American actor Teri Garr was known for her comedic roles in film and television.
Comic actor Teri Garr passed away on Tuesday in Los Angeles, California at 79 years old. She had been battling multiple sclerosis (MS) for years and retired from acting in 2011.
In a statement to People, her publicist Heidi Schaeffer shared that Garr died of the disease while “surrounded by family and friends.”
Many may know her as Phoebe Buffay’s estranged birth mother on the hit sitcom Friends. She was also nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1982 film Tootsie.
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“Teri Garr was a comedic acting genius who was and is a huge influence on me and I know I’m not alone in that,” Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe, also told People. “I feel so lucky and grateful I got to work with Teri Garr.”
Life and Legacy
Born in LA on December 11, 1944, Garr grew up with parents who were both performers. Her father was an actor and comedian while her mother was a dancer and model.
In her youth, she devoted her time to dance, training extensively in ballet. Later, she moved to New York City to pursue acting, studying at the Actors Studio and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.
Early in her career, she worked as a dancer in a series of Elvis Presley films in the 1960s. Her movie career then took off with the 1974 film Young Frankenstein. Some of her later films include Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mr. Mom, After Hours, and Let It Ride.
Her final projects were the independent comedies Expired and Kabluey, both in 2007, and an appearance on How to Marry a Billionaire in 2011.
After being diagnosed with MS, she published a memoir titled Speedbumps in 2005. “We could laugh about tripping on the corners of rugs and similar mishaps,” she wrote, after talking to others living with the disease.
“Not only was I making people laugh, I was feeling better myself. I think it was because I didn’t have to explain myself to them.”
Garr also became the national ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and national chair for the Society’s Women Against MS program. She is survived by her daughter, Molly O’Neil, and grandson, Tyryn.
Banner image via Wikimedia Commons.
