Teri Garr, the quirky comedy actor who rose from background dancer in Elvis Presley movies to co-star of such favorites as "Young Frankenstein" and "Tootsie," has died. She was 79.
Garr died Tuesday of multiple sclerosis "surrounded by family and friends," said publicist Heidi Schaeffer. Garr battled other health problems in recent years and underwent an operation in January 2007 to repair an aneurysm.
Admirers took to social media in her honour, with writer-director Paul Feig calling her "truly one of my comedy heroes. I couldn't have loved her more" and screenwriter Cinco Paul saying: "Never the star, but always shining. She made everything she was in better."
The actor, who was sometimes credited as Terri, Terry or Terry Ann during her long career, seemed destined for show business from her childhood.
Her father was Eddie Garr, a well-known vaudeville comedian; her mother was Phyllis Lind, one of the original high-kicking Rockettes at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Their daughter began dance lessons at 6 and by 14 was dancing with the San Francisco and Los Angeles ballet companies.
She was 16 when she joined the road company of "West Side Story" in Los Angeles, and as early as 1963 she began appearing in bit parts in films.
She recalled in a 1988 interview how she won the "West Side Story" role. After being dropped from her first audition, she returned a day later in different clothes and was accepted.
From there, Garr found steady work dancing in movies, and she appeared in the chorus of nine Presley films, including "Viva Las Vegas," "Roustabout" and "Clambake."
She also appeared on numerous television shows, including "Star Trek," "Dr. Kildare" and "Batman," and was a featured dancer on the rock `n' roll music show "Shindig," the rock concert performance T.A.M.I. and a cast member of "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour."
FILE - Actress is all smiles after being kissed by President Bush during a fundraising gala for the historic Ford's Theater in Washington, on March 20, 1991. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)
Her big film break came as Gene Hackman's girlfriend in 1974's Francis Ford Coppola thriller "The Conversation." That led to an interview with Mel Brooks, who said he would hire her for the role of Gene Wilder's German lab assistant in 1974's "Young Frankenstein" -- 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 recalled.
The film established her as a talented comedy performer, with New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael proclaiming her "the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on the screen."
Her big smile and off-center appeal helped land her roles in "Oh God!" opposite George Burns and John Denver, "Mr. Mom" (as Michael Keaton's wife) and "Tootsie" in which she played the girlfriend who loses Dustin Hoffman to Jessica Lange and learns that he has dressed up as a woman to revive his career. (She also lost the supporting actress Oscar at that year's Academy Awards to Lange.)
Although best known for comedy, Garr showed in such films as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "The Black Stallion" and "The Escape Artist" that she could handle drama equally well.
"I would like to play `Norma Rae' and `Sophie's Choice,' but I never got the chance," she once said, adding she had become typecast as a comic actor.
She had a flair for spontaneous humor, often playing David Letterman's foil during guest appearances on ABC's "Late Night With David Letterman" early in its run.
Her appearances became so frequent, and the pair's good-natured bickering so convincing, that for a time rumors cropped up that they were romantically involved. Years later, Letterman credited those early appearances with helping make the show a hit.
Actress Teri Garr speaks onstage during the 15th annual Race to Erase event in Los Angeles on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
Her appearances became so frequent, and the pair's good-natured bickering so convincing, that for a time rumors cropped up that they were romantically involved. Years later, Letterman credited those early appearances with helping make the show a hit.
It was also during those years that Garr began to feel "a little beeping or ticking" in her right leg. It began in 1983 and eventually spread to her right arm as well, but she felt she could live with it. By 1999 the symptoms had become so severe that she consulted a doctor. The diagnosis: multiple sclerosis.
For three years Garr didn't reveal her illness.
"I was afraid that I wouldn't get work," she explained in a 2003 interview. "People hear MS and think, `Oh, my God, the person has two days to live."'
American actress Teri Garr is seen in this April 1987 photo in Los Angeles, California. (AP Photo/Mark Terrill, File)
After going public, she became a spokesperson for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, making humorous speeches to gatherings in the U.S. and Canada.
"You have to find your center and roll with the punches because that's a hard thing to do: to have people pity you," she commented in 2005. "Just trying to explain to people that I'm OK is tiresome."
She also continued to act, appearing on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Greetings From Tucson," "Life With Bonnie" and other TV shows. She also had a brief recurring role on "Friends" in the 1990s as Lisa Kudrow's mother. After several failed romances, Garr married contractor John O'Neil in 1993. They adopted a daughter, Molly, before divorcing in 1996.
In her 2005 autobiography, "Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood," Garr explained her decision not to discuss her age.
"My mother taught me that showbiz people never tell their real ages. She never revealed hers or my father's," she wrote.
