A Fond Farewell to a Sweet, Invaluable Comic Presence, Teri Garr

 With the passing of Teri Garr, the cinema lost one of its most unique and endearing talents. Possessing a fascinating career arc, Garr started out dancing her way through a multitude of 1960’s Elvis Presley and other teen-oriented musicals (Viva Las Vegas and Pajama Party among them). After ten years in the business, including a stint honing her comedy chops on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, Garr suddenly broke through onscreen in 1974 with key roles in two major films, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation and, showing great comic flair amid a cast of comedy heavyweights, as Inga, the flirtatious assistant to the title character in possibly Mel Brooks best and funniest film, Young Frankenstein.

                For the next decade, Garr had a terrific run in movies, with 1977 proving another boost via standout work in Oh God! and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (with Garr’s priceless reaction to Richard Dreyfuss building a tower out of mashed potatoes providing the film’s funniest moment), followed by an effective low-key performance in 1979’s The Black Stallion. 1982 would again find Garr in prime form, as after re-teaming with Coppola for One from the Heart, she would grace the screen with her great comedic skills fully on display in one of the era’s biggest hits and best comedies, Tootsie. As Sandy, the insecure costar involved with egocentric actor Michael Dorsey (a never-better Dustin Hoffman), Garr invests the part with spirit and spontaneity, allowing a character who could be a tiresome pain to come across as likable and touching. Garr draws the audience firmly on her side as Sandy faces dilemmas in her career and relationships, while constantly gaining laughs with her jittery, zany behavior and unpredictable line deliveries, helping her work as Sandy linger in the memory as one of the most entertaining contributions to a classic comedy.

                As her career peaked with an Oscar nomination for Tootsie, followed by yet another big hit opposite a rising Michael Keaton in Mr. Mom, Garr gained further fame with frequent appearances on the hip David Lettermen show, wherein their playful banter proved a highlight of late-night television, as well as appearing as one of the stars in the "Ghostbusters" video for the #1 Ray Parker Jr. hit. Garr would continue to star in films and television, with more deft comic work in 1986’s After Hours, Dumb and Dumber and a role as Phobe’s mother on Friends ranking among her higher-profile output. Multiple sclerosis would limit Garr’s career opportunity during the last few decades of her life, but not before she had built a resume filled with landmark films and performances. Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, the author was consistently delighted with every Garr appearance, from his first look at her as Inga, then onward through her many career achievements. R.I.P. to an original and compelling star who always twinkled with a great comic touch, Teri Garr.