Success was the only thing keeping Rob Reiner and Penny Marshall apart
Hollywood has had its fair share of famous couples, but it was rare for a dynamic duo to each have hit shows separately and still rank high in the Nielsen ratings. Like a classic pairing, Rob Reiner and Penny Marshall were a couple who became timeless in their era.
Reiner and Marshall were married for about 10 years and had an adopted child named Tracy. They were inseparable when together, but unfortunately, the two were often apart due to their work in classic TV.
Reiner played the son of Archie Bunker in the 1971 series All in the Family. Michael "Meathead" Stivic frequently clashed over just about everything with Archie, played by Carroll O'Connor.
Marshall, of course, was one half of the iconic duo in the series Laverne & Shirley. Together, both Reiner and Marshall were busy, successful, and had quite a few different on-camera families to add to their growing family off-screen.
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Although All in the Family was based on family, it seems that Laverne & Shirley was more of a family affair. Marshall's family was vital to the series, with her father as the producer, her brother as the creator, her sister as a production assistant, and, of course, her as the star.
"Rob and I made a date to see each other after the holidays," Marshall said in a 1976 interview with The Sacramento Bee. "He complains that I'm spending too much time on the show. He forgets what he was like in his first year with All in the Family."
Both Reiner and Marshall stayed busy. When one was free, the other was acting, writing, or working on a new project. She said she found it hard to make time for themselves. The two shows were luckily never in direct competition for ratings, but one was on CBS while the other was on ABC.
"I do feel sorry for Rob," Marshall said. "On weekends I've been working on the album and he's been writing. It's been chaotic. Rob says it's just one of those years and there will come a time when we wish one of us was working."
Marshall put all her energy into the character, and that's part of the reason she found success. As for Reiner, he did the same. They knew that working hard separately would help them as a couple and set them up for a long and beautiful future.
They looked forward to a day when they could come back together with no work involved.
"I figure I'll start my life sometime in March when we shut down for the season," Marshall said. "Rob's show goes on hiatus in February and maybe we can talk to each other for awhile."
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