Few actresses could blend flighty and wise, ditzy and vulnerable better than delightful Academy Award nominee Teri Garr, who passed away last month at the age of 79. A Los Angeles native, Garr began her big-screen career as an uncredited dancer in various films (including six Elvis Presley musicals) before she received mainstream notice in two 1974 works: Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation and Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. She went on to play girlfriends, wives, and mothers in movies as diverse as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Tootsie (for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nom), Mr. Mom, and Firstborn. When her career slowed down in the late 1990s as she coped with multiple sclerosis, Teri was outspoken in her battle with the condition and she became a spokesperson for several MS support groups.
MovieFanFare remembers Teri Garr and wants to hear which of her many film and TV roles you enjoyed the most. Feel free to share your memories about her career in the comments.