Teri Garr, actress, comedian and multiple sclerosis ambassador, has died at the age of 79

Teri Garr, an actress and comedian who later became an ambassador for multiple sclerosis after her own diagnosis in 1999, died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 79 years old and died from complications related to multiple sclerosis.

Garr began her entertainment career as a dancer in nine Elvis Presley films, including Live in Las Vegas AND Clambake. She moved from dancing to acting with small roles Dr. Kildare, Orderly, Star Trek, that girl, The Bob Newhart Show AND Maude.

“It achieved many of the pinnacles of the period in terms of high-quality television,” noted Kelly Kessler, associate professor of media and cinema studies at DePaul University. “But then we see her emerge, making a natural transition from the early dancing she did in Elvis movies… to the 1970s TV variety scene where she performs alongside Cher and the Pointer Sisters.”

Garr starred in some of the greatest films of her time, including: Conversation, Mr. Mom, God!AND Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But her breakthrough role was the sexy Inga Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks.

“And I think she got the role just as a cattle call,” Kessler said.

Marty Feldman słucha serca Gene'a Wildersa, gdy Teri Garr przygląda się scenie z filmu <em>Young Frankenstein</em>.” data-image-size=”articleImage” srcset=”https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cf09590/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4381×3286+0+0/resize/1584×1188!/quality /90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F03%2F16%2Fgettyimages-505631825-ad89dea447c944d20ac37ff00dc518c675321882.jpg 2x” width=”792″ height=” 594″ src=” https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9f266f9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4381×3286+0+0/resize/792×594!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia. npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F03%2F16%2Fgettyimages-505631825-ad89dea447c944d20ac37ff00dc518c675321882.jpg” loading=”lazy” bad-src=”data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2Zy B4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSI1OTRweCIgd2lkdGg9Ijc5MnB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=”/></p>
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<p>Marty Feldman listens to Gene Wilders’ heart as Teri Garr examines a scene from the film <em>Young Frankenstein</em>.</p>
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Garr earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Dustin Hoffman’s neurotic girlfriend, Sandy, in the 1982 film Tootsie. Martie Cook, who teaches comedy at Emerson College, stated that Garr refined and inverted the “smart, dumb blonde” stereotype. Her grim intelligence tempered the cheesy roles Garr often played.

“She had this weakness where the audience really liked her. I thought her performance as Sandy was just amazing,” Cook said. “By taking this character to another level, she actually helped open the door for roles like Phoebe Friends.”

Garr showed up later Friends as Phoebe Buffay’s biological mother. “It was perfect casting,” Cook said. “She kind of helped define the role of writers for Phoebe.”

Teri Garr (z prawej) grała mamę Lisy Kudrow w przebojowym serialu komediowym z lat 90. <em>Friends.</em>” data-image-size=”articleImage” srcset=”https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ff39ace/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2126×1595+0+0/resize/1584×1188!/quality/ 90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F03%2F16%2Fgettyimages-907734-d6ef643c1303c8d5c732b90a21ce2d64269abe84.jpg 2x” width=”792″ height=”59 4″ src=”https ://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/340306e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2126×1595+0+0/resize/792×594!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr .org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2021%2F03%2F16%2Fgettyimages-907734-d6ef643c1303c8d5c732b90a21ce2d64269abe84.jpg” loading=”lazy” bad-src=”data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4b Wxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSI1OTRweCIgd2lkdGg9Ijc5MnB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=”/></p>
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<p>Teri Garr (right) played Lisa Kudrow’s mom on the hit 1990s sitcom <em>Friends.</em></p>
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After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, Garr continued to work. The last part of her career was very similar to the beginning, with small roles in big TV shows. After her memoir was released in 2005, Garr told WHYY’s Fresh air that her acting life unexpectedly prepared her for life with chronic illness.

“Because when you start in Hollywood, 99% of the time you say, ‘Get out of here!’ rejection and you have to develop the rhinoceros skin,” Garr said. “But you always have to keep the butterfly spirit within you.”

Garr may be “a comic genius that has been overlooked for many generations,” Kessler says. “If you weren’t around and paying attention to what she was doing in the ’70s and ’80s, you missed it.”