his hands. “I’m a cop.”
The real police came quickly and took him away. Morgan Upton from The Committee stayed with me the rest of the night, and Rob, who I hadn’t been able to reach, took over the next day. Our relationshipprogressed without incident until Tracy visited. Before I could even introduce them, Rob blurted, “That’s all I need is a kid.” His comment surprised me. He was thinking ahead. We hadn’t even slept together yet, though it wasn’t from a lack of interest on my part. Whenever we got to my door Rob either had a headache or a sore throat or an upset stomach. I thought I made him sick.
One night in December I decided to save him from any future ailments. After seeing Robert Redford’s new movie
Downhill Racer,
Rob brought me back home and walked me to the front door. I told him that I wanted to give back his Nichols and May records as well as all the other albums that I’d borrowed from him. He didn’t understand. I explained that I was breaking up with him. I felt like we had to move on—for his sake and mine.
“No, I want to come in,” he said. “I really want to.”
“Do you feel okay?” I said. “You aren’t nauseous? No sore throat?”
He shook his head and followed me inside. The next morning, Rob made it clear that our relationship had moved to a more serious place.
“I just want to tell you that I’m going to fart in front of you,” he said.
“All right,” I said.
And we were together from then on.
CHAPTER 17
All in the Family
Penny and Rob cutting the cake at their 1971 backyard Hollywood wedding
Marshall personal collection
B EING WITH ROB meant being with his friends, especially Albert. They were like Rob’s father and Mel Brooks: best friends who made each other even funnier. I would go to Rob’s house up in Benedict Canyon with my little suitcase and Albert would listen to us, waiting for the right moment before asking if we wanted to get something to eat at the deli in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
When Rob and I finally moved in together, it was without Albert. I didn’t want him listening anymore. Our place was a funky cottage in Laurel Canyon. We had a tree growing through the second bedroom and some artistic crap the previous residents had done on the ceiling. We also had two cats, Howie Rubin and Rhoda Kleinman, both named after the lead characters in Rob’s play. Friends were reluctant to come over since our narrow street didn’t have parking and anyone who did visit got a ticket.
My father couldn’t understand our relationship. “So what do you say to people—‘We live together’?” he asked.
Soon the point was moot. We told people that we were going to get married. We looked at dates in November and December. Then we put our plans on hold indefinitely. Although it might have lookedlike there was a problem, the reason was actually good news, Rob was cast as Archie Bunker’s liberal son-in-law Michael Stivic on
All in the Family
. I had also gone up for the part of Archie and Edith’s daughter Gloria, but the show’s executive producer, Norman Lear, chose Sally Struthers. She looked more like Carroll O’Connor’s daughter, while I looked more like Jean Stapleton’s. I thought it was for the best. Working together would have killed us.
Rob never thought
All in the Family
would continue past the initial thirteen episodes CBS ordered. It seemed like he might be right, too. The show’s January 12, 1971, premiere finished behind the competition on ABC and NBC, and ratings remained sluggish the following weeks. Rob wasn’t concerned whether it was a hit or not. His real goal was to write and direct, not act.
We set April 10 as our wedding date. It was the first break in Rob’s schedule. The ceremony took place in his parents’ Beverly Hills backyard. The 150 guests included our parents and siblings, as well as Neil Simon, Norman Lear, Bud Yorkin, and Marilyn and Alan Bergman. It was different than my first backyard wedding. Rob
The real police came quickly and took him away. Morgan Upton from The Committee stayed with me the rest of the night, and Rob, who I hadn’t been able to reach, took over the next day. Our relationshipprogressed without incident until Tracy visited. Before I could even introduce them, Rob blurted, “That’s all I need is a kid.” His comment surprised me. He was thinking ahead. We hadn’t even slept together yet, though it wasn’t from a lack of interest on my part. Whenever we got to my door Rob either had a headache or a sore throat or an upset stomach. I thought I made him sick.
One night in December I decided to save him from any future ailments. After seeing Robert Redford’s new movie
Downhill Racer,
Rob brought me back home and walked me to the front door. I told him that I wanted to give back his Nichols and May records as well as all the other albums that I’d borrowed from him. He didn’t understand. I explained that I was breaking up with him. I felt like we had to move on—for his sake and mine.
“No, I want to come in,” he said. “I really want to.”
“Do you feel okay?” I said. “You aren’t nauseous? No sore throat?”
He shook his head and followed me inside. The next morning, Rob made it clear that our relationship had moved to a more serious place.
“I just want to tell you that I’m going to fart in front of you,” he said.
“All right,” I said.
And we were together from then on.
CHAPTER 17
All in the Family
Penny and Rob cutting the cake at their 1971 backyard Hollywood wedding
Marshall personal collection
B EING WITH ROB meant being with his friends, especially Albert. They were like Rob’s father and Mel Brooks: best friends who made each other even funnier. I would go to Rob’s house up in Benedict Canyon with my little suitcase and Albert would listen to us, waiting for the right moment before asking if we wanted to get something to eat at the deli in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
When Rob and I finally moved in together, it was without Albert. I didn’t want him listening anymore. Our place was a funky cottage in Laurel Canyon. We had a tree growing through the second bedroom and some artistic crap the previous residents had done on the ceiling. We also had two cats, Howie Rubin and Rhoda Kleinman, both named after the lead characters in Rob’s play. Friends were reluctant to come over since our narrow street didn’t have parking and anyone who did visit got a ticket.
My father couldn’t understand our relationship. “So what do you say to people—‘We live together’?” he asked.
Soon the point was moot. We told people that we were going to get married. We looked at dates in November and December. Then we put our plans on hold indefinitely. Although it might have lookedlike there was a problem, the reason was actually good news, Rob was cast as Archie Bunker’s liberal son-in-law Michael Stivic on
All in the Family
. I had also gone up for the part of Archie and Edith’s daughter Gloria, but the show’s executive producer, Norman Lear, chose Sally Struthers. She looked more like Carroll O’Connor’s daughter, while I looked more like Jean Stapleton’s. I thought it was for the best. Working together would have killed us.
Rob never thought
All in the Family
would continue past the initial thirteen episodes CBS ordered. It seemed like he might be right, too. The show’s January 12, 1971, premiere finished behind the competition on ABC and NBC, and ratings remained sluggish the following weeks. Rob wasn’t concerned whether it was a hit or not. His real goal was to write and direct, not act.
We set April 10 as our wedding date. It was the first break in Rob’s schedule. The ceremony took place in his parents’ Beverly Hills backyard. The 150 guests included our parents and siblings, as well as Neil Simon, Norman Lear, Bud Yorkin, and Marilyn and Alan Bergman. It was different than my first backyard wedding. Rob
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