Author Description

Most people know Penny Marshall as the director of <i>Big </i>and <i>A League of Their Own</i>. What they don't know is her trailblazing career was a happy accident. In this funny and intimate memoir, Penny takes us from the stage of The <i>Jackie Gleason Show</i> in 1955 to Hollywood's star-studded sets, offering up some hilarious detours along the way. <p><i>My Mother Was Nuts</i> is an intimate backstage pass to Penny's personal life, her breakout role on <i>The Odd Couple</i>, her exploits with Cindy Williams and John Belushi, and her travels across Europe with Art Garfunkel on the back of a motorcycle. We see Penny get married. And divorced. And married again (the second time to Rob Reiner). We meet a young Carrie Fisher, whose close friendship with Penny has spanned decades. And we see Penny at work with Tom Hanks, Mark Wahlberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, and Whitney Houston. <p>Throughout it all, from her childhood spent tap dancing in the Bronx, to her rise as the star of <i>Laverne & Shirley</i>, Penny lived by simple rules: "try hard, help your friends, don't get too crazy, and have fun." With humor and heart, <i>My Mother Was Nuts</i> reveals there's no one else quite like Penny Marshall. <p><br>