Marty Nadler, the writer, producer and stand-up comedian who was a decades-long collaborator of Garry Marshall, has died aged 80. He died on Wednesday in Margate, Florida, from complications of the autoimmune disorder myasthenia gravis, his son Charlie Nadler announced. Nadler was a key contributor to Marshall's television and film output for more than 40 years, and his death marks the loss of one of the last surviving members of that close-knit comedy circle.

From the 1970s he served as lead writer on Marshall sitcoms including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Who's Watching the Kids and Blansky's Beauties, and contributed jokes and cameo appearances to nine Marshall films, among them Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride and Valentine's Day. Born in the Bronx in 1945, he broke into showbusiness via stand-up at The Improv before Penny Marshall introduced him to her brother Garry, beginning their long partnership; he also wrote for shows such as Perfect Strangers and Chico and the Man. In later years he performed a comedy act with his son Charlie, recently recorded at the Garry Marshall Theatre for a special due out next year. He is survived by his ex-wife Holly Mascott, son Charlie and daughter-in-law Cary Kandel, with burial planned on Martha's Vineyard and donations invited to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America.