My Happy Days in Hollywood from the Odd Couple to Valentine's Day

by Garry Marshall

[ladygrey]

In general, I enjoyed this book. It's full of interesting stories about his movies and presents a nice inside look into the man, his influences and why he made the film and tv choices he did.

I wasn't especially fond of the writing style. It's quite straight-forward and simple. For a man known as a particularly good writer, it was kind if a basic, 2nd grade level memoir. I did appreciate, however, that he explains how his college experience influenced that very basic, simple style. And writing a book isn't the same skill set as writing comedy for tv or movies, where clearly Garry Marshall excelled.

I grew up in Laverne and Shirley and Mork and Mindy and Pretty woman. I also appreciate Penny Marshall's work. So it really was fun to get a glimpse into Garry's life, his love of entertaining people and making them laugh, his family dynamics and his hijinks.

It portrays a smart, humble, fun man with the same spark of creativity and fun you see in his movies and shows.

Creativity is a great place to hide out from the real world.

I didn't realize when I read it that Garry passed away in 2016. It's sad. And also, makes me glad to have read the book and gotten to know him a little. I'm glad he has a legacy in his films, in his children and in this book.