Teri Garr, Actress Known for ’Young Frankenstein’ and ‘Tootsie,’ Dies at 79

Teri Garr.
Teri Garr.

Actress Teri Garr, whose offbeat comedic talents earned her an Oscar nomination for Tootsie in 1982, has died after a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 79.

She died Tuesday from complications of the disease, surrounded by her family and friends, the Associated Press reported. She had first shared her diagnosis in 2002, underwent surgery for an aneurysm in 2007, and had battled other health challenges in recent years.

Garr, whose quirky style of humor influenced a generation of comedians, including Tina Fey, began her career as a background dancer in Elvis Presley’s movies. Over the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, she earned prominent roles in high-profile comedies like Young Frankenstein and dramas like Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Garr came from a show-business family. Her father, Eddie Garr, was a vaudevillian, while her mother, Phyllis Lind, was one of the original Rockettes. By the age of 14, Garr was already dancing with the San Francisco and Los Angeles ballet companies.

Garr was known for faux-bickering with David Letterman in the early days of his talk-show career.
Garr was known for faux-bickering with David Letterman in the early days of his talk-show career.

Her first major acting role was in the 1974 Francis Coppola film The Conversation, and her performance helped her land the gig that would introduce her to a broader audience—Inga, the German-accented lab assistant in the 1974 horror-comedy Young Frankenstein.

As an established comedic talent, she made notable appearances as Dustin Hoffman’s girlfriend in Tootsie in 1982 and as Michael Keaton’s wife in Mr. Mom in 1983. Garr, who worried about being typecast as a comic actor, proved her dramatic chops in films like Close Encounters and The Escape Artist.

She was also known for a string of amusing appearances on the early days of the “Late Night With David Letterman” in the 80s, in which she and the then-up-and-coming host would cheekily bicker.

Garr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, and made it public in 2002.
Garr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, and made it public in 2002.

In 1983, she noticed a ticking sensation in her right leg. Eventually, it spread, and when the symptoms became unbearable, in 1999, Garr went to the doctor and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She didn’t share the diagnosis publicly for three years.

“I was afraid that I wouldn’t get work,” she said in 2003, per the AP. “People hear MS and think, ‘Oh, my God, the person has two days to live.’”

Garr became a spokesperson for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, delivering humorous talks at meetings across the U.S. She also continued to act, appearing in a number of prominent TV roles, including three episodes as Phoebe Buffay’s biological mother on the hit 90s sitcom Friends.

She is survived by her daughter, Molly O’Neil, and a grandson, AP reported.