Teri Garr, an Oscar-nominated actress known for her work in films like “Young Frankenstein,” “Tootsie,” and “Mr. Mom,” has died, according to her manager. She was 79. More than twenty years after receiving a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, Garr passed away in Los Angeles on Tuesday, her manager Marc Gurvitz said. She first shared her diagnosis publicly in a 2002 interview in an effort to raise awareness for others living with MS.
“I believe that everyone feels scared and frightened when they hear something like that,” Garr said, recalling her initial diagnosis after visiting 11 doctors and experiencing years of symptoms they couldn’t explain. “That’s because there’s not a lot of information out there about it,” Garr explained. And a lot of people don’t know that it’s not that bad. I mean, I’m moving forward with my life.
The daughter of a Broadway performer and a Rockette, Garr studied dance growing up and began auditioning soon after she graduated from high school in Los Angeles. Her big break came in 1974, when she starred as Inga in the Mel Brooks-directed comedy hit “Young Frankenstein” alongside Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, and Marty Feldman.
Two years later, Garr played Ronnie Neary, a wife trying to understand her husband’s (Richard Dreyfuss) inexplicable obsession as the result of an alien encounter, in Steven Spielberg’s 1977 sci-fi epic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
In “Tootsie,” Garr played a put-upon struggling actress who was dating Dustin Hoffman’s protagonist, who in turn goes on to great fame pretending to be a woman on a soap opera. The role scored Garr a nomination for best supporting actress at the 1983 Academy Awards.
“I was proud,” Garr wrote of the nomination in her 2005 memoir, “Speedbumps: Flooring it Through Hollywood.” “The Academy not only knew I existed, they thought I was good!”
Also in 1983, she played advertising executive Caroline Butler in the rousing family comedy “Mr. Mom” alongside Michael Keaton. In the movie, Keaton’s character abruptly loses his job, forcing Garr’s Caroline to reenter the workforce.
Garr was known for her slightly addled and zany comic timing, which naturally made her the perfect candidate to play mother to Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe Buffay on “Friends.” Garr appeared in three episodes total over the third and fourth seasons.
“Teri Garr was a comedic acting genius who was and is a huge influence on me, and I know I’m not alone in that,” Kudrow said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that she feels “so lucky and grateful” that she got to work with the late actress.
Throughout the 2000s, Garr made guest appearances on “Felicity,” “ER,” and “Live with Bonnie.” She also delved into voice acting work in the early aughts, voicing the character of Mary McGinnis in the animated “Batman Beyond” TV series, as well as voicing Sandy Gordon in 2003’s “What’s New, Scooby Doo?” animated series. Garr’s final credit came in 2011 when she appeared on the TV series “How to Marry a Billionaire.” Through it all, Garr was a vocal advocate for people living with MS.
“I believe there are individuals who aim to cause you distress.” Not only am I not upset, but I’m okay. I don’t see any profit in being down; I don’t see that it gets you anywhere,” Garr reflected in an interview about the sense of optimism she maintained. “Maybe it has to do with my showPeople constantly criticize you, saying you’re not tall enough, not pretty enough, or something else entirely. tty enough, whatever. I would respond, “But I’m smart, I’m talented, I’m this, I’m that!” I’ve always been able to do that, and I do it now with MS.”