[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marshall.jpg]]

->''"Life is more important than show business."''

Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American director, producer, and actor, best known for comedies.

A sickly Bronx boy whose father was a producer of industrial films and whose mother who was an avid amateur dance teacher, he eventually became a drummer and a humor writer which accommodated his weak health.

After studying journalism and a stint in the U.S. Army where he served in the Armed Forces media services, he moved to Hollywood and became a television writer, partnering with Jerry Belson on such programs as ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow'', ''Series/TheDannyThomasShow'', and ''Series/TheLucyShow''. He also wrote a couple of screenplays, including 1970 film ''Film/TheGrasshopper''.

Eventually, he moved up to producer and became one of the dominant ones in The70s with major comedy series like ''Series/{{The Odd Couple|1970}}'', ''Series/HappyDays'', ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'' (which co-starred his younger sister, Creator/PennyMarshall), and ''Series/MorkAndMindy'' (which gave Creator/RobinWilliams his major break into stardom).

From TheEighties onward, he directed comedies like ''Film/TheFlamingoKid'', ''Film/{{Beaches}}'', and ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'' and occasionally worked as an actor and voice artist in both film and television. In 2016, he died in a Burbank, California hospital of pneumonia after suffering a stroke at age 81.

----
!!Films directed
* ''Film/YoungDoctorsInLove'' (1982)
* ''Film/TheFlamingoKid'' (1984)
* ''Film/NothingInCommon'' (1986)
* ''Film/{{Overboard|1987}}'' (1987)
* ''Film/{{Beaches}}'' (1988)
* ''Film/PrettyWoman'' (1990)
* ''Film/FrankieAndJohnny'' (1991)
* ''Literature/ExitToEden'' (1994)
* ''Film/DearGod'' (1996)
* ''Film/TheOtherSister'' (1999)
* ''Film/RunawayBride'' (1999)
* ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'' (2001) and its sequel ''[[Film/ThePrincessDiaries The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement]]'' (2004)
* ''Film/RaisingHelen'' (2004)
* ''Film/GeorgiaRule'' (2007)
* ''Film/ValentinesDay'' (2010)
* ''Film/NewYearsEve'' (2011)
* ''[[Film/MothersDay2016 Mother's Day]]'' (2016)
----
!!Tropes associated with Marshall's work:

* RealLifeRelative: He was famously unabashed about hiring family members to work with him; in addition to successfully hiring his sister Creator/PennyMarshall as an actress, he hired his father Tony as a producer and his sister Ronny as his casting director.
* RomanticComedy: ''Happy Days'' centered around the theme of high school guys in TheFifties picking up chicks while trying to win their hearts by serenading them with {{Silly Love Song}}s, all while remaining a sitcom with the signature LaughTrack and many goofy [[CharacterCatchphrase catchphrases]] ("Ayyy!", "''Whoa''...", "Correctamundo.") by Arthur "Fonzie"/"The Fonz" Fonzarelli.
* TrollingCreator: Chuck's sudden disappearance from the series was justified by his original actor, Gavin O'Herlihy, quitting the show out of dissatisfaction for his role, and his replacement, Randolph Roberts, not sufficing for the role. Out of nowhere, Gary Marshall decided to write Chuck out of the show to see how many angry backlash fan letters he'd receive. Luckily for him, he didn't receive many. See more info [[https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/happy-days-why-chuck-was-written-out-of-the-show-completely.html/ here]].
----