Photo: All rights reserved.

Penny Marshall

Penny Marshall's former assistant is seeking more than $8 million from the filmmaker and actress' estate officials after alleging she promised to set him up for life.

Terry Trahan has filed two creditor's claims with estate representatives, explaining he served at the Laverne & Shirley star's beck and call from January, 1994 until her death in December.

In addition to working as her personal assistant, Trahan alleges he was also expected to take on housekeeping and cooking duties, as well as filling in as her home and physical caretaker. He also lived in her guest house, so he could be available to Marshall 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to legal papers obtained by The Blast.

However, Trahan alleges Marshall was a terrible boss, who was "abrasive, caustic, and abusive" towards him and often treated him "in a humiliating fashion in private, and in front of third parties". He also accuses her of banning him from taking "days off, vacation time, or uninterrupted rest or meal breaks."

He once brought up his complaints about his working conditions to the veteran entertainer, but she reportedly demanded he "not ever leave her employ" and threatened retaliation if he ever walked away.

Although he was unhappy with the arrangement, Trahan claims he put up with the job for years because Marshall promised to take care of him financially upon her death, "providing for him in a sum so that he 'would never have to work again,' and that he would also be left 'enough money to purchase a home,'" reads the court papers.

Marshall also vowed to name him a beneficiary for her Director's Guild of America pension/retirement fund, which she did, only for Trahan to discover the collection had been "depleted down to nothing at the time of her death."

That wasn't the only disappointment Trahan discovered following his boss' passing - she had apparently reneged on her vow to offer him other financial compensation, including money to purchase his own home, worth $3.2 million, which she had allegedly picked out with her assistant.

Trahan is now demanding Marshall's estate executors honour her promises and provide him with the money for the house, pay his salary for the next 23 years, amounting to $2.3 million, and also compensate him for all the alleged unpaid overtime and missed breaks, which he believes is worth another $2.6 million.

Marshall's estate officials have yet to respond to the demands.