TCM’s ‘Remembering Teri Garr’ Honors the Actress Tonight
Among the many beloved performers we lost in 2024 was outstanding comedic actress Teri Garr, who died on Oct. 29, 2024, at the age of 79. TCM honors her passing with a primetime schedule tonight, Jan. 9, 2025, dedicated to outstanding work from the start of her career. The channel will air three of the ’70s hits that brought her into the public eye.
All times EST.
8pm: Young Frankenstein (1974)
After a career as a dancer that saw her perform in a Frankie and Annette beach party movie, and then smaller roles on TV and in Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Conversation, Garr had her major breakthrough: Mel Brooks‘ Young Frankenstein, where she played Inga, a comely Transylvanian lass who served at Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant and love interest.
Garr initially auditioned for Elizabeth, the more buttoned-up female role that went to Madeline Kahn. As she recalled in a 2008 interview with the AV Club, “[Mel Brooks] said, ‘I want Madeline Kahn to do [the part of Elizabeth], but she doesn’t want to do it.’ And when I came in for my third callback, he said, ‘Madeline is going to do it, but if you can come back tomorrow with a German accent, you can try out for the part of the assistant.’ I said [Adopts German accent.] ‘Oh yes, I will come back tomorrow.’ Cher’s wigmaker was from Düsseldorf, so I just did an impersonation of her.”
10pm: Oh, God! (1977)
Three years later, Garr teamed up with Brooks’ former comedy partner, Carl Reiner, for this comedic story of an everyman (John Denver) who meets God — in the form of a sassy, wisecracking George Burns. Garr plays Denver’s put-upon wife, Bobbie, who finds the experience of being married to a modern-day prophet to be extremely stressful.
Garr befriended Denver and Burns, and came away from the film with fond memories of both. In a 2008 interview, she recalled that on set, Burns would say, “‘I’m happy to be here — I’m happy to be anywhere at this point.’ I know what he means now.”
12am: The Black Stallion (1979)
THE BLACK STALLION, Michael Higgins, Teri Garr, Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Kristen Vigard, Clarence Muse, 1979, (c) United Artists/courtesy Everett Collection
Though she’s best known as a comedienne, Garr took a turn for the dramatic in this adaptation of the classic children’s animal story. Garr played the mother of Alec (Kelly Reno), the young boy who forges a close connection with the Stallion. Mickey Rooney, who plays a washed-up ex-jockey, was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.
Remind
