Biography for
Teri Garr

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Teri Garr can claim a career in show business by birthright. She was the daughter of Eddie Garr, a Broadway stage and film actor, and Phyllis Garr, a dancer. While she still an infant her family moved from Hollywood to New Jersey but, after the death of her father when she was 11, the family returned to Hollywood, where her mother became a wardrobe mistress for movies and television. While Garr's dancing can be seen in nine Elvis Presley movies, her first speaking role in motion pictures was in the 1968 feature Head (1968), starring The Monkees. In the 1970s she became well established in television with appearances on shows such as "Star Trek" (1966), "It Takes a Thief" (1968) and "McCloud" (1970), and became a semi-regular on "The Sonny and Cher Show" (1976) as Cher's friend, Olivia. Garr has since risen to become one of Hollywood's most versatile, energetic and well-recognized actresses. She has starred in many memorable films, including Young Frankenstein (1974), Oh, God! (1977), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Mr. Mom (1983), After Hours (1985) and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Supporting Actress in Tootsie (1982). Other film roles include The Black Stallion (1979), One from the Heart (1982), The Escape Artist (1982), Firstborn (1984), Let It Ride (1989), Full Moon in Blue Water (1988), Out Cold (1989), Short Time (1990), Waiting for the Light (1990), Mom and Dad Save the World (1992), Perfect Alibi (1995), Prêt-à-Porter (1994) and A Simple Wish (1997).

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Trivia

Daughter of actor Eddie Garr and wardrobe mistress Phyllis Garr.

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1977" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 29. [1977]

Daughter Molly born in November 1993. Her marriage to 'John O'Neil Keenan' took place on the day their adopted daughter Molly was born.

Continues to work despite the fact that she is battling multiple sclerosis, first diagnosed in 1983.

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 177-178. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

The "Assignment: Earth" episode of "Star Trek" (1966), in which Garr plays a ditsy secretary, was written as the springboard for a spin-off series. The new series was to feature more adventures of Roberta Lincoln (Garr) and Gary Seven (Robert Lansing), but it never came about.

Friend of Connie Sellecca.

Was the winner on a celebrity edition of "Weakest Link" (2001).

Friend of Toni Basil.

Has two brothers.

Recovering from a brain aneurysm, suffered on December 21, 2006.

Attended CSU Northridge along with her "Close Encounters" co-star, Richard Dreyfuss.

Personal Quotes

"I've always had this American-pie face that would get work in commercials...I'd say things like 'Hi Marge, how's your laundry?' and 'Hi, I'm a real nice Georgia peach'. Sometimes this work is one step above being a cocktail waitress."

"Any movie I've ever made, the minute you walk on the set they tell you who's the person to buy it from. Cher said they're going to make two monuments to us -- the two girls who lived through Hollywood and never had cocaine."

It's different things at different times, you know? It's like when you read a true crime story and think it's really good, then the next book you pick up is a biography and you really like that. I don't consider that I have to judge any of the movies I make all the time, but people are always asking me: "What's your favorite movie?" And I never know what to say. They're just jobs to me, really. I take the part I'm lucky enough to get and do the best I can and then -- I don't know, they're just jobs.

Listen, I don't know. It's all theory. If I knew what I was talking about, I would be running the studio. That's why they keep changing the heads of the studios: Nobody knows. Nobody knows. But I'm sure it has affected the quality of movies. Being sensitive to the problem of women is just another symptom of the quality of movies: I don't think you can do anything that's very sensitive. Everything's sort of broad strokes and big gestures -- adventure things that boys, guys -- want to see.

The business is in a funny position these days. They gear everything to those target audiences that make money. Things look more and more like TV and the quality becomes different. People aren't so interested in seeing movies about women's problems.

I would love to do a great part for a woman like the role Angelica Huston had in "The Grifters." There are 60 million people on this block alone who would love to do those kind of parts, too. It's a tough, competitive business out there; keep hanging in, that's the thing.

Salary

Where Are They Now

(2005) Release of her book "Speedbumps: Flooring It Thru Hollywood".

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