PENsive – Sketch #17: “A League Of Her Own” featuring Penny Marshall

Series Overview:
– Welcome to the world of PENsive: from the mind and pen of Artist Damon Kardon. This is a weekly editorial cartoon satirizing the social ills of our time, especially what Damon finds most perplexing in the music/arts, social media and political industries.

About the Sketch:
– I remember being six or seven years old and home sick from school. I watched countless reruns of Laverne & Shirley, not being old enough to realize they worked at a brewery or that I really didn’t get all of the jokes. I also remember being a little freaked out by that dude Squiggy. I do remember laughing a lot at Laverne and all of her antics. I didn’t know the name Penny Marshall at the time, but over my teenage years, I heard her name again and again as director of some of my favorite movies!

Take your pick of some of the greatest comedies and dramas of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. You have Awakenings starring Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams. Then there is Big (my personal favorite) starring Tom Hanks in one of his definitive roles. You also have A League of Their Own starring Geena Davis and again Hanks and this one really made an impact in Hollywood.

Check out the full-resolution version of the PENsive #17 sketch.

To have a movie that put a spotlight on women who became our baseball stars during World War II; this movie told a story that needed and still needs to be told. I remember when at the same time this movie came out, I found out my health teacher in middle school was one of the original women who played back then. She brought in her baseball card. I was so proud of her after seeing this movie.

Penny Marshall was not just an amazing director but also an actress who had such natural comedic timing. I never got to fully appreciate her acting work until later in life when I got to see her in small parts in movies, reruns of Laverne & Shirley, and guest spots on shows like Portlandia.

Really, what has stuck with me about her legacy is how she made her mark as one of the few female directors thirty years ago. There are still not enough women in director’s chairs today and that reflects poorly on Hollywood. Penny was a champion to equal rights and she was an amazing artist; showcasing a wide array of colors in her palette. She will be missed. – Damon Kardon

If you’re maybe a little young to remember Laverne & Shirley, or you want a taste of what it was all about, check out the show’s opening and iconic theme song.