer. She set out to do good work, and the pioneering happened because she was good at it.
She is also remembered for Laverne, a character who was tough, funny, and real. Laverne was a working class woman, and she was not glamorous, and she was not perfect, but she was loved, because she was true. Penny played her with all the warmth and humour she had, and she made Laverne into a character that millions of women recognised as themselves. That is a powerful thing, and it is a thing that still matters today, when television needs more real women and fewer perfect ones.
She is also remembered for A League of Their Own, a film that told the story of women who played baseball during the war, and who were forgotten by history. Penny brought their story to the screen, and she did it with respect and with love. The film is still shown in schools, and it is still loved by young girls who play sports, and it is a reminder that women’s stories matter, and that they deserve to be told. Penny told them, and she told them well.
Today, when people watch Big or A League of Their Own, they still laugh and they still cry, and they still feel something real. That is Penny Marshall’s legacy. She made films that mattered, and she made television that mattered, and she did it as a woman from the Bronx who was not afraid to be herself. That is a beautiful story, and it is one that deserves to be told.
My Mother Was Nuts and the Memoir
In 2012, Penny Marshall published her memoir, My Mother Was Nuts, and it was a funny, honest, and moving book about her life. She wrote about growing up in the Bronx, about her loud and loving family, about her time on Laverne and Shirley, about her work as a director, and about her health problems. She did not pretend her life was perfect. She wrote about the hard parts as well as the happy ones, and she wrote with the same loud humour that had made her famous. Readers liked the book because it felt like sitting down with Penny herself, listening to her tell stories over coffee.
The title of the book came from something her mother used to say, and it showed Penny’s sense of humour about her own family. She loved her mother, and she loved her father, and she loved her brother Garry, but she was honest about the fact that her family was loud, and funny, and sometimes difficult. That honesty made the book feel real, and it made readers trust her. She was not writing a book to make herself look good. She was writing a book to tell the truth, and the truth was funny and sad at the same time, just like life.
She also wrote about her health in the book, including her diabetes and her struggles with her weight. She did not hide those things, and she did not pretend they did not matter. She talked about them openly, and she joked about them, and she helped other people feel less alone. That is a brave thing to do, especially for a woman in Hollywood, where health problems are often hidden. Penny did not hide hers. She talked about them, and she laughed about them, and she kept going. That is a good example, and it is one that many people needed to hear.
Producing, Mentoring, and Giving Back
Penny Marshall was not only an actress and a director. She was also a producer, and she helped to make films and television shows that she believed in. She produced films through her company, and she worked with young directors and writers, helping them to find their way. She believed in giving back to the profession that had given her so much, and she did it quietly, without making a fuss. She was a mentor to many young filmmakers, and they remembered her kindness and her advice. She told them to work hard, to be prepared, and to tell stories that mattered, and those were the same lessons she had learned as a young actress in New York.
She also supported women’s causes, and she spoke about the need for more women directors in Hollywood. She did not make big speeches, but she used her position to help other women. When she directed Big and A League of Their Own, she proved that a woman could direct a big film, and that proof opened doors for others. She was a pioneer, even if she did not call herself one, and her work made it easier for the women who came after her. That is a legacy that goes beyond her own films, and it is one that will last for a long time.
She was also a friend to many people in Hollywood, and she was known for her loyalty. Tom Hanks, who starred in Big and in A League of Their Own, said that Penny was a great director and a great friend, and that he loved working with her. Rosie O’Donnell, who starred in A League of Their Own, said that Penny had changed her life. Those tributes show how much she was loved, not only as a director, but as a person. She was a woman who cared about her friends, and who helped them when they needed it, and that is a beautiful thing.
Awakenings and a Serious Director
Penny Marshall’s film Awakenings, released in 1990, showed that she was not only a comedy director. The film told the story of Dr. Malcolm Sayer, played by Robin Williams, a doctor who treats patients who have been in a coma for many years with a new drug, and who watches them wake up and live again, if only for a short time. It was based on a true story, written by the neurologist Oliver Sacks, and it was a moving and serious film. Penny directed it with great care, and it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Robert De Niro was nominated for Best Actor for his performance as one of the patients.
The film was a departure from Big and from Laverne and Shirley, because it was quiet, sad, and thoughtful, and it asked the audience to think about what it means to be alive. Penny handled it beautifully, because she understood that a good story does not need jokes to be powerful. It needs truth, and it needs actors who believe in what they are doing. She gave Robin Williams and Robert De Niro room to do their best work, and they did. The film is still watched today, and it is still moving, and it is a reminder that Penny was a versatile director who could handle any kind of story.
