Penny Marshall’s storied Hollywood career spanned sitcoms and movies. She produced and directed for both the silver screen and small screen. Some of her films — “A League of Their Own” and “Cinderella Man” — helped define an era of sports at the movies. Tom Hanks’s “No crying in baseball” monologue has been recited countless times in major league broadcast booths and Little League dugouts. And her sports memorabilia collection is legendary.
Marshall died Tuesday of complications from diabetes, a family spokeswoman said. She was 75. And with her passing, Hollywood lost one of its biggest sports fans.
She had season tickets for both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. She worked on a documentary about Dennis Rodman, who became one of her close friends. She once told the Chicago Tribune about owning Christy Mathewson’s chess table and a phone that would play Michael Jordan’s United Center introduction, and about how she would keep Robert Horry’s son on her lap during Lakers games. The NBA, in particular, wasn’t a idle pastime for Marshall; it was part of her life.
Musical or Comedy for her portrayal.
Marshall made her directorial debut with Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986) before directing Big (1988), which became the first film directed by a woman to gross more than $100 million at the U.S. box office. Her subsequent directing credits included Awakenings (1990), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, A League of Their Own (1992), Renaissance Man (1994), The Preacher’s Wife (1996) and Riding in Cars with Boys (2001). She also produced Cinderella Man (2005) and Bewitched (2005), and directed episodes of the TV series According to Jim and United States of Tara.