Teri Garr knew how to make a theater laugh. The actress launched her career with a credit in the 1963 movie A Swingin’ Affair, but started to get bigger roles after nabbing a coveted guest role on the Star Trek episode Assignment: Earth in 1968. From there, she scored one of her most beloved roles to date — Inga in the 1974 classic, Young Frankenstein – followed by a string of equally notable movies. Tootsie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Mr. Mom immediately come to mind! She was no stranger to television, with a handful of recurring roles in series like McCloud and Batman Beyond. She also played a surprise character in the beloved sitcom Friends: Phoebe Buffay’s birth mother.
Teri enjoyed an esteemed reputation in entertainment, and was even nominated for an Oscar for “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” for her role as Sandy in Tootsie. Sadly, nearing the end of the 20th century, Teri began to experience strange medical symptoms that led to her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 1999, and then landed in a coma for weeks after having a brain aneurysm in Dec. 2006. She retired from acting in 2011, but the delightful characters she brought to the big and small screen won’t be forgotten!