She said she was born in Los Angeles, although most reference books list Lakewood, Ohio. As her father's career waned, the family, including Teri's two older brothers, lived with relatives in the Midwest and East.
The Garrs eventually moved back to California, settling in the San Fernando Valley, where Teri graduated from North Hollywood High School and studied speech and drama for two years at California State University, Northridge.
Garr recalled in 1988 what her father had told his children about pursuing a career in Hollywood.
"Don't be in this business," he told them. "It's the lowest. It's humiliating to people."
Garr is survived by her daughter, Molly O'Neil, and a grandson, Tyryn.
------
Bob Thomas, a longtime Associated Press journalist who died in 2014, was the principal writer of this obituary. AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy contributed to this report.
Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet is starting to talk to other opposition parties about bringing down Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government.
An American presidential historian is maintaining his previous prediction of a Kamala Harris presidency as the U.S. election hits the one-week mark.
The Ontario government will give each taxpayer a $200 rebate. Premier Doug Ford made the announcement Tuesday and said the rebate will also extend to families with children, with an additional $200 per eligible child.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser says she shared the explosive allegations about Indian officials taking part in criminal activity in Canada with her counterpart in New Delhi before the RCMP went public with the news this month.
Edmonton Police Service (EPS) has dismantled one of the 鈥榤ost elaborate encampments鈥 officers have ever seen.
A recent case of measles detected in the Maritimes has a B.C. connection, provincial health officials say.
CNN says a right-wing commentator will not be welcomed back on air after he made a racist remark on 鈥淐NN NewsNight with Abby Phillip.鈥
Federal investigators have arrested six people and seized tens of thousands of illicit cannabis edibles disguised as popular brand-name candies after raiding a pair of unlicensed dispensaries in British Columbia.
Four teenagers, including a 12-year-old girl, are facing charges after police say they set an Oshawa, Ont. home on fire while the residents were inside.
Federal investigators have arrested six people and seized tens of thousands of illicit cannabis edibles disguised as popular brand-name candies after raiding a pair of unlicensed dispensaries in British Columbia.
Four teenagers, including a 12-year-old girl, are facing charges after police say they set an Oshawa, Ont. home on fire while the residents were inside.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have charged two suspects in connection with what they鈥檙e calling an 'extensive' fraud investigation linked to a COVID-19 vaccine database.
Canada Post workers overwhelmingly supported a strike mandate Monday, with workers potentially walking off the job on Nov. 3 if no deal is reached.
Opposition parties in Quebec City are calling for an emergency debate after more allegations of inappropriate sexual relations between staff in youth protection (DPJ) and minors.
The Ontario government will give each taxpayer a $200 rebate. Premier Doug Ford made the announcement Tuesday and said the rebate will also extend to families with children, with an additional $200 per eligible child.
With U.S. election day now a week away, Washington political analyst Eric Ham highlights five pertinent issues to watch for as the curtain comes down on this dramatic and spellbinding drama.
Donald Trump on Tuesday called his rally at New York's Madison Square Garden, an event marked by crude and racist insults by several speakers, a 'lovefest.'
A huge explosion of fireworks injured more than 150 people at a religious festival in a temple in southern India, a report said Tuesday.
A mother collecting a child crashed a car through a Melbourne school fence on Tuesday, fatally injuring one child and leaving four others seriously hurt, police said.
Pope Francis' child protection board called Tuesday for victims of clergy sexual abuse to have greater access to information about their cases and the right to compensation, in the first-ever global assessment of the Catholic Church's efforts to address the crisis.
CNN says a right-wing commentator will not be welcomed back on air after he made a racist remark on 鈥淐NN NewsNight with Abby Phillip.鈥
Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet is starting to talk to other opposition parties about bringing down Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser says she shared the explosive allegations about Indian officials taking part in criminal activity in Canada with her counterpart in New Delhi before the RCMP went public with the news this month.
A final report into missing children and unmarked graves at residential schools is calling on the federal government to create an Indigenous-led national commission with a 20-year mandate to investigate missing and disappeared Indigenous children.
A 15-year-old high school freshman is hospitalized with severe complications of food poisoning after eating McDonald鈥檚 Quarter Pounder hamburgers three times in the weeks before a deadly E. coli outbreak was detected.
A recent case of measles detected in the Maritimes has a B.C. connection, provincial health officials say.
A recall has been issued for gummy candies due to pieces of wood, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
A recently discovered comet that some stargazers had hoped to see during Halloween week has disintegrated before the day of ghosts and ghouls.
A vital glacier in western Antarctica appears to be smoking in a rare view captured by a NASA satellite earlier this month.
A first-of-its kind facility for Atlantic Canada dedicated to marine animal autopsies and sampling is opening in Seaforth, N.S.
