Teri Garr

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Teri Garr

Garr at the AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) benefit, September 1990
Born Terry Ann Garr
December 11, 1944 (1944-12-11) (age 63)
Lakewood, Ohio, USA
Spouse(s) John O'Neil (1993-1996)

Terry Ann "Teri" Garr[1] (born December 11, 1944)[2] is an American actress and comedienne.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Garr was born in Lakewood, Ohio. Her father, Eddie Garr (né Gonnoud), was a vaudeville performer, comedian and actor whose career peaked when he briefly took over the lead role in the Broadway drama Tobacco Road. Her mother, Phyllis Lind (née Emma Schmotzer),[1] was a dancer, Rockette, wardrobe mistress, and model.[3][4][5] Garr is a graduate of Magnificat High School, an all-girl's Roman Catholic high school in Rocky River, Ohio.

[edit] Career

Early in her career she was sometimes credited as Terri Garr, Terry Garr, Teri Hope, or Terry Carr. Garr's movie debut was as an extra in 1963's A Swingin' Affair. During her early career she appeared in several Elvis Presley movies, usually in uncredited roles as a dancer. She had a cameo appearance as a damsel in distress in The Monkees film Head.

Garr later had significant roles in major films such as Young Frankenstein, Oh, God!, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Black Stallion and Mr. Mom. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Dustin Hoffman's actress friend in Tootsie.

Garr has also appeared frequently on television. Her first appearance on a major show was in Batman in 1967, and a notable early appearance came in the Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth" (1968). The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Ken Berry 'Wow' Show, and The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour. She hosted Saturday Night Live three times throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a recurring guest on Late Night with David Letterman, she was renowned for her unscripted banter with personal friend Letterman, who once goaded her into showering in his office while the camera rolled.[6][7] She played a recurring character in Friends (the estranged birth mother of Lisa Kudrow's character, Phoebe Buffay) in the late 1990s.

Garr appeared in a series of local television commercials in several markets for various FM radio stations.

[edit] Personal life

Teri Garr said that in 1990 a woman called her at around 4:30 A.M. telling Garr that she slept with Garr's boyfriend. An enraged Garr drove to her ex-boyfriend's house and smashed the windows. The ex-boyfriend called police. Once police arrived Garr talked to the police and left. Police never filed charges against Garr.[8]

In October 2002, Garr made it public that she has multiple sclerosis.[9] After years of uncertainty and secrecy surrounding her diagnosis, Garr explained her reasons for deciding to go public, "I'm telling my story for the first time, so I can help people. I can help people know they aren't alone, and tell them there are reasons to be optimistic because today treatment options are available". It is unclear exactly how long she has had the disease; in 2002, she told Larry King that she'd had it for 19 years, but in 2005, while promoting her book, she said she's had it for 25 years. That sets the date of onset to sometime between 1980 and 1983.

Since Garr announced that she has MS, she has become a leading advocate in raising awareness for MS and the latest treatments for the disease. She is a National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and National Chair for the Society's Women Against MS program (WAMS).[10] WAMS is a nationwide education and fundraising program that helps to increase the public's awareness of MS and the National MS Society while acknowledging and encouraging the advancement of women philanthropists. In November 2005, Garr was honored as the society’s Ambassador of the Year for her commitment to raising awareness for the MS cause. This honor had been given only four times since the society was founded.

She is the mother of an adopted daughter and resides in Los Angeles. On December 21, 2006, she suffered a brain aneurysm in her Los Angeles area home; her 13-year-old daughter called for help when she couldn't get her to wake up. Following surgery, her publicist Heidi Schaeffer said she expects Garr to make a full recovery.[11]

[edit] Academy awards nomination

Academy Award
  • 1982: Nominated for "Best Supporting Actress" in Tootsie

[edit] Filmography

Features:

Short Subjects:

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Garr, Teri (2005). Speedbumps: Flooring it Through Hollywood. Hudson Street Press, 68. ISBN1594630070. 
  2. ^ Profile for Teri Garr. North Hollywood High Alumni Association. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  3. ^ Teri Garr Biography (1949?-)
  4. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/01/07/DDGD343TKC1.DTL&type=printable
  5. ^ http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/BG/lib00065,0EADEAD18E1E4492.html
  6. ^ Teri Garr. "My Life So Far", Ability Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. 
  7. ^ David Letterman - 25 Years and Still Going Strong. CBS. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
  8. ^ "When he's a cheat, revenge seems sweet." CNN.
  9. ^ Teri Garr reveals she has multiple sclerosis. CNN. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  10. ^ Actress Teri Garr named as multiple sclerosis national chair women. News-Medical.net. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  11. ^ Michelle Tan (January 2, 2007). Teri Garr Recovering from Brain Aneurysm. People. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.

[edit] External links

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