by Nathaniel R
We were terribly sad last night to receive word that America's most successful female sitcom-star-turned-director had passed away at the age of 75 of complications from diabetes. We'd long hoped that showbiz legend Penny Marshall, who became a household name in the 1970s as one of half of Laverne & Shirley before getting behind the camera in the 1980s (to immediate success), had another movie or two in her. That was wishful thinking, we realize, since she hadn't directed a feature since 2001. Still, we'll always have her two indisputable comedy classics Big (1988) and A League of Their Own (1992) to remember her by...
In her pioneering directorial career -- she was the first female director to helm two $100 million-grossing hits, those two aforementioned classics -- she also gave us the Whoopi Goldberg hit Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), the Best Picture nominee Awakenings (1990), the Danny DeVito comedy Renaissance Man, the romantic fantasy remake The Preacher's Wife (1996), and her least successful final film, the Drew Barrymore vehicle Riding in Cars with Boys (2001). She was apparently working on a documentary about the athlete Dennis Rodman before her death so perhaps we'll see that still.
Penny Marshall with her stars at the premiere of "Awakenings" in 1990, her only Best Picture nominee. If Oscar wasn't immune to comedies, "Big" might have shared that honor
Funny Ladies: Penny Marshall with friend Carrie Fisher
Penny directing Madonna in "A League of Their Own"
the iconic Laverne & Shirley
Penny Marshall is survived by her daughter Tracy Reiner, five grandchildren, and her older sister Ronny Harlin. Marshall's very successful directing older brother Gary Marshall (of Pretty Woman, Princess Diaries, and Beaches fame) and her close friend Carrie Fisher passed away just two years ago so there is probably quite a hilarious reunion happening in the hereafter at we type. But she'll be missed right here.
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Team Experience's Deep Dive on "A League of Their Own"