What better way to honor Garry Marshall, creator of much-loved shows like Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley , than by bringing the stars of those shows together to honor him in an episode of his current show? CBS is doing just that in tonight’s episode of The Odd Couple .
Garry Marshall developed and executive produced the original The Odd Couple, which ran from 1970-1975, while also serving as executive consultant for the new version of the show that stars Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon. He even played Oscar’s father, Walter, on the new version. Marshall, who passed away in July of this year, will be honored in tonight’s episode titled, “Taffy Days.”
Marion Ross guest stars in “The Odd Couple.” [Image by CBS]
“The writing staff and everyone on The Odd Couple reboot was thrilled when Garry Marshall joined us as a producer because his shows were part of our TV DNA,” said executive producer Bob Daily in a press release for the show.
“He was a kind, generous presence on the set, and we loved him dearly. And when we lost him, we knew we had to do something to honor his legacy – something that, like Garry’s work, was both heartfelt and zany. We are so grateful that the stars of these classic shows are able to join us in honoring him.”
Penny Marshall, Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon. [Image by CBS]
Many stars from Marshall’s previous TV series will appear in tonight’s show including Ron Howard, Anson Williams, Don Most and Marion Ross (from Happy Days ), his sister Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley ) and Pam Dawber (from Mork & Mindy ).
“Our first thought [regarding Marshall’s passing] was maybe a little ‘In Memoriam’ card in the first episode [of the season],” Daily told the New York Post .
“But the more we thought about it, we thought, Garry devoted his life to making people laugh, so rather than doing a little short, sad card, let’s try to do something we hoped Garry would have appreciated — both heartfelt and just a fun, silly episode.”
Pam Dawber (from “Mork & Mindy”) on “The Odd Couple.” [Image by CBS]
In “Taffy Days,” it is revealed that Walter had requested that his ashes be scattered behind his former candy factory. Ron Howard plays the lawyer who gives Oscar the news which will involve him finding Walter’s old business partner so that they can do the tribute together. Marshall’s wife Barbara and son Scott also make a brief appearance in the episode as well.
Cindy Williams, Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon. [Image by CBS]
Though known for many TV series, Garry Marshall is probably best-known for Happy Days which was also his most successful show. The initial pilot for Happy Days aired as an episode of one of Marshall’s earlier shows, Love American Style (which ran from 1969-1974). The anthology series featured a 1950s themed episode called “Love and the Television Set” which starred Harold Gould, Marion Ross, Ron Howard, Anson Williams, Ric Carrott and Susan Neher. When Happy Days was greenlit, Gould was replaced with Tom Bosley and Neher with Erin Moran.
Don Most, Anson Williams, Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon. [Image by CBS]
Happy Days began airing in the fall of 1974, one year before the original Odd Couple would go off the air. In 1976, Garry took two side characters from Happy Days and created the first spin-off, Laverne and Shirley , which aired from 1976-1983. Then, in a bizarre storyline that featured Richie Cunningham being visited from an alien from the planet Ork, Marshall introduced the world to Robin Williams and spun his own show, Mork & Mindy which aired from 1978-1982. That same year, Garry took more characters from Happy Days to create Joanie Loves Chachi . That show didn’t make it, and so, Joanie and Chachi came back to Happy Days to finish out the show’s final season in 1984. Incidentally, ABC tried to bring back a new version of The Odd Couple with an African American cast in 1982, but it didn’t make it.
Tonight’s episode of The Odd Couple airs at 9:30 p.m. on CBS.
