Mandel and Ganz met in a Hollywood comedy club while the former was working as a joke writer and the latter was working as a staff writer on "The Odd Couple." Both transplanted writers from New York who idolized Billy Wilder, they quickly became good friends. The day after his wedding, Mandel finally accepted Ganz's offer to team up to write TV sitcoms, with their first collaboration being the hit series "Laverne and Shirley." The relationships that they developed in TV would serve them well in features; their TV colleagues included such future film heavyweights as Ron Howard, Garry Marshall, and Penny Marshall (who directed their hit, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, 1992). Though some critics characterize Ganz/Mandel projects as sitcoms writ large, the pair offers strengths that are rare in modern comedy writing: strong story structure and rich characterizations enhanced by Mandel's flair for killer punchlines.
Mandel's other notable writing credits include SPIES LIKE US (1985), VIBES (1988), CITH SLICKERS (1991), MR. SATURDAY NIGHT (1992), GREEDY and CITY SLICKERS II: THE LEGEND OF CURLY'S GOLD (both 1994), FORGET PARIS (1995), MULTIPLICITY (1996), FATHERS' DAY (1997), EDTV (1999), WHERE THE HEART IS (2000), ROBOTS and FEVER PITCH (both 2005), MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE (announced for 2008), and PINK PANTHER 2 (announced for 2009).
Nominated for Writing (Best Screenplay written directly for the screen) 1984: SPLASH (w. Lowell Ganz, Bruce Jay Friedman & Brian Grazer)
1 nomination