In the 1970s, Garry Marshall gave us one of the earliest, and still greatest extended universes, consisting of 1950s nostalgia, a couple of goofy brewery workers and an alien from the planet Ork. More recently he'd been known for a certain kind of ensemble comedy with his movies New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day and this year's Mother's Day, but Marshall had an impressively diverse career over many decades before his death yesterday at 81 due to complications from pneumonia. The director had recently suffered a stroke.

He started out as a writer for such TV programs as the Jack Paar version of The Tonight Show. As an actor he played a low-tier bad guy in the James Bond movie Goldfinger and later had brief but memorable turns in Lost in America and A League of Their Own, the latter helmed by his sister, Penny Marshall. He's still best known for being the creator of the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-offs, which include Laverne & Shirley (costarring Penny) and Mork & Mindy. His other TV show productions include The Odd Couple.

Few could argue that the director has influenced the careers of many in Hollywood. With Pretty Woman in 1990, he made Julia Roberts a movie star and continued to work with her and costar Richard Gere over the years. And it's been clear through their continued collaboration that she was extremely grateful to him for it. He also helped launch Robin Williams, Anne Hathaway, Chris Pine, Henry Winkler, Rob Lowe, Mayim Bialik, Michael McKean and Scott Baio, among others.

His other notable movies as a director, mixing up madcap comedies and weepy dramas over the years, include Beaches, The Flamingo Kid, Overboard, The Princess Diaries and Runaway Bride. See some clips of his work on and offscreen and his discussions of both below. 

Marshall on the creation of Happy Days:

As the casino manager in Lost in America:

The trailer for Overboard, which he directed:

Marshall on the making of an iconic scene in Pretty Woman:

The emotional, Golden Globe-nominated performance he got out of Michelle Pfeiffer in Frankie and Johnny:

A scene from Runaway Bride, which he directed:

Footage of him directing The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement:

The trailer for his final directorial effort, Mother's Day, and our exclusive interview with him:

Marshall is survived by his wife, Barbara; his son, Scott; daughters Lori and Kathleen; his grandchildren; and sister Penny and brother Ronny Hallin.