Teri Garr, ‘Young Frankenstein’ and ‘Tootsie’ actress, dead at 79

Actress Teri Garr has died at age 79, Variety reported on Tuesday.

Garr passed away in Los Angeles after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. 

The late star was best known for her roles in the films “Young Frankenstein” and “Tootsie,” the latter of which earned her an Oscar nomination.

Garr was born on October 29, 2004 in Lakewood, Ohio. She moved to Los Angeles and then later to New York to pursue acting. She started out as a go-go dancer and made appearances in six Elvis Presley musicals in the 1960s.

Her first on-screen speaking role was in 1968’s “Head,” written and produced by Jack Nicholson.

Garr’s big break came with her role as Inga, Frankenstein’s assistant, in Mel Brooks’ 1974 comedy horror “Young Frankenstein.” Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman and Cloris Leachman also starred in the movie.

That same year, Garr starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s thriller “The Conversation.” She followed that up with Steven Spielberg’s 1977 sci-fi film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Come the 1980s, Garr landed a role in the satirical rom-com “Tootsie.” Her performance as Sandy Lester earned Garr her first and only nomination for an Academy Award.

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