--- description: After director Penny Marshall died this week, celebrities like Billy Crystal, Danny DeVito and Kathy Griffin are remembering her warmly. title: Here's How Celebrities Are Mourning Director Penny Marshall image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb09335601225f177/698941d1bc6cfca6613e7c28/PennyMarshall.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Celebrities Are Mourning the Loss of Director Penny Marshall  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 3:57 PM CUTPublished: Dec 18, 2018 9:01 PM CUT  Penny Marshall presents Rosie O'Donnell the Lucy Award at Women In Film's Crystal and Lucy Awards at the Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, Ca. Friday, Sept. 20, 2002\. Photo by Kevin Winter/ImageDirect. Penny Marshall presents Rosie O'Donnell the Lucy Award at Women In Film's Crystal and Lucy Awards at the Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, Ca. Friday, Sept. 20, 2002\. Photo by Kevin Winter/ImageDirect.Kevin Winter—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 3:57 PM CUTPublished: Dec 18, 2018 9:01 PM CUT Beloved film director and comedy actress [Penny Marshall](http://time.com/5483181/penny-marshall-dies-75/ "undefined") passed away on Monday at 75, the AP reports. Marshall — whose legacy included her iconic role as Laverne DeFazio in hit sitcom [_Laverne & Shirley_](http://time.com/4216207/broad-city-season-3-best-tv-female-friendships/item/laverne-and-shirley-laverne-shirley/ "undefined"), as well as her turns directing actors including [Tom Hanks](http://time.com/5467916/tom-hanks-hidden-heroes/ "undefined"), Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams — is now being remembered by her peers and Hollywood friends in the wake of her passing. Stars like Tom Hanks, [Billy Crystal](http://time.com/4593604/billy-crystal-on-james-corden/ "undefined"), Danny DeVito and Russell Crowe are sharing their fond memories of Marshall this week, while fellow women in showbusiness like [Ava DuVernay](http://time.com/5087372/ava-duvernay-on-what-gives-her-hope/ "undefined") and Kathy Griffin are recalling the important role Marshall played in advancing opportunities for women both as comic figures and directors. “Thank you, Penny Marshall. For the trails you blazed. The laughs you gave. The hearts you warmed,” DuVernay noted. “I grew up wanting to be as funny as Penny Marshall,” recalled _Big Bang Theory_ actress [Mayim Bialik](http://time.com/4064436/mayim-bialik-this-is-the-book-that-made-me-believe-in-love-again/ "undefined"). “Comedy gold, she was.” Born in the Bronx, Marshall directed her first feature film in 1986 with _Jumpin’ Jack Flash._ With her 1988 comedy _Big_, Marshall led Hanks to receive an Oscar nomination for his role. And with 1992’s _A League of Their Own_, also starring Hanks and Geena Davis, she released one of the most enduring, cult-favorite baseball films of the generation. [More recently](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1001482/?ref%5F=nm%5Fflmg%5Fdr%5F2 "undefined"), Marshall had directed a few episodes of the TV show _United States of Tara_ in 2011\. According [to her IMDB page](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6523814/?ref%5F=nm%5Fflmg%5Fdr%5F1 "undefined"), she was also working on a long-gestating documentary about basketball star Dennis Rodman. > [](https://twitter.com/tomhanks/status/1075148271574605830) > [](https://twitter.com/ava/status/1075107218758918144) > [](https://twitter.com/GDIGM/status/1075127163236450304) > [](https://twitter.com/BillyCrystal/status/1075111690591625216) > [](https://twitter.com/missmayim/status/1075108662627176448) > [](https://twitter.com/DanRather/status/1075109150336536576) > [](https://twitter.com/DannyDeVito/status/1075117196857077765) > [](https://twitter.com/russellcrowe/status/1075112172999499777) > [](https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei/status/1075110464428933122) > [](https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner/status/1075113779220893696) > [](https://twitter.com/kathygriffin/status/1075115995281256448) > [](https://twitter.com/AlJean/status/1075106074062024704) > [](https://twitter.com/PamelaPaulNYT/status/1075116271765721088) > [](https://twitter.com/MarleeMatlin/status/1075113106202750977) > [](https://twitter.com/smoss/status/1075117121573715969) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5483325/penny-marshall-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5483325/penny-marshall-reactions/"},"headline":"Celebrities Are Mourning the Loss of Director Penny Marshall","datePublished":"2018-12-18T21:01:41.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T15:57:48.000Z","description":"The 'Big' and 'A League of Their Own' director was 75","url":"https://time.com/5483325/penny-marshall-reactions/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb09335601225f177/698941d1bc6cfca6613e7c28/PennyMarshall.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb09335601225f177/698941d1bc6cfca6613e7c28/PennyMarshall.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Women in Film Crystal and Lucy Awards","caption":"Women in Film Crystal and Lucy Awards","creditText":"Kevin Winter—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5483325/penny-marshall-reactions/","name":"Celebrities Are Mourning the Loss of Director Penny Marshall"}}]}] ```