You can thank the film’s director Garry Marshall for that. Garry made a lot of movies, and was also a producer of TV shows like “Happy Days,” “Laverne and Shirley” (starring his sister Penny, whom Garry isn’t afraid to admit was a nightmare on set) and “Mork & Mindy.”
Garry unfortunately passed away a few years ago, but not before he wrote a great autobiography, which I’m in the middle of reading.
He was easily one of the nicest guys in the business, so when a movie he was producing called The Grasshopper got off to a rocky start, he and his producing partner Jerry Belson were faced with a dilemma:
“Every time we got ready to start, director Don Medford said he needed another week to prepare. After five weeks, we had to fire Don. Jerry and I were nervous wrecks because we had never fired anyone before. I don’t love confrontations, so after we broke the news to Don, we left in a hurry. I realized when we reached his apartment lobby that I had forgotten my glasses, but we didn’t dare go back. It was easier for me to buy a new pair.”In the second season of “Mork & Mindy,” Garry wanted to cast famous guest stars:
“Raquel Welch played an alien romantic interest for Mork. When she arrived for work the first day, I asked Raquel if there was anything I could do for her. She startled me when she said, “Buy me a television.” I of course wanted to make her as happy as possible, so I bought it for her. I thought she wanted it for her dressing room, but she took the TV right home.”
