Colleagues in mourning

‘Tootsie’ star Teri Garr dead at the age of 79

Terri Garr died at the age of 79. Hollywood colleagues such as Steve Martin and Michael Keaton mourn the actress.

(Bild: APA/AP Photo/Mark Terrill, File)

Teri Garr, who starred in hit comedies such as "Tootsie" and "Mr. Mom", is dead. She died in Los Angeles after a long battle with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to her spokeswoman Heidi Schaeffer. Garr was 79 years old. 

Colleagues such as Michael Keaton, Dustin Hoffman and Steve Martin paid tribute to the actress. 

He loved her "so much", wrote comedian Steve Martin (79) on the platform X (formerly Twitter) to a photo of the actress from earlier years.

Keaton mourns
Michael Keaton (73) paid tribute to Garr on Instagram. "Forget how great she was as an actress and comedian," wrote the Hollywood star. Above all, she was a wonderful woman who was great to work with and wanted to be around.

Keaton and Garr made the 1983 married couple comedy "Mr. Mom", in which the housewife makes a career for herself after her husband loses his job and becomes a househusband.

"There was no one like her"
"Teri was brilliant and unique in everything she did and had a heart of gold," Dustin Hoffman (87) also said about Garr in a statement, according to the New York Post. "Working with her was one of the great highlights. There was no one like her."

US director Paul Feig (62) praised Garr as a "legend" and one of his "comedy heroines". She was "so funny, so beautiful, so kind", he wrote on X.

Career started as a dancer
Garr began her career in show business as a dancer in the 1960s. She performed alongside Elvis Presley, for example in the movie musical "Great Nights in Las Vegas". As an actress, she took on supporting roles in films such as "The Dialogue", "Frankenstein Junior" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in the 1970s.

She appeared alongside Dustin Hoffman in the hit comedy "Tootsie" (1982). In the disguise comedy directed by Sydney Pollack, both play unemployed actors in New York.

Oscar nomination for "Tootsie"
When Sandy (Garr) once again has bad luck at an audition for a soap opera, Michael (Hoffman) senses his chance and gets the coveted TV role disguised as a woman. "Tootsie" received ten Oscar nominations, including for Garr, but the supporting role Oscar ultimately went to her colleague Jessica Lange.

Teri Garr was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Tootsie.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/COLUMBIA PICTURES / Mary Evans )

In the 90s, Garr appeared in films such as "The Player", "Dumb and Dumber" and "Michael". She also frequently appeared in front of television cameras.

Standing up for those affected
Due to her MS, she withdrew more and more from acting. In 2002, she publicly announced her diagnosis on Larry King's talk show. For years, Garr campaigned for those affected and for education about the nerve disease.