Teri Garr, the quirky comedy actor who rose from background dancer in Elvis Presley movies to co-star of such favourites as 'Young Frankenstein' and 'Tootsie,' has died. She was 79.
A curator at a museum in New York City has discovered a previously unknown waltz written by Frederic Chopin, the first time that a new piece of work by the Polish composer has been found in nearly 100 years.
Shawn Mendes took some time during his concert in Colorado on Monday to address a personal topic.
Statistics Canada's latest financial security survey shows a stark disparity between the wealth of homeowners and renters, even as it fails to capture the true scale what's owned by Canada's richest families.
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming tops the list of China's richest people, according to the Hurun Research Institute, although many of them have seen their net worth plunge over the past year.
Volkswagen has informed employee representatives that it wants to close at least three plants in Germany, the head of the company's works council said Monday.
With Halloween around the corner, you might be surprised to learn that Canada is home to some very scary places, with towns having names that mention coffins, death and blood.
A young Toronto Maple Leafs fan's Auston Matthews Halloween costume is going viral and, if he plays his cards right, he could meet the newly-minted captain face-to-face.
Louisiana students Ne'Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson wowed their teachers in 2022 when they discovered a new way to prove the 2000-year-old Pythagorean theorem in response to a bonus question in a high school math contest. But that was only the beginning.
The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers will play Game 4 of the World Series.
A young Toronto Maple Leafs fan's Auston Matthews Halloween costume is going viral and, if he plays his cards right, he could meet the newly-minted captain face-to-face.
Walking from his apartment to classes and then to the University of Florida鈥檚 basketball facility, Olivier Rioux poses for dozens 鈥 sometimes hundreds 鈥 of pictures a day.
Volkswagen has informed employee representatives that it wants to close at least three plants in Germany, the head of the company's works council said Monday.
A 17-year-old Ottawa driver was caught speeding nearly 90 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417.
Based on initial appearances, there are signs indicating the automobile industry is in healthy shape 鈥 for now.
Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.
Witches and warlocks have been flocking to New Brunswick waterways this month, as a new Halloween tradition ripples across the province.
New Brunswicker Jillea Godin鈥檚 elaborate cosplay pieces attract thousands to her online accounts, as well as requests from celebrities for their own pieces.
A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.
Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A recent case of measles detected in the Maritimes has a B.C. connection, provincial health officials say.
Mounties in Surrey say a driver that hit a pedestrian Monday night is believed to have been impaired by alcohol.
Rescuers with the Vancouver Aquarium freed a sea lion last week from what they say was one of the worst entanglements they鈥檝e ever encountered.
The Ontario government will give each taxpayer a $200 rebate. Premier Doug Ford made the announcement Tuesday and said the rebate will also extend to families with children, with an additional $200 per eligible child.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have charged two suspects in connection with what they鈥檙e calling an 'extensive' fraud investigation linked to a COVID-19 vaccine database.
A pest control company ranked the 'rattiest' cities and boroughs across Canada, and Toronto continues to reign supreme.
A new report says when the province deregulated electricity generation in 2001, it forced Albertans to pay billions more for their power.
Many Canadian restaurants owners say the government needs to come up with specific rules for tipping that are 'clear and transparent' for employees and customers alike, a new survey suggests.
Premier Danielle Smith says she is taking steps to keep Albertans warm this winter while keeping their utility bills low.
Police say the homicide unit is investigating after a man was stabbed and later died Monday night. A 58-year-old woman has been arrested.
Advocates are calling on the province for more transparency and oversight as the investigation continues into an eastern Ontario cat rescue accused of abuse, neglect and falsifying medical records.
The O-Train opened in Ottawa鈥檚 east end in time for the afternoon commute, after crews chipped away some loose concrete on the south side of the tunnel at St. Laurent Station.
Walking from his apartment to classes and then to the University of Florida鈥檚 basketball facility, Olivier Rioux poses for dozens 鈥 sometimes hundreds 鈥 of pictures a day.
Quebec wants to cut its share of international students to ease housing pressure and protect the French language, but a recent uptick in study permits has mostly gone to people from francophone countries where the province has explicitly sought to attract more students.
The Coalition Avenir Qu茅bec鈥檚 Sylvie D鈥橝mours said she shut her office down Tuesday after its windows were shot at.
Premier Danielle Smith says she is taking steps to keep Albertans warm this winter while keeping their utility bills low.
Edmonton Police Service (EPS) has dismantled one of the 鈥榤ost elaborate encampments鈥 officers have ever seen.
Kyle Edward Ball, the writer and director of horror flick Skinamarink, will make his next movie with A24, the company behind Everything Everywhere All At Once and Hereditary.
