PENNY MARSHALL

      Penny Marshall died recently at 75. Her first big acting break was as Oscar Madison’s secretary Myrna on The Odd Couple (1970). Then she appeared with Cindy Williams as dates for The Fonz and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days (1974).  The chemistry between the two girls was so good that fans fell in love with them. So a spin-off was developed, called Laverne And Shirley. Penny was Laverne to Cindy’s Shirley. They were tough no-nonsense working girls who gave as good as they got from bosses and other men. It was a tremendous hit that ran for seven years (1976-83).
She was a legendary sports fan. Who else would have season tickets to the LA Lakers and the LA Clippers?
Penny Marshall developed into one heck of a good director, and she helmed three enormous hits. 
The first of these was Big (1988). Tom Hanks stars as a kid who just always wanted to be big, or grown up.  He encounters a creepy fortune telling machine in an amusement park, and his wish is granted. So he become as big as a grown man, but still has the personality and mind of a youngster. His encounters with the real world are both funny and trenchant. His famous dance on the giant piano at FAO Schwarz is a highlight of this delightful film. Because of his ideas, his toy company employer prospers greatly and he lands a dream job as a toy tester. Elizabeth Perkins plays Susan Lawrence, a co-worker who becomes his girlfriend.  But he misses his childhood self, and his parents. The ending is semi-sweet and you won’t get it here.
Awakenings (1990) was nominated for an Oscar as Best Movie, losing to Dances With Wolves. Robin Williams plays Dr. Malcolm Sayer, who discovers the drug L-Dopa can bring catatonic patients back to normalcy. Robert DeNiro is one of the first to break out of his comatose condition, and he slowly begins to develop a normal life. But the drug turns out to be fool’s gold, providing only temporary recoveries. Both Williams and DeNiro are excellent in this heart-breaker.
Penny Marshall’s final big hit was A League Of Their Own (1992) with Tom Hanks as the manager of a team playing in the All-American Girls Baseball League. Among the players are Geena Davis, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell. This is a real feel-good movie for anyone who likes baseball or movies, and it features Tom Hanks’ famous quotation, “There’s no crying in baseball.” 
Other Penny Marshall directed films that don’t quite rise to the level of the above include Renaissance Man (1994) and The Preacher’s Wife (1996). And it should certainly be mentioned that she produced the excellent Cinderella Man (2005) with Russell Crowe as heavyweight champion James J. Braddock. His torturous climb from obscurity is well done and Rene Zelwegger is just fine as the wife who never gives up on him. 
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are fine for 10 and up.