My Happy Days in Hollywood: A Memoir

I loved reading this. It was written by someone I've admired, and wanted to know more about. I love "celebrity autobiographies", and learning about the backgrounds of people who eventually built careers for themselves is always fascinating. This is a goodhearted man, with good common sense, and also a strong family and moral code. This is for anyone who is interested in Hollywood, and the back office goings on.

This was a very charming and interesting memoir by a truly unpretentious Hollywood icon.
He tells a lot of interesting behind the scenes tales of his TV shows and movies without having
to shame anybody.

Interesting first third describing his upbringing and early career. More interesting second third regarding Odd Couple through Lavern and Shirley and Mork. Less interesting final third regarding movies.

I normally don't buy biographies but this one was fun to read. It showed the background of Garry Marshall and how his humor telling his story showed why his movies and TV shows were hits. It is a 5 star book.

I really enjoyed this book .so many times behind the scenes books are nasty mean . This book gave a lot of behind the scenes stories but with affection. I know it sounds corny ,but I had a happy day reading it

I had just finished reading Penny Marshall" s book My Mom Was Nuts" so I wasn"t too interested in this book too much. I got the sample version and was hooked. Glad I bought both books from the store.
They were both good reads funny , names dropped everywhere , but never in a bad way.

I enjoyed this autobiography, but not quite as much as Penny Marshall's. Mr. Marshall went into a lot of detail about directing, which isn't as interesting as the other things he could have discussed. He did tell about a lot of movies he directed, so that was of interest to me. All in all, it was a worthwhile read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Memoir by Garry Marshall. It was funny, heart warming entertainment, I was not aware so many of his TV shows as well as films were some of my favorites. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

OK, so Garry Marshall enjoys making feel good family movies. I like some of them. When I was growing up I liked Happy Days. Then I grew up.

But, this is an entertaining read about a happy huckster. Good luck to him. I think there is too much violence in American movies these days. As much because it bears no relation to my life as it is a sickening, lazy, short hand for providing conflict on the screen.

You can count the producers and directors on one hand who make films that don't rely on this Hollywood dumbed down version of movie making. I applaud them. If you do, too, then chances are you will enjoy this book.

After reading Penny Marshall's memoir I had high expectations for this book. It was a disappointment. The book reads flatly. There wS an absence of natural wit and flow in this book. Overall I would give it a C.

Garry Marshall book "My Happy Days in Hollywood" is a great memoir. I have not finished the book yet (20/30 pages left to go), but I had to write a review to this fun, entertaining, memoir of a TV great writer/director. Fans of T.V. shows, like The Odd Couple, Happy Days, and Laverne and Shirley, and Mork and Mindy, will enjoy reading about what happens behind the scenes of these TV shows. I sure did. Garry Marshall writes about the friction (and cursing) among Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams on the Laverne and Shirley set. He also writes that the Happy Days set was the most enjoyable, and also the easiest people to work with and how everybody got along, on the Happy Days set.
He also writes about the movies he has directed and produced as well. Flamingo Kid, Pretty Woman, Dear God, etc. What fun this book is. This book is going to be a permanent part of my book library. I have enjoyed reading this book very much, and cannot put it down.

Garry Marshall knows funny. He also knows poignant, creative, potential, motivation, loyal and absurd, as evidenced by this engaging tale of his Hollywood journey from Tinseltown outsider to Power Player. I was lucky enough to be associated with more than a fistful of Garry's films over about a decade and watched him beguile, beg, coax, plead with, support, build up, and always thoroughly amuse his Leading Lights and his workaday crew members alike into carving out his vision.

This enjoyable and at times revealing memoir emphasizes the family feel of Garry's preferred leadership style (he writes at length about his legendary nepotism) even as it showcases the man's ability to accurately gauge a personality without feeling a need to judge it.

I am making my way as an author/writer full time now. And I can say, with gratitude, that I learned scads about paying off a situation, fleshing out themes and characters and some secrets of naturalistic, character-driven dialogue, from having been allowed to read various stages of some of his project scripts throughout their process.

Garry buffs, movie buffs, TV buffs, comedy buffs and regular citizens, buff or unbuff, will find this peek-behind-the-showbiz-curtain satisfying and endearing.

Enjoy!

