On Tuesday, October 29, 2024, Teri Garr, an actress who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in the film “Tootsie,” passed away in Los Angeles, California. Garr, 79, succumbed to complications from multiple sclerosis, a disease she had been fighting for numerous years.
Born to actor Eddie Garr and costume designer Phyllis Garr, Teri Garr’s career in the entertainment industry began as a dancer in Elvis Presley movies. She later moved on to speaking roles in TV shows and films. Her career gained momentum with her roles in prominent movies of the 1970s and ’80s, including playing Inga in “Young Frankenstein”, and later culminating in an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Tootsie.”
In the early 1980s, while filming “Tootsie,” Garr began to experience subtle symptoms nearly two decades before she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. These included unexpected tripping while running or jogging in the park, which she attributed to her toe, and intermittent tingling in her arm.
As Garr explained in a 2002 interview, her journey to diagnosis was difficult due to the subtle and sporadic nature of her symptoms. Initially, her limp was mistaken for an orthopedic problem or a pinched nerve. After seeing 11 doctors, she was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, as she revealed to Closer Weekly.
Garr made her condition public in 2002 and took on the role of spokesperson for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her advocacy work involved raising awareness about the disease and encouraging others who were living with it.
In 2006, Garr faced another health challenge when she had a brain aneurysm that resulted in a coma for a week, forcing her to relearn basic skills such as walking and talking. Despite these hurdles, Garr’s sense of humor remained intact. She saw her health difficulties as an “odd gift” that prompted her to “stop and settle down and focus.”
Throughout her career, Garr collaborated with renowned directors such as Mel Brooks, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola. Her witty exchanges with the host on “Late Night with David Letterman” also contributed to the show’s success.
In her later years, Garr played the recurring role of Phoebe’s mother on the sitcom “Friends” and made appearances on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” She continued to act until her retirement in 2011, following complications from her brain aneurysm.
According to Garr, when a serious film she worked on did not perform well, she would return to comedy. She was determined to keep trying, seeking new opportunities in the industry. She believed that the goal was to be an actor, not just a movie star, and to find fulfillment in taking on roles and pushing boundaries. In her view, achieving movie star status was akin to winning a lottery, a matter of being at the right place at the right time.
Teri Garr is survived by her daughter, Molly, whom she adopted during her marriage to contractor John O’Neil in the 1990s, and a grandson.
