Garry Marshall family feels, shares the love at NU Reunion Weekend

Garry Marshall bled Northwestern purple.

Marshall’s wife Barbara and three children, Kathleen, Lori and Scott, all Northwestern alumni, regaled rapt listeners with family stories on Nov. 15 during a presentation as part of Northwestern’s Reunion Weekend. The talk, entitled “The Happy Days of Garry Marshall: A Conversation with the Marshall Family,” took place on the McCormick Auditorium stage at the Norris University Center. Kevin Leonard, a Northwestern graduate, former university archivist and current university historian, moderated the discussion.

A memorable first meeting

The stories were warm and personal. Part of Leonard’s job as an archivist was to approach distinguished alumni and convince them to donate their professional and personal papers and memorabilia to the university for scholarly research.

Leonard told the audience how he was finally able to meet Marshall. He was leaving his office late one evening and noticed that several areas were still brightly lit. He asked one of the staff members still on duty about it.

“We are open because the president [then Morton Shapiro] was entertaining important guests.”

“Who are the important guests?,” Leonard asked.

“Garry Marshall and his family,” the staffer responded.

Leonard couldn’t believe his luck. Marshall had been on his “wishlist” for awhile, but university rules at that time prevented him from proactively contacting a prospect unless he happened to meet the prospect on his own. But how could he “naturally” meet Marshall without interrupting a private meeting?

He knew that based on Marshall’s age at the time, there was a good chance he’d be dealing with prostate issues and would need to use the restroom soon. And that is exactly what happened: Marshall came wandering out, saw Leonard and asked where the restroom was located.

Leonard directed Marshall to the men’s room — and followed him inside where he started talking to him while Marshall was using the facilities. After a minute or so, Marshall asked, “Can we discuss this outside?”

To Marshall’s grace and credit, the discussion continued a few minutes later without a hitch. Leonard confirmed in an email that Marshall never held the way they met against him and that he and Marshall had a very good relationship.

“I was lucky to meet him on four different occasions,” Leonard said. “Each time he treated me like royalty. And he didn’t have to be that way. I would have pursued him even if he had been a jerk, but he was always kind and generous. His family is the same way. Just lovely people.”

Memorabilia on display

Marshall saved everything he wrote, directed and produced, from the time he was young until his last movie, Mother’s Day. Many files contained three copies of scripts. There are also notes, feedback, from studio executives about actors, scenes and dialogue, plus Marshall’s responses handwritten in the margins.

An exhibit in the Northwestern University Library through Dec. 8 showcases a selection of scripts and other memorabilia from Marshall’s files.

His wife and children spoke of how much he loved Northwestern and did everything he could to promote the school in some way through his movies and shows. He also regularly helped Northwestern students interested in becoming actors or writers.

A broken engagement and prophetic meeting

Barbara said that her husband was a hypochondriac, but that “it was 53 years of heaven” being with him. She told a long and funny story about how she, a nice Baptist girl from Cincinnati, ended up meeting Garry Marshall, a nice Italian boy from the Bronx, in Los Angeles, of all places.

Barbara was not even supposed to be in California. She had been engaged to her high school boyfriend who was in the Navy. They intended to marry after she graduated from nursing school. The wedding plans were set with 250 invitations in the mail, but the groom did not show up: he was in the brig on his ship, having gotten into trouble, something to do with the captain’s daughter. (Barbara would not say more.)

With no wedding and no fiance, Barbara and her two best girlfriends decided they needed a change of scenery. They went to California where one of the friends had a cousin who could put them up until they found work and an apartment.

Armed with a new nursing degree, Barbara found a job within a few days. Her friend’s boyfriend told the young women about two friends of his from Northwestern who were coming to Los Angeles. The friends were writers for Jack Parr, then host of The Tonight Show. He wanted Barbara to meet his friend Garry. Barbara went to the party but didn’t meet Garry; he was asleep in the bedroom underneath a pile of coats.

A few weeks later they finally did meet. Barbara said, “I’m not going to tell you any of the details, but all I will say is that six months later we were married.”

Scott discusses Midwestern values

As the crowd was thinning out, Scott Marshall spoke to the RoundTable about his parents, paternal grandparents and family values. Listening to the four Marshalls laugh and finish each other’s stories, it’s clear they genuinely care about one another. Growing up in Hollywood, how were they able to stay so normal?

“That was my mom from Cincinnati who had Midwestern values of family. My dad had strong family values, too, but his parents were a little tough,” Scot said.

Scott said of his grandparents, “You know, they almost got divorced at one point. Garry was the oldest and he went to his sisters, Ronnie and Penny, and said, ‘Our parents are a little crazy, we got to stick together.’

“So he and Ronnie and Penny stuck together always, and that’s why, when Ronnie got divorced, she moved to LA with three kids, Gary gave her a job on The Odd Couple. When Penny moved out to LA after college, he put her right on “The Odd Couple.” They always looked out for each other. My grandparents were great, but you know, they fought a lot. I don’t know what went on. So he [Garry] made sure they [the siblings] stuck together. I think that’s what he instilled in us, to stick together, look out for each other.”

The Marshalls are major benefactors of the university. Two of the buildings they supported were the Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center and the Barbara and Garry Marshall Studio Wing in John J. Louis Hall.

Family life

Scott also discussed his close, if unusual, family life.

“My parents stayed together. I was one of the only kids in my class whose parents weren’t divorced, which was really rare thing.”

When Garry was filming movies, his schedule was erratic. On his first movie, he worked late into the night and returned home early the following morning to a bustling household with children, breakfast preparation, gardeners mowing lawns and other forms of suburban chaos. He was noticeably grumpy.

When it was time to start filming the next movie, Barbara put her foot down.

“And so the next movie, she said, ‘You can’t live here while you’re making a movie.’ She would send him to a hotel for the six week shoot or eight week shoot, whatever it was, even if it was just up the street and he’d go to the Universal Sheraton.

‘The whole rest of the time you can live here, but you’re not allowed when you’re filming a movie,’ and that’s why they got along,” Scott said. “He loved her.”

Garry Marshall family feels, shares the love at NU Reunion Weekend is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.