Teri Garr, a quirky comedic actress who started out as a background dancer in Elvis Presley films and went on to co-star in such hits as young frankenstein and clairvoyanceDied. She was 79 years old.
Garr died Tuesday of multiple sclerosis surrounded by family and friends, publicist Heidi Schaeffer said. Garr has battled other health issues in recent years and had surgery to repair an aneurysm in January 2007.
Fans took to social media to pay tribute to her, with writer-director Paul Feig calling her “truly one of my comedy heroes.” I couldn’t love her more,” said screenwriter Cinco Paul. “It’s not a star, but it always shines. She made everything she was a part of better.”
The actor, sometimes credited as Terri, Terry or Terry Ann during her long career, seemed destined for show business from an early age.
Her father was Eddie Garr, a famous vaudeville comedian. Her mother was Phyllis Lind, one of the original High Kick Rockets at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Their daughter began dance lessons at age 6, and by age 14 was dancing with the San Francisco and Los Angeles Ballets.
She was 16 when she joined the road company. West Side Story In Los Angeles, starting in 1963 she began appearing in small roles in films.
She recalled how she won in a 1988 interview. West Side Story role. After failing the first audition, he came back a day later wearing different clothes and passed.
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From there, the blonde, statuesque Garr found steady dancing work in films, and she appeared in the chorus of nine Presley films, including: Long live Las Vegas, Roost About and clam bake.
She has also appeared in numerous television shows, including: star trek, Kildare Dr. and batmanAppeared as a featured dancer on rock and roll music shows. shindigRock concert performance TAMI and cast Sonny and Cher Comedy Time.
Her big movie break came as Gene Hackman’s girlfriend in the 1974 Francis Ford Coppola thriller. conversation. This led Mel Brooks to say he would hire her in 1974 to serve as Gene Wilder’s German lab assistant. young frankenstein — If only she could speak with a German accent.
“There was a German woman, Renata, who made wigs for Cher, so I got the accent from her,” Garr recalled.
The film established her as a talented comedic performer, with New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael declaring her “the funniest neurotic dizzy woman on screen.”
Her big smile and off-center charm helped land her the role. Oh my goodness! Opposite George Burns and John Denver; Mr. Mom (as Michael Keaton’s wife) and clairvoyance She played Dustin Hoffman’s lost girlfriend to Jessica Lange, only to discover that he had dressed as a woman to revive his career. (She also lost the Best Supporting Actress award to Lang at that year’s Academy Awards.)
Although best known for comedies, Garr has also appeared in films such as: Type 3 Close Encounters, black stallion and escape artist The thing is, she can handle drama equally well.
“I want to play Norma Ray and Sophie’s ChoiceBut I never had a chance,” she once said, adding that she was typecast as a comic actor.
She had an impromptu sense of humor, often playing David Letterman’s foil during her guest appearances on NBC. Late Night with David Letterman Early execution.
Her appearances were so frequent and the pair’s good-natured bickering so compelling that for a time it was rumored that they were romantically involved. Years later, Letterman credited these early appearances with helping make the show a hit.
It was during that period that Garr began to feel “a little beeping or ticking” in his right leg. It started in 1983 and eventually spread to her right arm, but she felt she could tolerate the symptoms. In 1999, my symptoms became so severe that I consulted a doctor. Diagnosis: Multiple sclerosis.
Garr did not disclose his illness for three years.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t get a job,” she explained in a 2003 interview. “People hear MS and think, ‘Oh my God, this person has two days left to live.’”
After going public, she became a spokesperson for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, giving humorous speeches at meetings in the United States and Canada.
“You have to find your center and throw the punches,” she said in 2005. “Because it’s hard to get people to feel sorry for you. Just explaining to people that I’m okay is boring.”
She also continued to appear in acting. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Greetings from Tucson., Life with Bonnie And other TV shows. She also had recurring roles in: friend In the 1990s, she played Lisa Kudrow’s mother. After several failed romances, Garr married contractor John O’Neill in 1993. They adopted daughter Molly before divorcing in 1996.
In her 2005 autobiography Speedbumps: Flooring through HollywoodGarr explained his decision not to mention his age.
“My mother taught me that celebrities never reveal their real age. She never disclosed any information about herself or her father,” she wrote.
She said she was born in Los Angeles, although most references list Lakewood, Ohio. As her father’s career declined, the family, including Teri’s two older brothers, lived with relatives in the Midwest and East.
The Garrs eventually returned to California and settled in the San Fernando Valley. From there, Teri graduated from North Hollywood High School and studied speech and theater for two years at California State University, Northridge.
Garr recalled her father talking to his children in 1988 about pursuing a career in Hollywood.
“Don’t get into this business,” he told them. “It is the lowest. “It’s humiliating for people.”
Garr is survived by his daughter Molly O’Neil and grandson Tyryn.
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AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy contributed to this report.
