Penny Marshall belonged to a different era of Hollywood, an era where a working class girl could find her way to sitcom stardom, then transition into one of the most successful directing careers in history. Penny passed away yesterday at the age of 75. She was survived by her daughter Tracy Reiner (the product of Penny’s marriage to Rob “Meathead” Reiner), her three grandchildren and her sister Ronny.
I was too young for Laverne & Shirley, but my mom loved that show (and I suspect your mom did too!). I grew up knowing the name “Penny Marshall” because of her directing credentials. Big was a huge deal to me when I was a kid, and I didn’t know that Big was the first time a female-directed movie broke the $100 million box office. Penny broke $100 million again with A League of Their Own, which was another “big deal” movie for my generation. I’ve seen Big and A League of Their Own maybe 100 times (each). She also directed Jumpin’ Jack Flash (with an African-American woman lead!), Awakenings (which included two of the career-best performances from Robin Williams and Robert De Niro), and The Preacher’s Wife, among others.
Penny was utterly beloved throughout Hollywood and tributes for her poured out on social media and beyond:
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) December 18, 2018
— Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) December 19, 2018
— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) December 19, 2018
— Dennis Rodman (@dennisrodman) December 18, 2018
— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) December 18, 2018
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) December 19, 2018
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
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