Teri Garr, ‘Young Frankenstein’ and ‘Tootsie’ star, dies at 79

Teri Garr, the Oscar-nominated comedic actress best known for her spirited performances in such classics as “Young Frankenstein,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Tootsie,” died Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to her publicist and friend Heidi Schaeffer.

She was 79. The cause of death was complications from multiple sclerosis, Schaeffer said.

Garr was open about her experience with MS, a health trial she chronicled in the 2005 autobiography “Speedbumps: Flooring it Through Hollywood.”

In a screen career that spanned more than 40 years, Garr endeared himself to audiences with his quirky on-screen persona and quick wit. She was a familiar face on sitcoms and late-night talk shows, including NBC’s “The Tonight Show” during the Johnny Carson era.

Trained as a ballet dancer, Garr launched her Hollywood career as an uncredited go-go dancer in six musicals starring Elvis Presley.

In the early 1970s, Garr shifted to more substantial acting roles and collaborated with some of the leading filmmakers of the decade.

The year 1974 was pivotal: Garr turned in a supporting turn in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” and played Gene Wilder’s German-accented assistant Inga in Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein,” a black-and-white parody of Hollywood horror films.

Garr’s profile rose further after Steven Spielberg cast her as Richard Dreyfuss’ wife in the science fiction blockbuster Close Encounters. Garr’s character watches in confusion as her husband becomes increasingly fixated on UFOs.

Sydney Pollack’s “Tootsie” earned Garr an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She played a neurotic acting student whose heart is broken by Dustin Hoffman’s character, a struggling artist who disguises himself as a woman to land a role on a soap opera.

Garr also teamed up with Martin Scorsese (“After Hours”) and Robert Altman (“Prêt-à-Porter”); Coppola made her the center of the 1982 surrealist musical “One from the Heart,” a box-office disaster that contemporary critics have praised.

Younger viewers may be more familiar with Garr thanks to her role opposite Michael Keaton in “Mr. Mom” ​​as well as her recurring role on the NBC sitcom “Friends” as Lisa Kudrow’s estranged mother.

Teri Ann Garr was born on December 11, 1944 in Ohio; her father was a vaudeville performer and her mother was a dancer. The family eventually settled in the Los Angeles area, where Garr’s father died of a heart attack when she was young. Garr trained in the art of ballet before going to New York City to try acting.

She got her first speaking role in 1968’s “Head,” a zany satirical musical starring The Monkees and written by Jack Nicholson.

Garr’s early work on the small screen included appearances on the 1960s incarnation of “Batman,” an episode of the original “Star Trek” and the variety show “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.”

“I’m always in a rush for the next job,” Garr wrote in his autobiography.

Garr’s stubbornness paid off and she remained prolific throughout her screen career. Pauline Kael, the legendary film critic for The New Yorker, once hailed Garr as “perhaps the funniest, most neurotic giddy lady on the screen.”

Garr announced her multiple sclerosis diagnosis on national television in October 2002. She later became an important advocate for MS awareness, traveling the country to speak to doctors and patients about her experiences.

“I think everyone is scared and scared when they hear something like that,” Garr told CNN in 2002. “It’s because there’s so much — you know, there’s not a lot of information out there about it. And a lot of people don’t know that it’s not that bad. I mean, I’m going on with my life.”

In late 2006, Garr suffered a brain aneurysm that altered her speech and motor skills.

She retired from acting in 2011, but her legacy continued to loom large over the comedy world, inspiring younger female comedians.

“The person I always think of is Teri Garr,” was Tina Fey once quoted as saying. “There was a time when Teri Garr was in everything. She was adorable, but also very real. Her body was real, her teeth were real, and you thought she could be your friend.”