My Take:
I think Penny Marshall was one of the bravest women in Hollywood, and I say brave because she did things that women were told they could not do, and she did them well. She became a comedian when women were supposed to be pretty and quiet, and she became a director when women were supposed to stay in front of the camera. She did not listen to the people who told her no. She did the work, and she proved them wrong, and that takes a kind of courage that I admire very much. I think about young women today who want to direct films, and I hope they know Penny’s story, because it shows them that it is possible, even when the world says it is not.
What I admire most about her is Laverne. Laverne was not a glamorous character. She was a working class woman who worked in a brewery, who wore a letter L on her sweater, and who drank milk and Pepsi together. She was funny, she was tough, and she was real, and millions of women saw themselves in her. I love that, because television needs more real women, and fewer perfect ones. Penny played Laverne with all the warmth and humour she had, and she made her into a character that people loved, not because she was beautiful, but because she was true. That is a powerful thing, and it is a thing that still matters today.
I also admire her work as a director, especially Big and A League of Their Own. Big is a funny and moving film about a boy who becomes a man overnight, and it works because Penny understood what it feels like to be a child in a grown up world. She directed Tom Hanks with great skill, and she made a film that is still loved today. A League of Their Own is an even more important film, because it tells the story of women who played baseball during the war, and who were forgotten by history. Penny brought their story to the screen, and she did it with respect and with love. I think that film is one of the best sports films ever made, and it is one of the best films about women ever made, and I am glad Penny directed it.
When I think about her life, I also think about her family. She grew up in a loud, funny family in the Bronx, and she carried that loudness and that humour into her work. Her brother Garry was a famous producer, and her mother ran a dance school, and her father made films. She was surrounded by show business, and she learned from it, but she also made her own way. She was not Garry’s little sister. She was Penny Marshall, and she earned her place on her own. I respect that, because it is easy to live in the shadow of a famous brother, and it is hard to step out of it and make your own name. Penny did that, and she did it well.
There is a sad part to her story, too, and it is the part about how Hollywood treats women who get older. After A League of Their Own, Penny’s films did not do as well, and she was offered fewer chances to direct. That is not fair, and it is a thing that happens to many women directors. They are given one chance, and if the film does not make a lot of money, they are not given another. Men are given many chances, even when their films fail. Penny deserved more chances, and I wish she had been given them. But I am glad that she kept working, and that she wrote a book, and that she stayed true to herself.
If I have a criticism, it is not of Penny at all. It is of Hollywood, which did not recognise her talent soon enough, and which did not give her enough opportunities. She was a great director, and she should have directed many more films. Instead, she was given only a few chances, and when those films did not make as much money as Big, she was pushed aside. That is a waste, and it is a thing that Hollywood still needs to fix. Women directors deserve the same chances as men, and Penny proved that they can succeed when they are given the chance. I hope the industry learns from her story, and I hope it gives more women the chance to direct big films.
What I learn from Penny Marshall is that you do not have to be perfect to be great. Penny was not a glamorous star, and she was not a perfect woman. She was funny, she was tough, and she was real, and that was enough. She made people laugh, she made films that mattered, and she broke barriers for other women. That is a good life, and it is a life worth copying in the small ways that each of us can manage. I also learn from her that it is never too late to change. She was forty years old when she became a director, and she did some of her best work after that. That is a hopeful message for anyone who wants to do something new in life.
I also learn from her that family matters. She was a mother, she was a sister, and she was a daughter, and she carried her family with her in her work. Her daughter Tracy became an actress and a producer, and Penny was proud of her. Her brother Garry was a famous producer, and she was proud of him too. She did not forget where she came from, and she did not forget the people who loved her. That is a good way to live, and it is a way that I want to remember.
In the end, I think Penny Marshall teaches us that a woman can be funny and smart and tough, and that she can direct films and make people laugh, and that she does not have to apologise for any of it. She was herself, and she was proud of it, and she changed Hollywood by being herself. I will remember her as Laverne, with her loud laugh and her letter L, and I will also remember her as the director of Big and A League of Their Own, two films that still make people smile. That is a legacy worth having, and it is one that will last.
One more thought stays with me. When Penny Marshall died in 2018, Tom Hanks said that she was a great director and a great friend, and Rosie O’Donnell said that she had changed her life. Those are powerful tributes, because they come from people who worked with her and who knew her well. They did not say she was a nice woman. They said she was a great director, and that she changed lives. That is the best kind of tribute, and it is one that Penny deserved. I hope that young women who want to direct films hear those tributes, and I hope they know that Penny Marshall paved the way for them.
