Admittedly, I’m a sucker for dishy, insider stories from those who have made their living in some form of popular entertainment. I grew up with Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley and remember very well when Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams made their debuts as a couple of easy girls on H.D. Back then, of course, I wouldn’t have known or cared that Penny’s big brother Garry was in charge of the show and Williams was worried about him favouring his sister. Boy, was she ever. Side note: I had the good fortune to meet Cindy in person and interview her a few years ago and she was sweet, chatty and wonderful!
And even though Marshall explains that Williams used to count every line of dialogue in each script to make sure they had the same amount of screen time, they rekindled their friendship after her divorce from the apparently toxic Bill Hudson. He’s the ex of Goldie Hawn, father of Kate, and my childhood crush from The Hudson Brothers show. But I digress.
You know how some stars say they “fell into” showbiz? That’s pretty much Penny’s story. Same with directing. Luckily she had gifts for both comedic timing and being in charge of a movie set. This book is full of tales about her famous friends, some very surprising, and enough insider stories to make you almost feel you’re on the sidelines. From Drew Barrymore to Art Garfunkel to her second husband Rob Reiner, the details are fascinating. And as some of us may have speculated back in the day, Penny’s success as Laverne took at toll on her marriage to Rob. Laverne & Shirley had knocked his show, All in the Family, out of top spot in the ratings. “Meathead” wanted to get into movies anyway, but she describes him as pretty uptight in those days.
This will tell you what you need to know about the Marshall kids. Their parents were awful at raising them but they banded together and made great lives for themselves and for others. Garry, one of the most successful producer/director/writers of all time, had a policy of giving a certain number of people “a life” on one of his shows or movies. “A life” meant bringing them on board and giving them a job with the show. Boyhood pals, cousins, anyone who was good to them and had a respectable work ethic could be given “a life”. I’d like to think that’s how I would be in his position. It is a terrific book. I loved it and didn’t want it to end.
I second every emotion! It was a fun read and some great insight behind the scenes. BTW, I read a tweet from Carl Reiner last week (!) that said his grandson killed on stage in an LA comedy club – he was SO proud. Would this be a Penny/Rob offspring I wonder? Some genes, that kid, if it was!
If you could sit down with Penny, what would you ask her? 🙂
Oh gee, she answered so much in the book. I guess I’d want to know if she left out anything about directing movies. She just seemed to literally get handed a film to finish and that’s how she got started. Surely she must have known a thing or two, beyond directing a couple of episodes of L &S!