Penny Marshall, co-star of 'Laverne & Shirley' dead at 75

[TallGeekyGirl]

(CNN)Actress Penny Marshall, who found fame in TV's "Laverne & Shirley" before going on to direct such beloved films as "Big" and "A League of Their Own," has died. She was 75.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/18/enter...ead/index.html

[UEL]

This is very sad. I really did not know her as an actress, but as a director I thought she was without rival.

RIP

[musicgeek]

She had terrific comic timing, both as an actress and director. (I just realized how weird it is that we use feminized "actress," but not "directress." Probably because by the time women were actually breaking into the film production boys' club, such feminized nouns had become passé.)

[Darth Credence]

Actress is pretty passé at this point - actor is considered the correct term for anyone. I'm actually surprised that the Oscars are still behind on this - if you watch the SAG awards, everyone is an actor.

RIP, Ms. Marshall. I loved you in Laverne and Shirley reruns as a kid, and A League of Their Own still stands as one of the best sports movies I've ever seen.

[DrRocket]

Ms Rocket and I started dating a month or so after Laverne and Shirley debuted in 1976. My co-workers thought she was a dead ringer for Shirley, and to be honest, there was/is a strong resemblance.

I loved A League Of Their Own.

RIP

[E. Q. Taft]

Originally Posted by Darth Credence

Actress is pretty passé at this point - actor is considered the correct term for anyone. I'm actually surprised that the Oscars are still behind on this - if you watch the SAG awards, everyone is an actor.

I'd venture to guess that it's partly tradition, but largely so they can hand out twice as many awards. If they just had "Best Actor" (gender-neutral) that would eliminate two categories (more for the Emmys). If they Did "Best Actor - Male" and "Best Actor - Female" that would actually sound, to my ears, both more awkward and in a way, vaguely more sexist, for some reason.

[GenYus234]

That's how SAG does it. Outstanding Performance by a { Male | Female } Actor in a { Leading | Supporting } Role are the movie award names.

ETA: Not sure how it would be any more sexist than using a suffix for the female version. Maybe just because that's traditional and familiar? At least using descriptive names for both leaves off the presumption that male is the default and female is the "other" that needs clarification. Like if the categories were "Best movie" and "Best movie - comedy".

[Ali Infree]

Back to Ms. Marshall, I consider A League of Their Own to be one of the best baseball movies of all time and a great feminist film. All the characters wanted was to be judged by their skills.
RIP Penny.
On FB, a dance contest with Laverne dancing with Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) is getting around. I nominate this as the best dance sequence ever by two film directors. Here

Ali

I hope no one finds a clip of Gene Kelly with another director!

[Die Capacitrix]

I was getting anxious because I hadn't heard anything about Betty White for a while, and how this. Sad news.

"Never heard the word impossible" is from what is probably my favorite theme song from my childhood. I watched many an episode of Laverne and Shirley even though I could never get my head around Pepsi with milk.

[Darth Credence]

Originally Posted by Ali Infree

I hope no one finds a clip of Gene Kelly with another director!

You didn't think you could do that without someone finding it, did you?
I present Red Skelton, Lucille Ball (directed Bungle Alley pilot and an episode of Here's Lucy) and Gene Kelly, dancing to Friendship in Du Barry Was a Lady.

[Ali Infree]

Originally Posted by Darth Credence

You didn't think you could do that without someone finding it, did you?
I present Red Skelton, Lucille Ball (directed Bungle Alley pilot and an episode of Here's Lucy) and Gene Kelly, dancing to Friendship in Du Barry Was a Lady.

Thank you ! I was hoping that might be the case. I don't know this movie, but now I am looking for it. Lucille Ball was a producer as well and she shows some comic chops in this routine. The studio system had a lot of problems, but it offered training and practice to that group of actors who had come too late for vaudeville. Or in the case of Mr. Kelly for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Ali