The “Tootsie” star of “Young Frankenstein” was 79 years old

Teri Garr, an Oscar-nominated actress who has capitalized on her charming volatility in films such as Tootsie And Young Frankenstein Before her career was derailed by multiple sclerosis, she died Tuesday. She was 79.

Garr, who started out as a background dancer working alongside Elvis Presley in several party films in the 1960s, died in Los Angeles “surrounded by family and friends,” publicist Heidi Schaeffer said.

Garr revealed that she had multiple sclerosis, a chronic degenerative disease of the nervous system, on CNN’s Larry King Show in October 2002, and four years later she underwent emergency surgery to treat a brain aneurysm. Her last screen appearance was in 2011.

Garr’s career breakthrough came as Gene Wilder’s pretty Transylvanian laboratory assistant in the Mel Brooks film. Young Frankenstein (1974). She received an Oscar nomination for supporting actress for her role as Dustin Hoffman’s insecure girlfriend in Sydney Pollack’s film. Tootsie (1982).

These films were ranked 13th and 2nd, respectively, on AFI’s list (released in 2000) of the funniest American films of all time.

Garr, whose flair for comedy was complemented by her ability to portray the underlying pain, also stood out as the girlfriend of Gene Hackman’s paranoid surveillance expert in Talk (1974); played the resilient wife of John Denver in the film by Carl Reiner. Oh God! (1977); was Richard Dreyfuss’s condescending sidekick in Steven Spielberg’s film. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); had an affair with Raul Julia in Francis Ford Coppola’s ill-fated musical One from the heart (1981); and was Michael Keaton’s working wife Mister Mom (1983), screenplay by John Hughes.

Garr dressed Elvis films such as Kissing cousins (1964), Viva Las Vegas (1964) and Clambake (1967) and was a pajama girl in the film starring Annette Funicello. pajama party (1964). During this time, the perky go-go actress danced in such popular musical series as Shindig! And Hulabalu and played the stumbling Statue of Liberty on roller skates during the 1970 summer show at Disneyland.

Much later, she had a recurring role on NBC. Friends as Lisa Kudrow’s former biological mother Phoebe.

Several publications give Terri Ann Garr’s date of birth as December 11, 1944. She was born in Lakewood, Ohio and had two older brothers. Her father, Eddie, was a vaudeville singer and dancer, and her mother, Phyllis (nickname: “Legs”), was a Radio City Music Hall rockette.

Her father died when she was 11, and the family moved frequently. Her mother worked in Hollywood in the costume department at NBC.

Garr studied ballet, and shortly after graduating from North Hollywood High School, she took a job in a traveling production West Side Story. She met actor, producer and choreographer David Winters, who would go on to cast her in many of his early films, and studied at the Actors Studio in New York, where she met Jack Nicholson.

In 1966-68, Garr received small roles on television. Batman, The Andy Griffith Show, Star Trek (in the 1968 episode “Destination: Earth”) and This girl and got her first film role in the film “Monkees”. Head (1968), co-authored with Nicholson.

Garr sang, danced and played various characters during the 1971-72 season. The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hourthen had recurring roles on two NBC shows: the short-lived sitcom Sally Field. Girl with something extra and as a nervous policewoman on Dennis Weaver’s Cop Show McCloud.

Wilder recommended Garr for the role of Inga in Young Frankenstein.

“Gene told me about this person Teri Garr, and we had some movie about Teri,” Brooks, who was filming his huge hit. Blazing Saddlesrecalled in 2014. “And I said, ‘She’s very pretty – can she act?’ And Jin said, “Who cares?” … Teri came in, read about half a page, and we both said, “Yay!”

“She had a line where Cloris (Leachman) was unbuckling the monster and freeing him, and Teri was on the stairs looking down and said, ‘No, no—you shouldn’t!’ Muznet? You’re hired!

Said Garr, who was looking for the role of Madeline Kahn in the film: “At first I didn’t know there was an accent, and (when she found out) I did Sonny and Cher. Cher’s hairdresser was German, and I just copied everything she said.”

She showed up to the audition wearing a bra stuffed with socks. “Today people pay over $5,000 for breast surgery. Mine was less than $5 at Woolworths and I got the role, my biggest to date,” she wrote in her 2005 memoir. Speed ​​Bumps: Driving Through Hollywood.

In the film, Garr uses “the roll roll roll in the hay” with Wilder’s Frederick Frankenstein and innocently wonders about the size of the monster’s shvonztucker (or something like that).

For TootsieGarr – who had a blast One from the heart — told Pollack that she would appear in the film only in the role of Julie (the role of Jessica Lange) and nothing else. But the director persuaded her to play Sandy.

“I squashed my inner diva, who said she would only accept the lead role, and took on a role that turned out to be one of the most rewarding of my life,” she wrote in her book. Lange was also nominated as a supporting actress in Tootsieand she won an Oscar.

Garr has also appeared in films such as Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), Black stallion (1979) and its 1983 sequel, Witch’s drink (1980), Sting II (1983), Firstborn (1984), After closing (1985), Miracles (1986), Full moon in blue water (1988), Waiting for the light (1990), Player (1992), Dumb and Dumber (1994), dick (1999) and Expired (2007).

When film roles became scarce, she starred in sitcoms in the 1990s. Good and Evil, Designing women spin off Women at home And Good advicebut they were all short-lived.

Garr accepted Saturday Night Live three times (in 1980, 1983 and 1985) and was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She also appeared frequently on David Letterman’s show; in 1985, during one of the episodes, she took a shower in his office.

“Dave reminded me of my older brothers; he was always trying to get under my skin and usually succeeded,” she wrote.

Garr, who dated and lived with producer and future MGM co-CEO Roger Birnbaum for several years, was married to contractor John O’Neill from 1993 until their divorce in 1996. They adopted a daughter, Molly.

Survivors also include her grandson Tyrin.

Garr was a national ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and led the society’s Women Against Multiple Sclerosis programs.

After being thrust into the Oscar spotlight, Garr wrote in her memoir, “In my opinion, everything went according to plan. But that’s not always the case, is it?

“My body had a couple of tricks up its sleeve. A stumble here, a tingling finger there. I was training to be a dancer and knew better than to indulge the random aches and pains that would strike me from time to time. Being a successful Hollywood actress can be difficult, but little did I know that my body, which has always been my calling card, would betray me.”