Teri Garr, dead at 79

Posted October 29, 2024Oct 29

Teri Garr, known for her work in "Young Frankenstein" and "Tootsie," died Tuesday in Los Angeles. She was 79.

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Garr's publicist confirmed to The Associated Press that the comedian died of complications due to multiple sclerosis.

She began her career in the entertainment industry as a background dancer in a number of Elvis Presley movies, and went on to earn an Academy Award nomination for her role as Sandy Lester in the 1982 Dustin Hoffman comedy, "Tootsie."

Actress Teri Garr died Tuesday of complications due to multiple sclerosis. She was 79. (Getty Images)

The daughter of Eddie Garr, a well-known vaudeville comedian and Phyllis Lind, one of the original Rockettes at New York's Radio City Music Hall, Garr seemed destined for show business.

She appeared in nine Elvis Presley movies, including "Viva Las Vegas," "Roustabout" and "Clambake."

While Garr was a featured dancer on "Shindig," and performed as a cast member on "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour," her first big film break came as Gene Hackman's girlfriend in the 1974 Francis Ford Coppola thriller, "The Conversation."

Mel Brooks said he would hire her as Gene Wilder's lab assistant in "Young Frankenstein," only if she could speak with a German accent.

"Cher had this German woman, Renata, making wigs, so I got the accent from her," Garr once remembered.

The gig turned her into a comedy queen, and landed her roles in "Mr. Mom" with Michael Keaton, "Out Cold" with John Lithgow, and "Mom and Dad Save the World."

Garr was a regular on the talk show circuit, and appeared on "The David Letterman Show." (Getty Images)

Garr earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in "Tootsie." (Getty Images)

With more than 150 acting credits to her name, she earned acclaim on television too, working as Roberta Lincoln in "Star Trek," Sgt. Phyllis Norton in the TV series "McCloud," "Good & Evil," and "Women of the House."

She also had a memorable guest stint on the NBC sitcom "Friends," portraying the mother of Lisa Kudrow. Garr's last credited role was in the 2011 TV series, "How to Marry a Billionaire."

Garr revealed her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2002, and survived emergency brain aneurysm surgery four years later. Soon after, she became a spokeswoman for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and would often give speeches at gatherings in the United States and Canada.

Garr was a spokeswoman for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. (Getty Images)

She shared details of her diagnosis in her 2005 autobiography, "Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood."

"My body had a trick or two up its sleeve," Garr wrote. "A stumble here, a tingling finger there. I was trained as a dancer and knew better than to indulge the random aches and pains that visited now and then. Being a successful Hollywood actress may be challenging, but little did I know that the very body that had always been my calling card would betray me."

I won't say that I had a 'crush' on her when I was a kid, but I always thought she was pretty. First thing I ever saw her in was an episode of the original Star Trek. I think the first movie I remember seeing her in was either Young Frankenstein or maybe Mr. Mom.