The audiobook of Garry Marshall's autobiography is wonderfully entertaining and read by the man himself. Growing up in the Bronx, he describes himself as a sickly child who loved baseball and getting introduced to show business by his dance director mother. After college at Northwestern and service in Korea, Marshall ended up in Hollywood where we set out to become a comedy writer. It wasn't long before he wound up in television, creating iconic programs like "The Odd Couple", "Happy Days", "Laverne and Shirley" and "Mork and Mindy". Film work followed with a mix of hits ("Beaches", "Pretty Woman", "Princess Diaries") as well as misses. Marshall is honest and funny, sharing anecdotes and reflections about his films and the actors he has worked with. This is a very entertaining autobiography, one that will make you laugh and appreciate the hard work that it takes to survive in Hollywood.

This is a very easy read by a wonderful Hollywood talent, but events are covered so quickly and briefly that it lacks depth and insight. Many chapters almost feel as if being narrated by the host at a party announcing celebrities as they arrive.

It's ironic (or perhaps appropriate) that Mr. Marshall's numerous reflections upon what critics often found lacking in some of his movies is also a bit lacking in this telling of his professional life, namely to take us beyond a mere scratching of the emotional surface of the people and events that shaped his life.

Although pleasantly described, none of the behind-the-scenes looks at show business seem that fresh, nor is anything new offered about the countless big names with whom he worked. Perhaps this is the result of someone who comes across as being a very kind and caring person not wanting any of the actors he directed and produced to think unkindly of him. But without that sort of reflection, a book tends to be like keeping a log of the mileage someone drove to write off the expense on their taxes: we know where the writer went, but not much of what happened once he got there (or on the way).

And for a man who produced, directed, and wrote so many sitcoms and romantic comedies, there are some sweet smiles in this book, but nothing came close to making me laugh out loud.

Even one of the most potentially-fascinating elements of Mr. Marshall's life--when he mentions being on the verge of bankruptcy because of a land investment--is addressed almost as an aside when reflected upon in terms of being a distraction to his career. It could have been fascinating to be see how, at a time when (at least from an outsider's perspective) money from the success of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy should have been rolling in, Mr. Marshall feared running out of money. And the lack of such detail, unfortunately, made me wonder if his representation of the danger of financial peril may have been overstated (or was "bankruptcy" as viewed by multi-millionaires and not working class folks who could end up homeless).

This was an interesting read beginning to end. Garry could have spruced it up greatly by providing "dish" on the stars he worked with but he didn't. He came across as such a nice man you couldn't help but love him at the end. I have always seen his name for years and thought he was just another famous Hollywood Director with a famous sister as well...but he wasn't that at all. He has lived in the same house, with the same wife for many many years. He is genuinely a unique individual in Hollywood. I highly recommend this book...especially for people who enjoyed his TV series and movies in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Interesting to hear his stories about the sets.

This was such a delightful book. It was so interesting to learn about Garry's life, including his experiences growing up and later in the entertainment world. He must have been a really fun, creative kind man who loved what he did for a living and truly loved his family and friends along the way. I adored his t.v. shows and films over the years. Therefore, it was a treat to read about the back stories and the cast of characters along the way. And most importantly, Garry was generous enough to pass along some important lessons that life taught him. I especially loved those stories, too. He had a keen outlook on life and the world lost a gem of a human being when he died recently.

Garry Marshall really inspires the reader with his positive attitude in his life story and career in Hollywood. This book was a lot of fun, especially his childhood and television career. I really enjoyed reading about his experiences with Lucille Ball, Joey Bishop, The Odd Couple and Happy Days. I didn't enjoy reading a chapter about each movie that he made as much as I enjoyed reading about his television career, but that's just me. This is a good book and Garry really comes across as a great guy who is very creative and successful.

Garry Marshall is a great storyteller! I loved this book and his previous book "Wake Me When It's Funny was also great. It's a real page turner. What a great man. I hope he writes another book --- on what he's learned over the years on being a director. He's a font of wisdom and entertainment!

Mr. Marshall has indeed had a long, successful career and seems like a nice guy. Unfortunately, that tends to work against him at times in this memoir... there's very little conflict, he gets along with everyone he ever met, almost every project he ever touched turned to gold, and he seems to sail through his professional and personal lives on a cloud of bliss. I'm glad, for his sake, that his life has been such a joy... but the almost total lack of conflict or overcoming any adversity slows the book down quite a bit in spots. Obviously the book's title indicates that his story is not going to interest folks looking for a train wreck, and I wasn't looking for one either, but I was expecting a bit more of a page-turner. Not a bad read.

Garry Marshall's memoir is full of honesty and depth which is why I was happy to give it four stars. Many others from that era have tried, but Marshall has really raised the bar with his own recollections of an important decade in television history. He is brutally honest at times about his own family and his own shortcomings as a man. Unlike others, his writing does not come across as guarded and white washed. Reading this book is like travelling back in time and having a real fireside chat with a true pioneer of television comedy. Thumbs up!

