Garry Kent Marshall was born in the Bronx, New York on November 13, 1934. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. In 1956, he joined the Army and served in South Korea before returning to New York, where he worked briefly for The Daily News, did his comedy routines at night, and wrote jokes for the comedian Joey Bishop. He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s.

He was known for his work on television and in the movies. He wrote scripts for numerous television shows including Make Room for Daddy, The Lucy Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. He helped develop Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple into a television series. Marshall also helped create Mork and Mindy, Laverne and Shirley, and Happy Days. He began directing movies in the 1980s. His movies included Nothing in Common, Overboard, Pretty Woman, Beaches, and The Princess Diaries. He wrote the books Wake Me When It's Funny: How to Break into Show Business and Stay There and My Happy Days in Hollywood: A Memoir. He died after a series of strokes on July 19, 2016 at the age of 81.

(Bowker Author Biography)