If you are a fan of entertainment, the odds are, you're a fan of Garry Marshall.
The prolific writer, director and producer of television and movies died today at the age of 81 due from complications of pneumonia after a stroke.
Marshall's long line of televisions credits includes The Dick Van Dyke Show, Happy Days, and The Odd Couple among others.
Marshall's first television credit was for three episodes of The Jack Parr Tonight Show in 1960. Over the next 50 plus years, his credits looks like a virtual history of the American comedy.
Marshall not only created Happy Days, but the three spinoffs that came afterward, including Laverne & Shirley (starring his younger sister, Penny Marshall), Mork & Mindy (starring the late Robin Williams and Joanie & Chachi.
At one time, Marshall was writing three of the top four programs of the 1978-79 television season.
Think about where we'd be without Marshall. Most likely, there would have been no Scott Baio in the news this week.
Without Marshall, none of your favorite television shows could have jumped the shark, because there would have never been a Fonzie in a swimsuit and leather jacket doing the jumping.
And without Marshall, there would have been no Nanu nanu or Shazbot, Mork phrases that reverberated throughout the 70s with Fonzie's Ayyy.
OK, maybe that doesn't seem all that important right now, but for generations, it meant everything. Marshall shaped the world in which many of us grew up. It's as simple as that.
Marshall was known as a nice guy who loved what he did. He poured his heart into his work and those he worked with and his friends have never forgotten.
Henry Winkler, who worked with Marshall as Arthur Fonzarelli on Happy Days, used Twitter to pay his respects:
GARRY MARSHALL Rest In Peace .. Thank you for my professional life. Thank you for your loyalty , friendship and generosity .
— Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) July 20, 2016