Terri Garr, the Oscar-nominated actress who delivered unforgettable comic performances in classics like Young Frankenstein and Tootsie, has died at 79.
Garr, who had been retired for years, died of multiple sclerosis, a disease she had battled for over 20 years. Her publicist Heidi Schaeffer told AP that Garr died “surrounded by family and friends.”
Teri Garr was born December 11, 1944 in Lakewood, Ohio, to a showbiz family: her father Eddie was a vaudeville comedian and actor, and her mother Phyllis was a Radio City Rockette. Garr was trained in dancing from a young age, and after high school moved to New York City to study acting.
Garr found early success as a dancer: she was cast in a touring production of West Side Story and made many early film and TV appearances as a background dancer, including in six Elvis Presley films, most notably Viva Las Vegas.
She got her first speaking role when Jack Nicholson cast her in The Monkees’ 1968 film Head, and said her “big break” was appearing in an episode of Star Trek. She played the wife of Gene Hackman’s character in the acclaimed Francis Ford Coppola film The Conversation.
In 1974, she appeared in one of her most iconic roles, playing Inga in Mel Brooks’ comedy Young Frankenstein. The beloved parody was the first real showcase of Garr’s comedic talents, as she turns bits like “roll, roll roll in ze hay!” into classic movie moments. Critics took notice: Pauline Kael called her “the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on the screen.”
Continuing to work with some of the era’s biggest directors, she was cast in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as the wife of Richard Dreyfuss’ character. She also had a memorable supporting role in Martin Scorsese’s cult classic comedy After Hours.
Another one of her most iconic roles was in the smash hit 1982 comedy Tootsie, playing Sandy, the neurotic struggling actress who dates Dustin Hoffman’s character Michael Dorsey. Garr received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film. “I was proud,” Garr later wrote her 2005 memoir Speedbumps. “The Academy not only knew I existed, they thought I was good!” (Garr lost the Oscar to Tootsie co-star Jessica Lange.)
Garr was also cast in comedies like the Michael Keaton vehicle Mr. Mom, but later expressed some dissatisfaction with the “long-suffering doormat” roles she was often typecast into.
“They only write those parts for women. If there’s ever a woman who’s smart, funny, or witty, people are afraid of that, so they don’t write that,” she told AV Club in 2008. “They only write parts for women where they let everything be steamrolled over them, where they let people wipe their feet all over them. Those are the kind of parts I play, and the kind of parts that there are for me in this world. In this life.”
Still, Garr remained a favorite comic star for decades. She made frequent appearances on Saturday Night Live and Late Night With David Letterman, and appeared on TV shows that introduced her to generations of new fans — most notably her recurring role on Friends as Phoebe Buffay’s birth mother, Phoebe Abbott.
In the late 1990s, Garr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; she went public with her diagnosis in 2002. “I’m telling my story for the first time so I can help people,” she told CNN at the time. “I can help people know they aren’t alone and tell them there are reasons to be optimistic because, today, treatment options are available.”
Garr became an advocate for the disease, serving as National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and National Chair for the Society’s Women Against MS program (WAMS). Her MS diagnosis slowed down her acting career, and she retired in 2011.
Garr leaves behind a legacy as a comedy legend who has inspired many of the stars who followed in her wake: Tina Fey and Jenna Fischer are among the many actresses who have cited her as an influence. Young Frankenstein, Tootsie and After Hours continue to be acclaimed as some of the all-time best comedy films, and Garr is a stand-out in all of them.
Rest in peace to the incredible Teri Garr, who gave us so many unforgettable performances and was a major advocate for people with MS.
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