Penny Marshall, ‘Big’ Director & ‘Laverne & Shirley’ Actress, Dies Of Diabetes Complications At 75; Tributes Pour In

Director, actress and producer Penny Marshall died at the age of 75, it was announced Tuesday.

Marshall died Monday evening at her home in Hollywood Hills “due to complications from diabetes.”

Marshall first became famous as a television star during the late 1970s and early 1980s for playing brewery worker Laverne DeFazio on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley with Cindy Williams, who portrayed Shirley Feeney. Marshall was nominated three times for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy for her performance in the show, which was a spin-off of Happy Days and that was known for its use of physical comedy.

50 CELEBRITIES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

In 1986, Marhshall made her directorial debut by helming the action comedy film Jumping’ Jack Flash, which starred Whoopi Goldberg in the lead role. Marshall then went on to direct the 1988 Tom Hanks-led comedy Big, which made her the first female filmmaker in Hollywood to direct a movie that grossed more than $100 million. After this, Marshall went on to direct movies like the 1992 baseball film A League of Their Own — which also co-starred Hanks — Awakenings (1990), Renaissance Man (1994), The Preacher’s Wife (1996) and Riding in Cars with Boys (2001). Marshall also served as executive producer for many of her films.

Marshall also made appearances in person and via voiceover for many television series and films. Her brother Garry Marshall, also a well-known film director, died in July 2016 at age 81 due to complications from pneumonia. Penny Marshall was the narrator for her brother’s final film, the 2016 romantic comedy Mother’s Day. She also had cameos in series like Taxi, The Simpsons, Entourage and the 1993 fantasy movie Hocus Pocus. 

READ PENNY MARHSALL’S BIO HERE

Marshall reportedly has one final film set to come out next year: the documentary Rodman about former NBA player Dennis Rodman, which is in post-production and is due to be released on Sept. 1, 2019.

The late director is survived by her sister Ronny, daughter Tracy Reiner and three grandchildren: Spencer, Bella and Viva. 

Here are some tributes to Marshall from around Hollywood: