To honor the legacy of legendary TV producer and film director Garry Marshall, who passed away this year at the age of 81, CBS’ sitcom The Odd Couple will pay tribute in a special episode airing Nov. 7 at 9:30pm ET/PT.
Garry Marshall was an executive consultant on this incarnation of The Odd Couple, and once guest-starred as Oscar’s father, Walter. Marshall had, of course, also developed and executive-produced the original Odd Couple series with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman in the early 1970s, before creating even greater hits like Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. Actors from such notable series will appear in this special episode, including Ron Howard, Marion Ross, Anson Williams and Don Most from Happy Days; Penny Marshall (Garry’s sister) and Cindy Williams from Laverne & Shirley; and Pam Dawber from Mork & Mindy.
In this episode, Oscar (Matthew Perry) reconnects with many significant people from Walter’s life when he agrees to carry out his father’s final wish to spread his ashes behind the candy factory he used to own. Presumably the stars from Garry Marshall’s previous hits will be playing these significant people.
“The writing staff and everyone on The Odd Couple reboot was thrilled when Garry Marshall joined us as a producer because his shows were part of our TV DNA,” said executive producer Bob Daily. “He was a kind, generous presence on the set, and we loved him dearly. And when we lost him, we knew we had to do something to honor his legacy – something that, like Garry’s work, was both heartfelt and zany. We are so grateful that the stars of these classic shows are able to join us in honoring him.”
CBS says that more information about the episode will be announced shortly.
