Fake SVU Quote

 

Fake SVU Quote

 

The TV Shows of Garry Marshall

 

The TV Shows of Garry Marshall

 

The TV Shows of Garry Marshall

 

The TV Shows of Garry Marshall

 

The TV Shows of Garry Marshall

 

TV Quote Weekends

 

TV Quote Weekends

 

Garry Marshall: TV Heydays

Garry Marshall had amazed the television industry with his monster hit Happy Days. ABC was eager to give Garry free reign to develop more hits. Garry would create another huge hit, only this time it would be something he would share with his sister. Laverne & Shirley would feature Garry's sister Penny as Laverne, a streetwise young lady whose best friend Shirley was a bright eyed innocent. The show was a monster success. ABC was becoming a force to be reckoned with due to the Marshalls.

 

The show eclipsed even Happy Days, rocketing to number one and spawning an entire album of songs sung by the two girls. (Though oddly not the chart topping theme song sung by Cindy Grecco.) Garry would make his biggest discovery for the next monster hit in his empire.

With Star Wars becoming a big hit, Garry pondered making a space themed show. His son's love of the action figures cemented his thinking. He decided to try a fanciful episode of Happy Days where an alien visits Milwaukee and the Cunninghams. Garry would search for an actor who could play a manic alien and he found him in Robin Williams, an up and coming comedian. The network was unsure about this show, but after a now legendary evening of filming, their doubts disappeared.

 

Robin Williams dazzled those present with his manic performance. The live studio audience went crazy, giving him a standing ovation at the end. Everyone there was certain they had seen a star being born- Robin Williams. ABC quickly picked up the new program Mork & Mindy, in which the alien Mork would move in with a young, single woman. Would the show be as successful as everyone believed it would be? It would.

 

The show was a monster success- there were toys, coloring books, lunch boxes and more. People loved Mork and the show became an even bigger hit. Garry Marshall had truly conquered television in a way even he had never dreamed of.

 

Garry Marshall: The Happy Days

Garry Marshall would soon prove that one could strike gold more than once, but it didn't seem like it at first. In 1971, Garry was looking for a new project he could work on. He came up with an idea for a family show set in the 1950's. He guessed that the show would sell well in syndication because  since it was set in the past to begin with, it would never look dated. He produced a pilot called New Family in Town which starred Harold Gould as the father, Marion Ross as the mother and Ron Howard as their son. ABC rejected the pilot.

 

Nowadays, that's typically the end of the road. But at the time, the big three networks would repackage failed pilots in anthology series. In this case, Garry's show would air as part of Love American Style, which was essentially ABC's pilot graveyard with some other one-off scripts rotated in, often featuring hasbeens.

As the 1970's wore on, however, the pilot would prove to be ahead of its time. A 1950's craze hit the United States and young director George Lucas sought to take advantage by making a nostalgic film inspired by his teen years- American Graffiti. Ron Howard desperately wanted a role in the film and suggested that George Lucas view that pilot from 1971. He requested a copy from the network, which had forgotten aboutit When Ron was cast and the film was a huge success it became a priority project for ABC, who gave Garry the go ahead to do whatever he needed to get this project going. Ron Howard, Marion Ross and Anson Williams from the original pilot would sign on to the new show. Tom Bosley would become the new patriarch and a little known actor who Garry was certain could be a bigger star- Henry Winkler- would get the recurring role of "Fonzie" the street tough with a heart of gold.

 

The stars were aligned this time. Garry's rejected pilot had become the biggest hit of the 1970's. Happy Days indeed!

Garry Marshall: The Early Days

Garry Marshall started his career in show business by writing jokes for Joey Bishop. He soon found a staff position on the Tonight Show with Jack Parr. When Jack passed the hosting job to Johnny Carson, Garry moved out west to Hollywood, teaming up with Jerry Belson to become a writing team. Together, they wrote for such classic programs as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Danny Thomas and The Lucy Show. 

 

A young Garry cavorting with Marlo Thomas

NBC soon rewarded the team with their first sitcom- Hey Landlord! a sitcom about a brownstone filled with eccentric tenants. It lasted just one season, but it led to the pair's first breakout hit- their adaptation of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple for ABC. Starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, the show became an instant classic. Many would consider themselves lucky to be a part of one classic project. For Garry, however, it was just the beginning.

 

Rest in Peace, Garry Marshall

 

Hollywood legend Garry Marshall, creator of many of the biggest sitcom hits of the 1970's and 1980's has passed away at age 81. Temporary Layoffs will suspend its regular schedule this week to honor Garry Marshall and his immeasurable contributions to television.