Hollywood lost a legend Tuesday.
Garry Marshall, director of Pretty Woman, Overboard, Runaway Bride and Beaches, died at age 81. The filmmaker suffered from "complications of pneumonia following a stroke at a hospital in Burbank, Calif.," his rep told E! News in a statement. "The family requests no flowers. Donations in the name of Garry Marshall can be made to The Saban Community Clinic, formerly known as the Los Angeles Free Clinic, The Intensive Care Unit at Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, and Northwestern University Undergraduate Scholarship Fund."
A Television Hall of Famer, he is survived by his wife of 53 years, Barbara Sue Marshall, sisters Ronny Hallin and Penny Marshall, and three children and six grandchildren. Funeral services will be private; a memorial is being planned for Nov. 13, what would have been his 82nd birthday.
Garry, a Bronx native, broke into show business in the late 1950s as a joke writer, which led to a life-changing job as a writer on The Tonight Show With Jack Paar. In 1970, he adapted his first TV hit, The Odd Couple, from a play with his writing partner, Jerry Belson. He created several sitcoms, including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy, and acted on occasion, appearing in films like Soapdish, A League of Their Own and Never Been Kissed.
In his later years, Garry published a memoir, My Happy Days in Hollywood, and focused on star-packed, holiday-centered films like Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve and Mother's Day. In the final months of his life, he had been trying to get a third Princess Diaries film off the ground.
"Well, you know, Disney is quite powerful," he told E! News' Erin Lim in April, "and they say they would like to announce—not me—but we are talking." Anne Hathaway was eager to reprise the role that made her a star. "More so than any other film that I've been in, that film has legacy, and it just has meant so much to so many people," she told E! News in May. "It's given people the opportunity—you know, little girls and little boys—to curl up with their parents on the couch and throw on their sweatpants and sit and cuddle. It's a real honor to think that something that you've been a part of becomes a part of the fabric of people's lives."
News of Garry's death hit Hollywood hard.
"I am devastated to hear of Garry's passing. He was a dear friend and colleague....generous to a fault," said Julie Andrews, who starred in 2001's The Princess Diaries and 2004's The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. "My heart goes out to Barbara and the entire family. We shall miss him." Héctor Elizondo, who starred in 17 of Marshall's films, told E! News, "I have lost an irreplaceable friend. A mentor to many who never boasted about his success, Garry was always grateful for the opportunity to help, was always passionate about the theatre, and about people who had 'IT. And for him, 'IT' meant character. What made the difference was that they had character. Garry made a cold room warm, and a hot room cool. I will miss him."
Richard Gere, who starred in Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride, said in a statement, "Garry of course was one of those truly important people one is blessed to meet in one's lifetime. Besides being the pulse and life force of Pretty Woman... a steady helmsman on a ship that could have easily capsized... he was a super fine and decent man, husband and father who brought real joy and love and infectious good spirits to every thing and everyone he crossed paths with. Everyone loved Garry. He was a mentor and a cheerleader and one of the funniest men who ever lived. He had a heart of the purest gold and a soul full of mischief. He was Garry."
Many of Garry's collaborators—including Goldie Hawn, Henry Winkler, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Topher Grace, and Mandy Moore—paid their respects via social media: