♪ tonight a special "e.t." our penny marshal tribute. >> can i see the beginning again? >> we are with those who knew penny best. >> we did some wonderful physical comedy. >> sharing their favorite memories. >> i just always remember the kindness, how nice she was. >> plus the private side of the film and tv icon. what you never knew. >> they have me dying every three months. i feel fine. >> from big to the preacher's wife. >> i love penny marshal. >> to every movie she directed in between, "e.t.'s" time on set with the legendary director. >> let me see what happens. >> then -- >> "entertainment tonight"

presents. >> the reunion just for "e.t." ♪ schlemiel schlimazel >> this is "entertainment tonight". thanks for joining us, everyone as we pay a special tribute to penny marshal. >> even where we're standing is special, stage 15. it's just a short walk from our set. this is where penny made her last tv appearance on the rebooted version of "the odd couple." >> "e.t." was there of course. we went back and counted how many times we were with penny over the years. it's an astounding 109 times. we got to know her very well. she shared her triumphs, but also her struggles. >> penny stayed just as strong as her tv alter ego laverne. >> crap happens in life. you have to deal with it. >> penny was a force to be reckoned with. when "e.t." sat down with penny

in 2012 she was in remission. she got very fired up. >> your battle with cancer has been very public. >> because the public is stupid people. the rags write about it. they get it wrong. they have me dying every three months still and i'm fine. >> she was a regular person who just happened to become famous. i don't think she ever forgot where she came from. >> "e.t." was with her friend an former tv love interest jay leno who shared his memory of their times together on laverne and shirley. >> hey, shirl, why don't you split? >> and what, leave laverne unchaperoned? >> i was a new comedian and she was so kind to me.

>> the one thing everyone knew about penny is family came first. >> i would never have a career without mybrother. i thought he was being nice to me because i was his sister. >> "e.t.'s" last sit down with penny was in 2016. >> penny's nephew scott marshal conducted our last interview. he gave me a life and i appreciate it and i tried to not let him down. >> if you remember penny was acting on the show when she started directing. she directed four episodes. that became her second career which would become big.

>> i like how you did that. little did she know directing would pay off so big and "e.t." was on the set right from the start with her feature film debut, "jumpin' jack flash." >> the phone rang and they said would you take over this movie and i said what? do what? and they said we would like you to take over the shooting of this movie. >> penny made her reluctant directorial debut when the film's original director howard zeif was fired. she proved she had more than just acting chops and the spy comedy was also the beginning of a lasting friendship with star whoopi goldberg. >> i think she's amazing. i mean, she's an amazing actress. she is very talented and i think she's captivating to watch. >> penny also kept the film a family affair with daughter tracy reiner and brother gary in cameo roles. >> when i first stopped shooting, i said i'm never going to do this again. this is insane. then i learned a lot on this. so it's silly to have learned all this and not do it again. so to answer your question, yes, i will probably direct again. >> i didn't think i was working tonight. >> tom hanks was at the premiere

of "jumpin' jack flash" just two years later he would star in "big" a role he originally turned down. >> i knew he had a sense of humor. he didn't have the innocence of tom, but i would see him dance on a piano. because bobby deniro said yes, everybody wanted to do it. >> while tom earned an oscar nomination for his role in 1988's "big," penny became the first woman ever to direct a movie grossing over $100 million. >> you want something to drink. >> can i have a milkshake or something? >> i think i laughed at the caviar scene a couple of times. when we did like 8 million takes because we wanted to. we like caviar. so we ate it. most of my career has been acting like a child so that's

me. >> just four years after the block buster success of "big" penny and tom knocked it out of the park again teaming up for "a league of their own." >> there's no crying in baseball. there's no crying in baseball. >> i had to get fat. i had to gain some weight. >> so he ate his way through chicago and indiana. >> tom put on 30 pounds for the part of washed up manager jimmy dugan, a role he actually fought hard to get. >> tom wanted the part because he had had a couple of flops, not flops, but didn't do so well. he said i want this part. >> but be careful what you wish for, tom. >> she will shoot it a thousand times all under the guise of penny's voice. i don't know what i want. i might be in an editing room and i might need this. >> not helping was the sweltering 100 plus degree shooting days in evansville, indiana. >> it was hard work. it was 106 degrees. a lot of people passed out. a lot of puking. >> a league of their own was madonna's eighth film and rosy's

first. >> penny is the queen of the retakes. >> i cover it from many angles. >> we were on set when penny introduced the cast including her daughter tracy. >> what was it like working with your mom? >> i've done it before. it's fun. >> brother gary also made an appearance. >> working for my sister was very exciting. >> i took everyone with me. my brother believes in it. i believe in it. >> gina davis was not penny's first choice. >> i wanted demi moore. demi moore i liked. by the time we came around, she was pregnant. >> penny was inspired to make the film after seeing a documentary about this woman's pro basketball league that formed in the '40s. >> no one ever knew about it. it's about friendship. >> without a doubt one of the

top ten sports movies of all times. it's not a big surprise that penny could direct comedies, but people didn't expect her to be so good at drama. she even reeled in robin williams, but it wasn't easy. >> it's not the usual robin williams you see in movies. >> you're awake. >> devoid of schtick which is an old india word. >> for me it was nice to cut out all that other stuff and let other stuff happen. >> but williams was afraid co-star robert deniro would up stage him in such a serious film. so how did penny reel in the comedian to deliver the drama? >> you're spelling something else. >> he and penny came up with a secret signal to alert robin if he was being too funny. >> a director's job is to get the best actors you can and protect them >> she also helped danny devito play a more sensitive role in 1994's "renaissance man." while "e.t." was on set, they were inseparable. >> come on. >> she's absolutely the perfect thing for me. i love her.

she's terrific with casting and working with actor. >> marshal made the unusual choice of casting this acting newbie, then more known as a rapper. ♪ yo it's about that time >> penny said it will be a breeze. >> a 22-year-old marky mark wahlberg not only aced his audition by rapping, he wrote this song for penny for the scene where his fellow army cadettes learn shakespeare. ♪ to be or not to be >> she asked me if i'd write something for it and i said, yeah, you just gotta tell me who hamlet is. >> mark just posted this pic acknowledging penny's impact writing without her support and encouragement i would not be where i am today. >> then he does it. coming up -- we remember when penny teamed up with whis any houston. >> she's the best. >> thank you for saying that. >> behind the scenes of the prea preacher's wife. >> then penny reveals her

private side to "e.t." telling about her divorce, abortion and drug use. >> you name 'em i tried 'em. >> then penny revisited her christmas trees try so hard. lights, ornaments, and lil choo choo trains. c'mon. the best trees, they kinda only need two things. peanut butter and chocolate. not sorry. reese's. ♪ ♪ acqua di giò. absolu. the new sensuality. giorgio armani.

. "e.t." has an exclusive look

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♪ welcome back to "e.t.'s" penny marshal tribute, a league of her own. penny was such a huge success as a director that all the biggest stars in hollywood wanted to work with her. hanks. deniro. robin williams. >> and we can't forget whitney houston and denzel washington. they starred together in "the preacher's wife." my family watches it every holiday season. it's one of my favorites. but penny made it one of our favorite set visits. >> i love penny marshal. any day penny, we can work together, any day, sweetie. >> let's bring her in. >> and she pays me. thank you. thank you. you're crazy. take your money back. you've don't have to pay me for that. are you kidding? >> who sent you exactly? >> the top man himself, mrs. biggs. >> "the preacher's wife" was a movie denzel washington, who played an angel, had been developing for several years. he personally called whitney and asked penny to direct. >> and cut. >> but she initially rejected

the star. >> denzel wanted to do this project. so denzel had asked for me. >> and you did not immediately say yes, did you? >> no, i did not. >> why not? >> because i didn't like the script. >> after a rewrite penny was all in. >> they were terrific together. they both got the best smiles in the business. >> we got along real well and she's a real down to earth regular kind of girl. >> i see a beautiful woman with a good heart. >> he said it's a very important movie. it's about community. it's about spirit of love and hope and charity and loyalty and fate. you just gotta do this movie with me. he said, plus, you know, you can sing gospel. i thought, boy, you know how to get me good. >> i think it's about when you believe you've lost faith in yourself that you can make a difference. >> there's the bell. >> time to go. it's a wrap. >> still ahead -- >> quaaludes was my drug of choice. >> we revisit our most revealing

interview with the star. >> plus laverne and shirley bloopers and the insane stories from one of penny's first acting roles ever alongside a bombshell. >> we did head and shoulders together. guess who had the dandruff. >> closed captioning provided by -- a migraine hope

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2002. that same year "e.t." produced a prime time special that reunited the "laverne and shirley" gang. >> "entertainment tonight" presents laverne and shirley together again. >> penny marshal and cindy williams. >> "e.t." recreated laverne and shirley's original apartment set on paramount's stage 29. we shot the abc special in front of a live studio audience who asked question. >> you two still friends? >> no. >> well, that was a joke of course. the two shared their memories of their favorite episodes and showed some rarely seen bloopers. >> how can we go back? >> oh, i'm sorry. >> we had a few bloopers of our own when penny and cindy recreated that famous opening sequence on the very same back lot where the original was shot 26 years earlier. ♪ one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight ♪ ♪ schlemiel schlimazel hasenpfeffer incorporated ♪ >> i'm falling out of these shoes. i'm sorry.

>> they were joined by most of the original cast including lenny and squiggy while penny's brother gary marshal who created "laverne and shirley" was our warm-up act. >> my mother called and said would i get penny a job. she's dating morons. >> and unlike other reunion specials penny and cindy stepped into their roles again as laverne and shirley. they did a comedy scene wrten by the series original writers where they tried out for a "survivor" type reality show. >> my name is laverne defazio-caraciolla-o'brien- weinstock-roosevelt. >> the special had nearly 11 million prime time viewers and we got to see firsthand how much penny and her castmates were real family. >> it was great to be laverne and shirley again. >> penny really was involved with the production of that special. as a matter of fact she was in the edit bay as they put it together. >> always the director too.

>> penny was 32 years old when she got her big break, but she had a number of acting gigs before that. in fact, before there was a laverne and shirley, there was a penny and farrah. >> lucy, let me borrow your shampoo. >> what a roommate. can't you ever buy your own stuff? >> i did my first commercial with farrah when she first came out. we did a head and shoulders commercial. guess who had the dandruff? >> i know it really works against your dandruff, but what about my gorgeous hair? >> your gorgeous hair will love it. it hates your dandruff, but it also loves your hair. >> it was 1972. penny was cast opposite a then unknown 25-year-old farrah. and the experience wasn't exactly a positive one. on set penny's stand in wore a placard labeled homely girl while farrah's stand in was named pretty girl. >> know what i think? >> you think you look adorable. >> as the story goes farrah tried to make it better by

crossing out homely and wrote the word plane instead. >> the commercial was about hair. farrah had the nice hair and penny had the rotten hair. >> i think your shampoo did a terrific sexy number on my hair. >> she was great with rotten hair. >> yes. >> she was a nice girl from texas. she still is a nice girl from texas. >> penny was hollywood royalty. >> no doubt about that. a lot of people no far less about her life off camera. >> penny didn't like to talk about it that much, especially the darkest time. there were rare moments she opened up to "e.t." >> what drugs did you do? >> you name 'em i tried 'em. >> did you have one that you preferred? >> quaaludes. >> really?

>> yes. i don't know why they were taken off the market. no one killed anyone on 'em. i didn't drink. see, i wasn't a drinker. so yeah, took a half and you loved everyone. >> she was honest, unfiltered and full of chutzpah. and that's why we loved her. >> no face work here. you get bad scars. i was never a leading lady to begin with. why am i gonna start now and look like scared? i don't think so. >> but behind the scenes penny battled not only lung cancer and a brain tumor, but in 1981 she had a public divorce from rob reiner caused in part because she had success with "laverne and shirley" while his career stalled. later rob admitted the split gave him inspiration for ""when harry met sally". >> when i was getting divorced, i said i can't see. just put me on my mark. i know my lines, but i was -- sort of went blind for the show. >> in her 2012 memoir "my mother was nuts" penny revealed that as her relationship with meathead began to fall apart she made the difficult decision to have an abortion. >> do i want to be with this person? not the baby. the baby is not the problem. it's the person you're linked with. so i didn't want to do that.

>> as for family, penny is survived by her daughter tracy from her first marriage. tracy actually had roles in "a league of their own," and "pretty woman." >> and in the end penny will be always remembered, she lived well, laughed hard and had no regrets. >> what do you want your legacy to be? >> just that i was a fairly accident person and i had good friends and i got a great daughter and great grandkids and a great family. >> amen. >> she's saying hello to her brother gary in heaven. >> you better believe it. brother gary in heaven. >> you better believe it. >> when we come 98% of us don't get enough omega-3s. which is why megared advanced 4in1 packs more omega-3 power into one small softgel. it supports your heart... brain... eyes... and joints. megared. a whole hazelnut dipped in smooth chocolatey cream. coated in milk chocolate and hazelnut pieces. ♪

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>> well laverne's favorite drink, milk and pepsi, the combination, was a running gag on the show. who would drink that in real life? believe it or not penny marshal did. >> it's true. during our reunion special penny finally revealed why. >> my mother sent me to kosher camp. we're not jewish. we went to kosher camp because they had better food. they don't drink milk with meat. when i came home, i said why can't i have soda? she ended up mixing it half and a half. many people have gagged at my house watching me do this. that's what i still drink and i still swear by it. >> the only way to love the show. >> we obviously loved her a lot. here's to you penny.

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