Hollywood remembers Penny Marshall as 'great comedienne,' 'dear friend'

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Penny Marshall's friends, fellow filmmakers and sitcom stars took to Twitter on Tuesday to remember the Bronx native, who died at the age of 75.

"I don't know what to say," Marshall's Laverne & Shirley co-star Michael McKean posted Tuesday.

"Goodbye, Penny. Man, did we laugh a lot! Wish we still could. Love you. Hanx," tweeted Tom Hanks, who starred in Marshall's movies Big and A League of Their Own.

Rosie O'Donnell, Hanks' co-star in League, shared a 1996 commercial she and Marshall made for Kmart and a photo of the two of them from a Saturday Night Live appearance.

"I loved Penny. I grew up with her. She was born with a great gift. She was born with a funnybone and the instinct of how to use it. I was very lucky to have lived with her and her funnybone. I will miss her," said Marshall's ex-husband Rob Reiner.

"She was funny & so smart. She made the transition from sitcom star to A List movie director with ease & had a major impact on both mediums. All that & always relaxed, funny & totally unpretentious. I was lucky to have known & worked with her," Happy Days icon and filmmaker Ron Howard tweeted.

"Farewell to the lady I imitated as a kid before becoming her neighbor years later, legendary sitcom star and BIG director Penny Marshall. Got to tell Penny that LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN is one of my favorite films when we recorded 4 epic podcasts at my house," writer-director Kevin Smith said.

"Rest in peace, Penny. Such a wonderful, funny and talented lady. Without her support and encouragement, I would not be where I am today. She will be missed," wrote actor-producer Mark Wahlberg.

"Sad to hear of Penny Marshall's passing. a great comedienne a terrific director and a dear friend," comedian Billy Crystal said.

"Thank you, Penny Marshall. For the trails you blazed. The laughs you gave. The hearts you warmed," filmmaker Ava DuVernay said.

Marshall's publicist Michelle Bega said Marshall died Monday from complications from diabetes in Hollywood Hills.

Notable deaths of 2018