The leaders of Nova Scotia鈥檚 three main political parties were on the campaign trail Tuesday after Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston called a snap election over the weekend.
The family of a Halifax Walmart employee who was found dead inside an oven in the store is still waiting for answers more than a week after her death.
A 43-year-old Nova Scotia man is facing child pornography charges after border agents seized a child sex doll from Japan earlier this month.
For the second time in as many days, a woman was carjacked in Winnipeg.
An inmate who escaped from a Manitoba jail Monday night is back in custody after a brief manhunt.
An encampment along the Assiniboine River was cleaned up on Monday following a fire.
The Saskatchewan Party has maintained its hold onto power, battling its way to a fifth consecutive majority government.
RCMP are looking for two people after a robbery in Whitewood, Sask. that saw a man run over with his own vehicle that had been stolen.
The Saskatchewan Party secured its fifth straight majority government Monday, with only two constituencies too close for 麻豆影视 to call as night turned to morning.
The Guelph Police Service Drug Enforcement Unit began investigations earlier this month following complaints about drug trafficking and illegal drug use downtown.
A Guelph, Ont. man is celebrating a major milestone while playing the game he loves.
Norfolk County Ontario Provincial Police say three people entered the home where they 鈥渋nteracted with seven occupants,鈥 some of whom reported minor injuries.
The Saskatchewan Party has maintained its hold onto power, battling its way to a fifth consecutive majority government.
Six students were seriously injured and one student was airlifted to hospital in Saskatoon following a school bus crash near Tisdale, Sask. on Monday afternoon.
The Saskatchewan Party secured its fifth straight majority government Monday, with only two constituencies too close for 麻豆影视 to call as night turned to morning.
Three suspects arrested in West Nipissing earlier this year were part of a group of five who robbed banks across the province, Ontario Provincial Police said Tuesday.
The Ontario government will give each taxpayer a $200 rebate. Premier Doug Ford made the announcement Tuesday and said the rebate will also extend to families with children, with an additional $200 per eligible child.
A Midland senior has resorted to living in her shed out of desperation
The results were tighter than almost everyone thought they鈥檇 be in a vote on if South Bruce would be a willing host to the Canada鈥檚 first permanent nuclear waste storage.
The London Police Service is looking for a suspect in connection to a hate-motivated assault investigation.
On Oct. 22 around 1:20 a.m. police responded to a home in the area of Talbot Street and Horton Street where the homeowner said they received a notification from the doorbell camera.
The headliners for the region鈥檚 biggest outdoor country music festival are locked in, and once again, the multi-day event has garnered big names.
Five people face a total of 53 charges for their alleged involvement in eight bank robberies across Ontario where more than $2 million was stolen.
Provincial police want residents to keep their doors and windows locked after reports of a man trying to gain entry to homes in the Township of Georgian Bluffs.
A Devonshire Mall spokesperson has confirmed that staff are aware of social media posts showing cockroaches crawling near guests' food at the mall.
Windsor Police are renewing their call for help from the public to solve a city homicide.
The Windsor police is searching for an outstanding suspect in connection to a $64,000 bank fraud investigation. One person has been arrested and charged.
Federal investigators have arrested six people and seized tens of thousands of illicit cannabis edibles disguised as popular brand-name candies after raiding a pair of unlicensed dispensaries in British Columbia.
Rescuers with the Vancouver Aquarium freed a sea lion last week from what they say was one of the worst entanglements they鈥檝e ever encountered.
The final count has been completed in B.C.'s nail-biting 2024 election, with incumbent Premier David Eby managing to clinch another victory for the NDP.
More than two years after Alannah Brown and Douglas Barker were found dead north of Penticton, police are asking for help identifying a vehicle they believe was associated with the crime.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
Food Banks Canada's annual Hunger Count report shows more Canadians than ever are resorting to food banks.
RCMP say a Medicine Hat man was killed in a collision between an SUV and a motorcycle in southeast Alberta on Sunday evening.
A tentative agreement has been reached between the City of Lethbridge and more than 900 employees belonging to CUPE Local 70.
The Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority is issuing a flood outlook statement to residents regarding current watershed conditions.
An early morning complaint of a man slumped over the steering wheel of a minivan with its engine running in Elliot Lake last week led to impaired driving charges and drug seizures.
Sept. 13 became a lucky day for two women from the remote First Nation community of Kashechewan after winning a big lottery prize.
Teams are facing off in a new eastern Newfoundland hockey league aiming to bring competitive play 鈥 and a few extra years on the ice 鈥 for young women in the province.
Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland earlier on the weekend.
Police in western Newfoundland say a 77-year-old man visiting the province from Kansas is missing after a fire at a hotel in Deer Lake, N.L.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 麻豆影视. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.