I also think about her memoir, My Mother Was Nuts, because it shows a side of Penny that many people did not see. She was funny, she was honest, and she was not afraid to talk about her health problems, her family, and her mistakes. That takes courage, especially for a woman in Hollywood, where everyone is supposed to be perfect. Penny was not perfect, and she did not pretend to be, and that made her book feel real. I think more famous people should write books like that, honest books that tell the truth, because the truth helps people more than a perfect story ever could.
I also think about her work as a mentor, because it shows that she cared about more than her own career. She helped young directors and writers, she produced films she believed in, and she opened doors for women who came after her. That is a generous way to use power, and it is a way that many successful people do not follow. They keep their power for themselves. Penny shared hers, and the industry is better for it. I hope young directors remember her, not only as a great director, but as a woman who helped others.
I also want to say something about her health, because she lived with diabetes and with other problems, and she kept working anyway. That takes strength, and it is a kind of strength that is easy to overlook. She did not complain, and she did not make a fuss. She went to work, she directed films, and she lived her life, even when her body was hurting her. I respect that very much, and I think it is a lesson for anyone who lives with a chronic illness. You can still do good work, and you can still live a full life, even when your health is not perfect. Penny proved that.
One more thought stays with me. When Penny Marshall died in 2018, the tributes came from across Hollywood, from actors, from directors, and from fans. They did not only say she was funny. They said she was a pioneer, and that she had changed the industry for women. That is a powerful legacy, and it is one that Penny earned, film by film, year by year. I hope that young women who want to direct films know her story, and I hope they feel braver because of it, because Penny showed them that it is possible, even when the world says it is not.
I also think about her brother Garry, because their relationship tells me something about family. Garry was a famous producer, and he helped Penny get her first parts on television, but Penny did not live in his shadow. She made her own name, first as Laverne, and then as a director, and she earned her place on her own. That takes courage, because it is easy to be known as someone’s sister, and it is hard to be known as yourself. Penny did it, and she did it well, and I respect her for it. She loved her brother, and she was proud of him, but she was also proud of herself, and she should have been.
I also think about her film Awakenings, because it is a serious and moving film that many people forget. It tells the story of a doctor who treats patients who have been in a coma for many years, and it stars Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. Penny directed it with great care, and it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. That is a remarkable achievement, and it shows that she was not only a comedy director. She was a director who could handle drama, and who could tell a story about hope and loss with skill and with heart. I wish more people knew about Awakenings, because it is a beautiful film, and it deserves to be remembered.
One final thought stays with me. Penny Marshall was a woman from the Bronx who became a comedian, and then a director, and then a pioneer for women in Hollywood. She did it by being herself: loud, funny, tough, and kind. She did not apologise for who she was, and she did not try to be someone else. I hope young women who want to direct films hear her story, and I hope they feel braver because of it. Penny showed them that it is possible, even when the world says it is not, and that is a gift that will last for a long time.
I also think about her childhood in the Bronx, because it shaped everything she did. She grew up in a loud, funny family, and she carried that loudness into her work. Laverne was loud, her films were full of life, and her memoir was loud and funny too. She did not try to be quiet or polite. She was herself, and she was proud of it. I think that is a good lesson: do not hide where you come from. Your home, your family, and your voice are your strengths, and Penny used hers to build a remarkable career.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Penny Marshall become famous as an actress?
She became famous as Laverne DeFazio on the television comedy Laverne and Shirley, which ran from 1976 to 1983. She played a tough and funny working-class woman from Milwaukee who worked in a brewery with her best friend Shirley.
What made Penny Marshall’s directing career historic?
Her film Big, released in 1988, earned more than one hundred million dollars at the box office, making her the first woman director to have a film reach that amount. She later directed A League of Their Own, which also became a classic.
What is A League of Their Own about?
It tells the story of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League during the Second World War, when women played professional baseball while the men were away at war. The film starred Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell.
Was Penny Marshall related to Garry Marshall?
Yes, Garry Marshall was her older brother, and he became one of the most successful television producers in America, creating shows such as Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. Their sister Ronny Hallin was also a television producer.
Did Penny Marshall write a book about her life?
Yes, her memoir My Mother Was Nuts was published in 2012. In it, she wrote with humour and honesty about her Bronx childhood, her acting career, her directing work, and her family.
When did Penny Marshall die?
She died on 17 December 2018 at her home in Los Angeles, at the age of seventy-five. The cause was reported as complications from diabetes and heart disease, and she was mourned by many of her co-stars and friends.
Who was Penny Marshall married to?
She was married twice, first to Michael Henry, with whom she had a daughter, Tracy, and then to actor and director Rob Reiner from 1971 to 1981. Rob Reiner became a father figure to Tracy, and they remained friends after the divorce.
