Teri Garr praised after her death by Friends star Lisa Kudrow for having ‘huge Influence’ on her

Lisa Kudrow had special praise for the late Teri Garr following the critically acclaimed actress’ death on Tuesday at the age of 79.

Kudrow, who worked with Garr when she made multiple guest appearances on her hit sitcom Friends in the 1990s, said the One From The Heart star was a “genius” in a statement to People.

“Teri Garr was a comedic acting genius who had and is a huge influence on me, and I know I’m not alone in that,” the 61-year-old Comeback star said.

“I feel so lucky and grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Teri Garr,” she added.

Garr, who died after a yearlong battle with multiple sclerosis, appeared opposite Kudrow in three episodes of Friends.

In The One At The Beach, the final episode of season three, Kudrow’s character Phoebe took some time away from the rest of the main cast to spend some time with Phoebe Abbott (Garr), a woman who knew her parents.

But their connection proved much stronger than that, when Phoebe later discovered that Garr’s character was her biological mother.

The episode and her two subsequent appearances gave Garr a chance to show off her comedic skills, including mimicking the younger Phoebe’s signature mannerisms.

Garr was back for the next episode, the season four premiere, The One With The Jellyfish, which caused dramatic tension when a shocked Phoebe declared that she never wanted to see her newfound mother again.

However, they later reconciled in favor of a healthier relationship, and Phoebe Sr. returned for the final time later that season in The One With Phoebe’s Uterus.

In that episode, Phoebe enlisted her mother’s help after her brother (played by Giovanni Ribisi) and his wife Alice (Debra Jo Rupp) asked her to become a surrogate mother for them.

Garr’s character humorously tested Phoebe by having her care for a puppy for a few days before having to give it up to see if she could avoid becoming attached to the child.

The test failed when Phoebe wouldn’t give up the puppy, which turned out to be her mother’s dog.

Garr was best known for his supporting roles in Young Frankenstein, Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and the Dustin Hoffman-starring Tootsie.

She had a rare starring role in Francis Ford Coppola’s musical film One From The Heart (1981), which bombed at the box office.

Retrospective reviews, however, were kinder to the film, with some critics again rating the film positively after Coppola released a re-edited and restored version of the film earlier this year, entitled One From The Heart: Reprise.

In 2002, Garr revealed that she had been diagnosed with a chronic disease that damages the central nervous system (CNS). Years later, she suffered an aneurysm in 2006.

Having nearly 160 credits to her name, starring in influential television shows and films from the 1970s to the 1990s, she was an influential performer to many, including SNL legend Tina Fey.

The highlight of her career came in 1983 when she was nominated in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category for her role as Sandy Lester in Tootsie.

She ultimately lost to castmate Jessica Lange from the same film who was the Loan winner out of ten nominations that year.

Her most famous television role came when she played the role of Phoebe Abbott in three episodes of the iconic sitcom Friends from 1997 to 1998.

In the episode The One At The Beach, her character reveals to Lisa Kudrow’s character Phoebe Buffay that she is her biological mother.

Teri had returned to the role in two other episodes, entitled The One With Jellyfish and The One With Phoebe’s Uniform.

Another of her iconic roles was as Ronnie Neary in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind in 1977.

She portrayed the wife of Richard Dreyfuss’ character Roy when the film won the 1978 Oscar for Best Cinematography for Vilmos Zsigmond.

Her breakthrough role, however, was as the challenging assistant Inga in the 1974 Mel Brooks classic Young Frankenstein, where she played opposite Gene Wilder.

Oscar-nominated actress Samantha Morton paid tribute to the star and worked with her in the indie comedy Expired in 2007.

She shared a photo of the late actress with the caption, “Teri Garr. It was a real honor to work with you. A powerful, uncompromising and hilarious woman. As a courageous fighter against multiple sclerosis, you have brought so much joy to so many. #terigarr’

The talented stage actor was originally born in Ohio, but eventually moved to Los Angeles.

She attended Hollywood High School and attended Cal State Northridge before eventually moving to New York to study acting.

Teri actually started her career as a go-go dancer, appearing in six Elvis Presley feature films and the rock concert The TAMI Show.

In the 1960s, she had small roles in sitcoms including That Girl, Batman and The Andy Griffith Show.

Her first speaking role came in 1968 when she starred in Head, the offbeat feature film from the pop band The Monkees.

Teri became a regular singer and dancer on The Sonny And Cher Show.

Then came one of her biggest career breaks when she landed a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film The Conversation.

Years later, she was cast again by iconic filmmaker Coppola when she starred in the 1981 film One From The Heart.

Teri was also a late night favorite as she regularly appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night With David Letterman and even hosted Saturday Night Live three times.

However, her career slowed down a bit in the 1990s when she starred in 1994’s Dumb And Dumber, an episode of ER in 1999, and of course her aforementioned guest spot on Friends.

The talented star recalled her career in the autobiography – titled Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood – which was published in 2006.

Garr is survived by a daughter, Molly O’Neil, and grandson Tyryn.