This is the review of the audio version.

First, let me say RIP to a talented writer, producer, and director. Happy Days, was, and continues to be, a favorite show of mine. Mr. Marshall's stories are interesting but I have to deduct a star for his narration of the book. His thick NY accent where he seemingly screams every other sentence is very, very hard to listen to. Someone should have told him he needed to hire a professional voice actor to read this story. Imagine Donald Trump reading a book, screaming all the way, and that's how this audiobook goes.

As you read this book it feels like, Gary Marshall is sitting in your living room. Telling all these fantastic stories about TV, movies, actors and his relationship with his family. Like having your best friend visiting from New York. Awesome Read!

Much more enjoyable and cohesive than the book by his sister Penny Marshall. Lots of insight into his movies and the actors who were in them, and you come away thinking that Mr Marshall is not only a talented man, but a very nice one as well.

This wonderful memoir overflows with Mr. Marshall's humor, optimism, and good will. There's a chapter devoted to nearly every project he's ever worked on, which means there is something for everyone, no matter what movie or TV show of his is your personal favorite. I highly recommend the audiobook version!

I loved EVERY MINUTE of this Audiobook, and listening to Garry made me smile from ear to ear. How wonderful of him to share his remembrances with us (and who would have known the Laverne and Shirley set was so awful to work on)! He is a genius director, a brilliant man, a kind soul, and I wish he was my next door neighbor! What a witty man he is! Thank you Garry, for all of the joy you have brought into my life thanks to your TV shows and films. I LOVED this book!!!

Garry Marshall is the king of humor and nice. There is not a mean bone in his body. His body of work is wonderful and the backstories make you feel like you were right there with him on his travels. A great contribution to the Entertainment Industry. He was a mensch, even if he was born an Episcopalian. Garry K. is the greatest! Without him, many good people in the industry would not be household names to us today. Thanks, Garry for sharing!

Garry Marshall has led a dream-filled life. He started in the Bronx as a sickly kid with a mother who loved performing and hated anything that was boring. From there he went on to becoming a Hollywood writer and director.
His story is very readable and enjoyable.

I found this book to be very interesting. I enjoyed reading about the life of Garry Marshall and the wonderful television shows and movies that he has given us. I love that he is such a family man and he has his priorities straight. It made me want to know him personally. How lucky are the stars in Hollywood to have worked with him on any level.

JOANNE . - I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK AND HAVE A GREAT RESPECT FOR MR. MARSHALL AND HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS. HE HAS MADE MANY PEOPLE LAUGH WHILE MAINTAINING HIS DIGNITY AS WELL AS THE DIGNITY OF THE PEOPLE WITH WHOM HE WORKED. IT IS AMAZING THAT HE ALSO IS A DEDICATED FAMILY MAN CONSIDERING HIS BUSY WORK SCHEDULE AND TRAVEL DEMANDS.

KUDOS TO MR. MARSHALL AND HIS FAMILY.

After reading this book I can see why people were ready and willing to work for this man. He made working fun. We should all be blessed to have this kind of boss. He made the stars of Hollywood seem more real. He also figured out you need to be versatile to survive in life.

My son and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr. Marshall at Lafayette College's commencement on May 19, 2012. He was warm, charming, engaging and totally without pretense. His book is an entertaining memoir that shows his humanity and how much he cares about his colleagues and family. One can't help but wish him continued success in all of his creative endeavors.

MY HAPPY DAYS IN HOLLYWOOD, A MEMOIR by Garry Marshall

Do you recognize Garry Marshall’s name? Well, for sure you know of his many movies and TV shows, - how about Happy Days, Pretty Woman, Laverne and Shirley, (his sister Penny Marshall played Laverne), The Odd Couple, Princess Diaries and the list goes on.

He has written a wonderful memoir of his days as a major Hollywood writer/
producer/director and gives great insights into the characters he has worked with through the years.

Get ready to laugh, chuckle and remember The Fonz, Mork and Mindy, Julia Roberts, Felix and his sidekick Oscar, and the rest of his friends.

You will find yourself quietly smiling at Garry's stories right up to the end. Though things were not always easy for him, he brought life and laughter to so many people through his experiences and the obvious love of family. I now understand why I felt so good watching anyone of his movies or shows.

Mr. Marshall is one of those people whom you would like to meet and have as a friend. The stories he recounts are wonderful and his ttake on life is inspiring. No "trash" Hollywood in this book, just good upbeat recollections.