Ronny Hallin

Ronny Hallin, born Ronelle Lynne Marshall in New York City on January 2, 1938, was an American television producer, casting executive and occasional actress who spent more than two decades helping to build some of the most popular sitcoms in American television history. She was the middle child of the Marshall family, the younger sister of writer, producer and director Garry Marshall and the older sister of actress and director Penny Marshall. She died peacefully at home on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at the age of 88, according to her daughter Penny Hallin.

Ronny grew up in a household where performing was part of daily life. Her father, Anthony Masciarelli, who later took the name Anthony W. Marshall, directed industrial films and later became a television producer. Her mother, Marjorie Irene Marshall (née Ward), ran a tap dance school. Her father had changed the family surname from Masciarelli to Marshall before Garry, the eldest, was born, and the family made its home in the Bronx, where Penny grew up on the Grand Concourse.

When Garry Marshall became one of the most successful producers in television, all three siblings ended up working in what Ronny called the family business. She made her screen debut in 1974 on The Odd Couple, the ABC sitcom Garry had adapted from Neil Simon's play. In the fifth season premiere, "The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly in Vain," first broadcast on September 12, 1974, she played Verna, one of the on-screen siblings of Penny's character Myrna Turner, alongside Garry, who played Werner.

From 1977 Ronny moved firmly behind the camera, producing and handling casting on her brother's shows. Her credits included Blansky's Beauties, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy and Joanie Loves Chachi. She worked across associate producer, producer and casting roles, and in 1982 she cast herself on screen again, appearing as Maxine in an episode of Laverne & Shirley, the series starring her sister Penny.

Her producing career continued well beyond the Happy Days universe. She went on to produce You Again?, Valerie (later The Hogan Family), Nothing in Common, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, Going Places and Step by Step, making her part of the family sitcom era that defined American prime time from the mid 1980s into the early 1990s. On film she made small appearances in Garry's movies, including Frankie and Johnny (1991), Exit to Eden (1994) and Raising Helen (2004), and she appeared in the 1982 film Herndon.

Ronny once explained why the Marshall siblings worked so well together: "The Marshall family business works because the Marshalls are a family in business together. We each make up for the others' weaknesses."

She married Larry Hallin, and the couple later divorced. They had three daughters, and she was also survived by grandchildren. Her brother Garry died in July 2016. When Penny died in December 2018, Ronny was at her side. She told the New York Post that her sister had died very peacefully and was ready, adding, "She always said, 'I had a great life.' Penny was great. I loved her."

Ronny Hallin lived her later years in Valley Village, California. She was the last surviving of the three Marshall siblings. Her daughter Penny Hallin announced her death, saying she passed away peacefully at home. No cause of death has been made public, and no services had been announced at the time of her death. She is remembered as one of the quieter forces behind a generation of beloved television, the sister who helped find the faces and keep the sets running while her siblings became household names.