Bryan Adams didn't get a lot of time to know Garry Marshall. But the Canadian rocker enjoyed all the time he spent with the famed TV and film impresario as he and songwriting partner Jim Vallance worked on material for the upcoming Broadway adaptation of Marshall's hit film Pretty Woman.
"What a sweetheart he is. You wouldn't believe it," Adams told Billboard earlier this week, shortly before Marshall died on Tuesday at the age of 81. "He wasn't at the original audition that we did, but he was very much a part of this. Just brilliant to work with."
Marshall's death will undoubtedly put some extra fuel behind the Pretty Woman musical, which is being directed by Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Hairspray). Adams made inquiries about the project eight or nine years ago, when he first heard it was being considered. It wound up not happening at the time, but last year Adams learned that it was finally proceeding, and a friend in the Broadway community hooked him up with the producers.