My Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshal

Summary: 

     Most people know Penny Marshall as the director of Big and A League of Their Own. What they don’t know is her trailblazing career was a happy accident. In this funny and intimate memoir, Penny takes us from the stage of The Jackie Gleason Show in 1955 to Hollywood’s star-studded sets, offering up some hilarious detours along the way.

     My Mother Was Nuts is an intimate backstage pass to Penny’s personal life, her breakout role on The Odd Couple, her exploits with Cindy Williams and John Belushi, and her travels across Europe with Art Garfunkel on the back of a motorcycle. We see Penny get married. And divorced. And married again (the second time to Rob Reiner). We meet a young Carrie Fisher, whose close friendship with Penny has spanned decades. And we see Penny at work with Tom Hanks, Mark Wahlberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, and Whitney Houston.

      Throughout it all, from her childhood spent tap dancing in the Bronx, to her rise as the star of Laverne & Shirley, Penny lived by simple rules: “try hard, help your friends, don’t get too crazy, and have fun.” With humor and heart, My Mother Was Nuts reveals there’s no one else quite like Penny Marshall.

My Thoughts:

     I don't read much nonfiction and only read memoirs/biographies if it is someone I really admire. That being said, here is why I read this book; as a child I loved Laverne & Shirley! I wanted a big "S" to put on my shirts like Laverne's L. I might have been slightly nerdy...
     I did not know much about Penny Marshall's life outside of what television shows made her famous and that she became a director later in her career.  Her story is fascinating and full of funny and touching moments.
     She is unapologetically honest about her past and how a bit of nepotism got her a start.  Penny also holds little back in admitting her drug use, her rocky relationship with her parents, her lackluster abilities as a mother or her grumpiness when she was a cancer patient.  She knows her faults and doesn't try to sugarcoat them or brush them off. She is also hilarious, loving and an amazing director.  After reading My Mother Was Nuts I have a deeper respect for Penny.  4/5 stars

Favorite Quotes:

"Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!"

"I was learning that I didn't have to have everything figured out. Often the point was to live and see what happened."

"If you can't always provide a new life, why not do little things that simply help improve someone's life? I know it's cliché, but after getting so much, it felt good to give back."