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Oscar-nominated actor Teri Garr died on October 29 in Los Angeles at the age of 79. The veteran star was best known for movies like Young Frankenstein, Mr Mom and Tootsie.
According per media reports, Garr passed away after a 20-year-long battle with multiple sclerosis. She was "surrounded by family and friends" during her last hours, as stated by her publicist Heidi Schaeffer through a statement.
Friends and fans remember Teri Garr
Many social media users remembered her, along with writer-director Paul Feig who called her "truly one of my comedy heroes. I couldn’t have loved her more." Screenwriter Cinco Paul wrote, "Never the star, but always shining. She made everything she was in better."
Garr first spoke about suffering from the chronic autoimmune disease in 2002 aiming at raising awareness. In the recent years, the actor has been battling other health problems. She even underwent an operation in January 2007 to repair an aneurysm.
Teri Garr's career
Garr started her career as a background dancer in Elvis Presley movies. She first grabbed eyeballs for playing Inga, the assistant in Young Frankenstein, with her popular line “Vould you like to have a roll in ze hay?”
She eventually went on to gain popularity post Head in 1968, and became a regular on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in the 70s. Her major big screen stint started with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, following it up with Carl Reiner’s Oh, God!, Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, both in 1977. She also appeared in classic sitcom Friends, where she played Phoebe Abbot in three episodes between 1997 and 1998.
Garr eventually became a familiar face in dozens of TV shows and films during the 1970s-90s. Her comedic roles got her Academy Award nominations, and a British Academy Film Award.
Teri Garr on her career
"I was always resenting the fact that I was an “extra”, because in those days, working on those musicals, you personally had to study for 10 years to be a dancer," Garr said in a 2008 interview with AV Club. "And when you finally got a part as a dancer in a movie, you were put in the extras union," she added.