l He was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1934, the son of a tap dance teacher and a director of industrial films, and went on to became a joke writer for comedians such as Joey Bishop and Phil Foster and a writer for The Tonight Show with Jack Parr.

l In 1961 he moved to Hollywood, where he teamed up with writer Jerry Belson. The pair worked on The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Lucy Show, The Joey Bishop Show and The Danny Thomas Show.

l As creators and producers, Marshall and Belson's first series was a show called Hey Landlord, in 1966 and 1967. They then adapted Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple for television, before Marshall created Happy Days, Laverne And Shirley and Mork And Mindy on his own.

l Marshall directed his first film, Young Doctors In Love in 1982 and scored a hit in 1984 with The Flamingo Kid. Since then, he has directed another 14 features, including Pretty Woman, Beaches and, his last to date in 2011, New Year's Eve.

l He has also appeared in numerous television shows as an actor, most recently in Two And A Half Men, and this year was awarded the Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement from the Writers Guild Of America.