King of the rom-com or legend of the sitcom, whatever you call him, Garry Marshall deserves the thanks of countless lovesick couples for providing the spark which brought them together.
The Bronx-raised director, writer, producer and actor has been the main man behind a gargantuan library of modern classic romance movies.
Pretty Woman, Beaches, Frankie and Johnny, The Princess Diaries, and Valentine’s Day – he directed them all and more. And that’s to say nothing of his small screen credits, with the likes of Happy Days, Mork and Mindy, plus Laverne and Shirley all spinning out of his creative mind.
Leafing through his list of credits, themes start popping out at you immediately – family, love and friendship – they’re all constant hallmarks of the Marshall brand.
“I always veer towards soppy, and I get yelled at for it,” said Garry in his fantastic New York Italian accent, warm and booming in equal measure. (Like getting a bear hug through the phone lines, his opening salutation was a hearty “Andrew, I love you!”)
“But I think that’s what people really enjoy and get involved with in films. The whole thing is to get involved with what you’re watching. And after all, I’ve been married to the same girl for 50 years, and that’s hard to do in Hollywood – there are so many distractions.”
Romantic soul aside, women have always been a big focus for Garry. He’s always been surrounded by them and has been among their biggest fans, from his mother – a strong-willed dance teacher of Scottish and Welsh descent – to his sister, wife and daughters. To him, women deserve just as much screen time as their male counterparts, and that’s been reflected in his work.
“When I came into this industry, I noticed something was lacking – Hollywood didn’t want to write for women,” he said. “It was too interested in blowing things up and shooting at things, which is nice, but I could see there weren’t many good roles for women. And I wasn’t comfortable with that.”
And so, with each project he took on, Garry created opportunities for women to show their stuff. The trick, he said, is letting them charm the audience:
“I really like to see personalities and charm. People don’t tend to do charming very well these days, but it’s what others still really like to see. So I like to make my characters charming, even if I’m not very charming myself. I can write it though.”
But when Garry was approached by Disney to direct Pretty Woman – a career-defining project – he knew he had a tall order on his hands to “make sex charming”.
“The script was way dark,” he said.
“And so Disney said to me ‘can you comedy this up and make it funny?’ You see, I get a lot of approaches like that. And then I met Julia (Roberts), and she was just so special.”
Garry credits Julia as the major reason for the success of the film. For his part, he just needed to find the right way to help her show the natural charm which has made her the most A-list of A-list stars.
“I might have helped her be a star, but she helped herself be an actress. I didn’t do that,” he said, modest to a fault.
“But I framed her in a way that people could see her abilities. I screen tested her with really funny people and said to her ‘this guy is going to blow you off the screen unless you stand up to them’. And she did. She just has this fantastic way, her smile and moves.”
At 79 years old, Garry can count umpteen successes in bringing strong female characters to the fore, and Julia’s Vivian Ward is just one of them. In his latest project, he has reached back in time to revive some of those feisty femmes – specifically, Mrs Cunningham, Joanie Cunningham, and Pinkie Tuscadero. Ring any bells?
That’s right, the chirpy characters of the 1970s hit TV show Happy Days are getting a long overdue comeback, though not to the small screen.
This time, alongside Fonzie, Richie, Chachi and the gang at Arnold’s malt shop, they are bursting onto the stage in the new musical adaptation which comes to Aberdeen’s HM Theatre in May.
Bringing the roles and music of the ’50s to life will be Bucks Fizz beauty Cheryl Baker, Emmerdale alum Ben Freeman and the Sugababes’ Heidi Range.
For Garry, who first created the TV show 40 years ago, bringing the gang back not only makes sense given the enduring fan base, but because it links to those themes which have defined his career: “family and friendship”.
“I think people will have a great time at the show, no matter how old they are, whether they are six or 600,” he laughed.
“I mean they might not be enlightened about the world, but they’ll certainly be entertained. They’ll spend two hours in a good mood.”
And that’s what so much of Garry’s work is about – glorious escapism. Since the TV show first aired in January 1974, Garry has had people running up to him to say how much they loved the show, and how they regularly rolled on the floor laughing at the light-hearted antics of Fonzie and his crew.
And the lovely thing is, it’s still happening.
“I get people coming up and telling me what rotten childhoods they had, but how the highlight of their week was watching Happy Days, and thinking ‘there is another place’. And that’s very rewarding.”
Happy Days the Musical will be at HM Theatre, Aberdeen, from May 5 to 10. Tickets are available from www.aberdeen performingarts.com or by calling 01224 641122.