Teri Garr

Teri Ann Garr (December 11, 1944 - October 29, 2024) was an American actress, dancer and singer. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spanned four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accolades include one Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA Award nomination, and one National Board of Review Award.

Born in Lakewood, Ohio, Garr was raised in North Hollywood. She was the third child of a comedic-actor father and a studio costumer mother. In her youth, Garr trained in ballet and other forms of dance. She began her career as a teenager with small roles in television and film in the early 1960s, including appearances as a dancer in six Elvis Presley musicals. After spending two years attending college, Garr left Los Angeles and studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City.

Her self-described "big break" as an actress was landing a role in the Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth," after which she said, "I finally started to get real acting work."

Garr had a supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's thriller "The Conversation" (1974) before having her film breakthrough as Inga in "Young Frankenstein" (1974). In 1977, she was cast in a high-profile role in Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Garr continued to appear in various high-profile roles throughout the 1980s, including supporting parts in the comedies "Tootsie" (1982), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Sandra Lester, and then appearing opposite Michael Keaton the next year in "Mr. Mom" (1983). She reunited with Coppola the same year, appearing in his musical "One from the Heart" (1982), followed by a supporting part in Martin Scorsese's black comedy "After Hours" (1985).

Her quick banter led to Garr being a regular guest on "The Tonight Show" starring Johnny Carson and "Late Night with David Letterman." In the 1990s, she appeared in two films by Robert Altman: "The Player" (1992) and "Prêt-à-Porter" (1994), followed by supporting roles in "Michael" (1996) and "Ghost World" (2001). She also appeared on television as Phoebe Abbott in three episodes of the sitcom "Friends" (1997–98). In 2002, Garr announced that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the symptoms of which had negatively affected her ability to perform beginning in the 1990s. After years of declining health, she passed away on October 29, 2024.

Friends

8.4

Dumb and Dumber

6.6

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

7.3

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

7.9

Young Frankenstein

7.9

The Conversation

7.5

Tootsie

7.2

After Hours

7.5

Ghost World

7.1

Star Trek

8.0

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

7.3

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch

7.8

Tales from the Crypt

8.0

The Player

7.2

ER

7.8

Frasier

7.7

M*A*S*H

7.9

What's New, Scooby-Doo?

7.9

Michael

5.7

King of the Hill

7.3

Batman Beyond

8.1

Batman

7.3

Aloha Scooby-Doo!

7.1

Saturday Night Live

6.9

Casper Meets Wendy

6.0

Mr. Mom

6.6

Unaccompanied Minors

5.9

The Black Stallion

7.0

Dick

5.9

Prêt-à-Porter

5.2

Batman Beyond: The Movie

7.2

One from the Heart

6.0

A Simple Wish

5.5

The Andy Griffith Show

7.6

Viva Las Vegas

6.2

Oh, God!

6.5

Head

6.2

What a Way to Go!

7.0

Let It Ride

6.3

Fun in Acapulco

5.9

Mom and Dad Save the World

4.9

Felicity

6.6

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

7.4

Murphy Brown

6.4

Kabluey

6.0

The Odd Couple

7.8

The Black Stallion Returns

6.5

The Bob Newhart Show

7.4

And the Oscar Goes To...

7.0

Short Time

6.4

Roustabout

5.9

McCloud

7.1

Firstborn

5.9

The Sting II

4.6

Clambake

5.9

Life Without Dick

3.8

Dream On

6.9

Kissin' Cousins

4.7

Red Line 7000

5.4

That Girl

6.2

Barnaby Jones

6.9

Expired

5.7

It Takes a Thief

7.0

Out Cold

5.9

Pajama Party

4.9

Faerie Tale Theatre

8.2

Honky Tonk Freeway

5.1

The Absent-Minded Waiter

6.5

The Escape Artist

6.2

The T.A.M.I. Show

8.0

Full Moon in Blue Water

6.2

Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme

4.8

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

4.1

Searching for Debra Winger

6.3

The Rosie O'Donnell Show

3.5

Golden Globe Awards

6.8

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour

6.5

Strong Medicine

7.1

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise

8.2

The Moonshine War

5.8

Mr. Mike's Mondo Video

5.3

Waiting for the Light

6.6

Double Jeopardy

5.7

John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!

3.4

Miracles

5.0

Pack of Lies

6.6

Kill the Man

5.6

The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

6.9

The Weird Al Show

6.5

The Wandering Soul Murders

5.0

NightScream

3.6

Witches' Brew

4.4

The Tale of the Frog Prince

6.1

The Tony Danza Show

6.1

The Merv Griffin Show

5.6

The History of White People in America

6.2

The Cool Ones

4.9

Mel Brooks: Unwrapped

6.7

Making Frankensense of Young Frankenstein

8.5

Wogan

4.5

Stranger in the Family

5.4

Prime Suspect

6.6

Adventures in Wonderland

7.2

Intimate Portrait

4.5

Steve Martin: Homage to Steve

6.4

The Best of Disney: 50 Years of Magic

7.5

Maryjane

3.5

Life with Bonnie

6.5

Fresno

6.4

Men Behaving Badly

5.5

The Mothers-in-Law

5.8

Shindig!

6.2

Hunter

8.0

The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk

6.0

A Taste Of Jupiter

4.2

Changing Habits

1.3

Summertree

5.7

Night of 100 Stars II

8.0

A Better Man: The Making of 'Tootsie'

6.0

Murder Live!

5.7

Mayberry R.F.D.

5.7

The American Film Institute Salute to ...

6.3

The New Dick Van Dyke Show

4.0

Changes

5.0

A Swingin' Affair

6.0

The Sky is Falling

8.0

The Winter of Our Discontent

4.0

Half a Dozen Babies

5.5

Robert Altman's Players

5.5

A Quiet Little Neighborhood, a Perfect Little Murder

5.5

Women of the House

6.0

The Girl with Something Extra

7.5

Good & Evil

6.0

Banyon

7.0

Jackie Gleason: The Great One

8.0

Perfect Alibi

3.5

To Catch a King

4.0

Ronnie and Julie

1.0

For Pete's Sake

6.0

Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert

4.0

Inside the Coppola Personality

7.0

Rendez-Vous Video Magazine

5.0

Deliver Them from Evil: The Taking of Alta View

10.0

Doctor Franken

2.0

Aliens for Breakfast

3.0

Good Advice

6.0

Legends

5.0

Please Turn the Page

6.0

Paul Reiser: Out on a Whim

0.0

Shining Time Station: One of the Family

0.0

Once Upon a Brothers Grimm

0.0

The Dream Studio

0.0

Java Junkie

0.0

Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary

0.0

The Definite Maybe

0.0

You Haven't Changed a Bit

0.0

Where's the Bus?

0.0

The Wiki-Tiki Tail of Aloha Scooby-Doo

0.0

Do It Debbie's Way

0.0

Law and Order

0.0

Intimate Strangers

0.0

Flapjack Floozie

0.0