Teri Garr, ‘Young Frankenstein’ actress who battled MS, dies at 79

Teri Garr, the comedy actress who starred in “Tootsie” and “Young Frankenstein,” has died at 79.
Her publicist Heidi Schaeffer told USA TODAY that Garr died Tuesday morning “after a long battle with MS” and did so “peacefully surrounded by family and friends.” In 2002, Garr shared publicly on CNN’s “Larry King Live” that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which is commonly known as MS. 
Garr, the daughter of actor Eddie Garr and costume designer Phyllis Garr, started her career with small gigs in Elvis Presley movies before her scene-stealing performances in films such as “Young Frankenstein” and “Tootsie.” She received an Oscar best supporting actress nomination for the latter role.
Her numerous Hollywood admirers paid tribute on social media as news of her death spread.
“This is a day I feared and knew was coming,” her “Mr. Mom” co-star Michael Keaton posted on Instagram. “Forget about how great she was as an actress and comedienne. She was a wonderful woman. Not just great to work with but great to be around.” He urged fans to go back and watch her comedic work: “Man, was she great!!”
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“Teri was a legend. So funny, so beautiful, so kind,” wrote Paul Feig, who directed her in “Unaccompanied Minors,” wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I had the honor of working with her in 2006 and she was everything I dreamed she would be. Truly one of my comedy heroes. I couldn’t have loved her more.”
Garr was a favorite of talk-show hosts such as Johnny Carson and David Letterman, where her incandescent aura and quick wit often made for memorable appearances. In her many roles, Garr had a way of seeming simultaneously ditzy and savvy, clueless and clever.
The actress launched her career as a dancer, appearing on popular TV shows such as “Shindig!” and “Hullabaloo,” which capitalized on the ’60s rock craze. That soon translated into a range of often-brief television appearances on programs ranging from “The Andy Griffith Show” to “Star Trek,” before landing a regular role as an actress and dancer on the exceedingly popular “Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.”
Garr came into her own in the 1970s with roles in films that have gone on to be classics. Her talent allowed her to range across many genres, from Francis Ford Coppola’s intense drama “The Conversation” to Steven Spielberg’s alien epic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
But it was her performance in Mel Brooks’ classic horror flick spoof, “Young Frankenstein” (1974), that Garr truly shone. Playing Inga, the accented assistant to Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder), Garr was both a foil and a source of high comedy, including one memorable scene in which she asks Frankenstein if he would like a roll in the hay. He sputters at the offer, but she means it literally.
“It’s fun,” says Garr as Inga, suddenly rolling back and forth in a pile of hay. “Roll, roll, roll in zee hay.”
Director Mel Brooks, in his 2016 book, “Young Frankenstein: The Story of the Making of the Film,” recalled how he was immediately captivated by Garr when she auditioned.
“It was Gene, not me, who insisted we audition her,” he wrote. “I knew Teri would be sensational when she was reading the line where Cloris (Leachman) is removing the big steel restraints that kept the monster on the table. Teri was supposed to come down the steps and say, ‘No, no, you mustn’t.’ In Teri’s audition, with great fear in her voice she said, ‘No, no, you mozn’t!’ giving it just the right Transylvanian touch. She was perfect!
“Gene didn’t know he was funny, and Teri didn’t know she was sexy,” Brooks wrote. “She acted so innocently, like a little farm girl.”
The ’80s brought more top-notch Garr performances that would cement her reputation as a reliable and relatable box-office draw. In 1982, she appeared in “Tootsie,” playing opposite Dustin Hoffman whose title character finds that the only way to get a role is to dress up as a woman. Garr nabbed an Oscar nomination for her efforts, although she lost to her co-star Jessica Lange.
A year later, Garr played Keaton’s wife in “Mr. Mom,” the story of laid-off husband who winds up switching familial roles with his spouse. And in 1985, Garr played Julie, a waitress, who falls for Griffin Dunne’s lead character Paul in Martin Scorsese’s madcap film “After Hours,” which follows Paul through his manic Manhattan all-nighter.
Although Garr continued to act into the 1990s, appearing on TV shows such as “Friends” (playing Phoebe’s mother), her career slowed after she discovered that the muscular and cognitive symptoms she’d been experiencing were MS. She embarked upon a campaign to raise awareness of the disease, appearing on behalf of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Race to Erase MS, steadying herself on a cane or in a wheelchair.
Garr was married briefly between 1993 and 1996 to contractor John O’Neil, and the couple adopted a baby, Molly. In 2005, Garr released her autobiography, “Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood.” In 2006, she suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm that left her in a coma for a week. After working with a therapist, she regained her speech and motor skills and even appeared once again on Letterman’s show to promote her movie “Expired.”
Legendary New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael was notorious for skewering actors and directors alike. But she had only praise for Garr, aptly describing the actress “the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on the screen.”
Contributing: Kim Willis and Gary Levin
(This story has been updated with new information.)