5 Little Known Facts About Garry Marshall’s Biggest Hits

Imagine if, instead of “the Fonz,” we ended up with “the Mash.” It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it but it nearly happened. According to IMDB, Arthur Fonzarelli was almost christened with Garry Marshall’s real last name–Maschiarelli, which would result in the “Mash” tag. However, since CBS aired the juggernaut comedy M*A*S*H, the minds behind Happy Days figured they shouldn’t give a free shout-out to the competition in every episode. And so the Mash became the Fonz and the rest is TV history.

Of course, Marshall’s sister, actress/director Penny Marshall, played Myrna, Oscar’s secretary. When Myrna gets married on the show, Garry Marshall and other sister Ronny Hallin played Myrna’s siblings. And, of course, Rob Reiner, Penny’s real-life husband (at the time) played Myrna’s beau.

The antics of legendary duo Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney, from the TV classic Laverne & Shirley, were reportedly, according to Marshall, based on another great TV twosome that he’d hoped to emulate—Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz.

The story of when Garry Marshall met Robin Williams for the first time during the latter’s audition for the role of Mork is everything you’d hope it’d be. Williams showed up for his audition, came in the room, met Marshall, grabbed a chair and then sat upside down on it (on his head). Marshall said it was then that he knew he’d found the perfect man to play his out-of-this-world character. As the director noted, “(Williams) was the only alien to audition.”

As well, when Vivian and Edward, played by Richard Gere, jump under the covers, they aren’t alone. Roberts reportedly had a vein popping out of her forehead due to nerves so Marshall, being the consummate director, hopped into bed with the couple to massage the actress’s forehead.