Teri Garr has died – she was an actress, comedian and ambassador for multiple sclerosis: NPR

Teri Garr speaks at the 15th annual Race to Erase MS event on May 2, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

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Teri Garr speaks at the 15th annual Race to Erase MS event on May 2, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

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Teri Garr, an actress and comedian who later became a multiple sclerosis ambassador after her own diagnosis in 1999, died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 79 years old and died as a result of multiple sclerosis.

Garr began her entertainment career as a dancer in nine Elvis Presley films including Viva Las Vegas And Clambake. She switched from dancing to acting with supporting roles Dr. Kildare, batman, Star Trek, This Girl, The Bob Newhart Show And Maud.

“It reached some of the high points of that era in terms of what was considered quality television at the time,” noted Kelly Kessler, associate professor of media and cinema studies at DePaul University. “But then we see her emerge and make this natural transition from the early dance routines she did in the Elvis films to the vaudeville scene on 1970s television, performing alongside Cher and the Pointer Sisters.”

Garr starred in some of the biggest films of her time, including The conversation, Mr. Mom, Oh God!And Close encounters of the third kind. But her breakout role was just as sexy as Inga Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks.

“And I guess she just got this role in response to a cattle call,” Kessler said.

Marty Feldman listens to Gene Wilder's heart while Teri Garr looks on in a scene from the film Young Frankenstein.

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Marty Feldman listens to Gene Wilder's heart while Teri Garr looks on in a scene from the film Young Frankenstein.

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Garr received an Oscar nomination for her role as Dustin Hoffman's neurotic friend Sandy in the 1982 film Tootsie. Martie Cook, who teaches comedy at Emerson College, said Garr perfected a stereotype and reversed it: “the smart, dumb blonde.” Her rueful wisdom tempered the goofy roles Garr often played.

“She had a vulnerability that made the audience really like her. “I thought her role as Sandy was just incredible,” Cook said. “By taking this character to another level, she actually helped open the door for roles like Phoebe.” Friends.“

Garr would show up later Friends as Phoebe Buffay's biological mother. “It was perfect casting,” Cook said. “In a way, she helped define that role for the writers of Phoebe.”

Teri Garr (right) played Lisa Kudrow's mother on the hit '90s sitcom Friends.

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Teri Garr (right) played Lisa Kudrow's mother on the hit '90s sitcom Friends.

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After her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 1999, Garr continued to work. The latter part of her career was very similar to the beginning, with small roles on major television shows. After her memoir came out in 2005, Garr told WHYY's Fresh air that her life as an actress had unexpectedly prepared her for life with chronic illness.

“Because when you start in Hollywood, 99% of the time it's 'Get out!' Rejection and you have to develop the fur of a rhino,” Garr said. “But you always have to keep the spirit of a butterfly within you.”

Garr may be “a comic genius overlooked by so many generations,” says Kessler. “If you weren’t there in the ’70s and ’80s and didn’t pay attention to what she was doing, then you missed it.”