Teri Garr was a unique and welcome personality who shone in any role, big or small. She passed away Oct. 29 at 79 after dealing for decades with multiple schlerosis.
The daughter of a comedic actor father and a dancer/wardrobe mistress, Garr’s showbusiness roots ran deep. In the 1960s, the California native danced her way through five Elvis Presley movies, including “Viva Las Vegas” (1964) and “Clambake” (1967). She paid her dues with small roles on TV shows in the ’60s, including Batman, The Andy Griffith Show, Star Trek, That Girl and Room 222.
Her breakthrough year was 1974 when she appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s dramatic hit “The Conversation” as well as Mel Brooks comedy masterpiece “Young Frankenstein.” Right up to those films, she could still be spotted in promotional ads. In the 1973 ABC “Fall Preview” reel, for example, Garr is seen opening a refridgerator, comically distracted by the new hits coming that September to the ABC lineup.
“I’ve always had this American-pie face that would get work in commercials,” said Garr. “I’d say things like, ‘Hi, Marge, how’s your laundry?’ and ‘Hi, I’m a real nice Georgia peach.'”
In 1972, the actress and dancer was a regular on the summer replacement variety series The Ken Berry Wow Show. Around the same time, she was a recurring dancer and sketch player on another show from Canadian producers Allan and Garry Blye, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
For many fans, she’ll always be Inga, assistant to Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) in “Young Frankenstein.” Director Brooks apparently held her in reserve to play the role of Frankenstein’s flinty fiance Elizabeth. Then Madeline Kahn, so outstanding in Brooks’ other 1974 smash, “Blazing Saddles,” finally agreed to play that character. Brooks reportedly turned to Garr and told her if she could do a German accent, she could play the doctor’s ditzy assistant.
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Remembering Cher’s German makeup lady from working on that variety series, Garr took her cue and Inga had her voice.
Brooks was charmed. As he tweeted upon new of her passing: “Her humor and lively spirit made the ‘Young Frankenstein’ set a pleasure to work on. Her ‘German’ accent had us all in stitches! She will be greatly missed.”
The string of hits she subsequently worked on through the ’70s and ’80s were some of the most popular films of that era: “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), “Oh God!” (1977); “The Black Stallion” (1979), and “Tootsie” (1982), the latter earning her a supporting Academy Award nomination. “Mr. Mom” (1983) and Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” (1985) followed.
Garr’s wit and quirky charm made her a late night talk show favourite. She appeared on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson but it was on The Late Show with David Letterman where she became something of a cult figure. Some of these appearances seem problematic today, especially the occasion when Letterman, after pleading with her, managed to get Garr to use the shower in his office. (The entire episode, if I’m recalling it correctly, took place in that Rockefeller Plaza office space.) Letterman later apologised, welcoming Garr back in 2008 to his CBS late night show after she had gone public with her MS diagnosis.
Over the course of his two late night shows, Garr made 39 appearances with Letterman. To read an insider take on her relationship with the producers on those series (spoiler alert: they adored her), follow this link to the story posted Oct. 30 by Bill Carter on LateNighter.
Garr kept working as long as she could. Many will recall her later TV appearances, including three episodes as Phoebe’s mom on Friends (1997-98) as well as on ER and The Larry Sanders Show. Her voice can be heard as a caller on an episode of Frasier.
The actress’s 2006 autobiography, “Speedbumps: Flooring it Through Hollywood,” went into detail on her health and other issues. She announced her retirement in 2011. News of her passing sparked an outpouring of condolences on social media, including a tweet from her “Mr. Mom” co-star Michael Keaton:
“Forget about how great she was as an actress and comedienne,” Keaton tweeted. “She was a wonderful woman.”
