"Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams" book, Chapter Nine

In this chapter, we learn that neither Penny nor Cindy liked beer, but they did resemble their characters in some ways.  Penny saw herself as a realist like Laverne, although "not as full of wise cracks."  We again hear how insecure she was about her looks.  For some reason, Berman here says Penny had a "five-foot-three, 123-pound frame," while the stats in the back are more accurately 5' 6 1/2", with the same weight.  And again, we read that Penny mistrusted her success.

Here's a quote from her father-in-law, Carl Reiner: "Rob always told me she was funny and talented, but I never saw it because she's so quiet.  I think success will be good for her.  She's becoming more outgoing."

Berman helpfully informs us, "In real life, Penny is not a squawking bimbo."  But, yes, she did like milk & Pepsi.  Penny smoked and Rob didn't, so he tried to get her to quit, but "it was the worst thing she ever did."  She gained "over ten pounds" and became "almost impossibly irritable."

She loved jigsaw puzzles and needlepoint, but Rob did all the cooking.

"She is a demonstrative person, eager to show her affection....When she wants to combat on-the-set friction, she suggests that everybody embrace everybody."

She was a naturally funny person, amusing everyone who met her.  And she was a good friend, happy to listen and sympathize.

"She's a devoted, caring, and loving mother who hates to spend so much time away from her only child.  She has streaks of contradictions, but Penny Marshall is unique and she is wonderful, as unforgettable and endearing as Laverne."