Héctor Elizondo Remembers Garry Marshall: ‘He Was My Best Friend’

Premiere Of Open Road Films' "Mother's Day" - Arrivals
American actor, director, writer, and producer Garry Marshall (L) and actor Hector Elizondo arrive at the Seattle premiere of Mother's Day before Garry Marshall is presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Seattle International Film Festival at Cinerama Theater on April 25, 2016, in Seattle, Washington.Mat Hayward—Getty Images
By Olivia B. Waxman

Garry Marshall, who died Tuesday at 81, directed 18 movies that had one thing in common—besides becoming classics in the romantic comedy genre, that is: Actor Héctor Elizondo, 79, was in all of them. He was even nominated for a 1991 supporting actor Golden Globe for his role as hotel manager Barney Thompson, who gives Julia Roberts an etiquette lesson in Pretty Woman (1990).

Speaking to TIME by phone on Wednesday, Elizondo recalled the first time he met his friend and colleague from what he called the “temple of Marshall,” the Falcon Theatre (the Burbank, Calif. playhouse Marshall founded). He claims Marshall had seen him in New York in the plays Steambath and Sly Fox, and that’s how Elizondo got invited to a regular basketball game with New York producers and directors on Marshall’s home court in Hollywood in 1979. Marshall was described to him as the creator of Happy Days — which, to Elizondo, was the sitcom that “happened to knock my show Popi on CBS off the air.”

What happened next on the basketball court was pure coincidence, however—and would change Elizondo’s life:

So here I am playing basketball with a bunch of sweaty guys from New York. I flipped a pass behind my back to one of my guys, except [Garry’s] face happened to be between the ball and the person I was passing to, and it hit him! On the chops. Oy!

Everybody stopped and took a deep breath. And then I thought, ‘It happens all the time. What’s the big deal?’ Garry was on one knee checking his teeth. He summons me over with a finger, and I said, ‘Wait a minute. Is this guy looking for trouble?’ He says, ‘I’m Garry Marshall. This is my court. You’re a terrific actor, a lousy passer. But I’ve got a movie for you!’

And we both laughed, sat on a bench, and started talking about the idea for his first movie, Young Doctors in Love [1982], a satire of that period. And that’s how it started. It was a great marriage.

Then we started speaking about cabbages and kings, and realized we had a lot in common.

Among those commonalities was their shared history and love of music:

We came from the same place, same time — New York City during the Depression (he was from the Bronx, I was from Manhattan). We were both lovers of music, drummers, and reading. He thought ladies were the superior gender, as do I. He was my best friend.

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Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com