The late pop star Elvis Presley continues to be one of the most iconic names in entertainment history. The singer was a memorable part of the late actress Teri Garr’s career, who appeared as a dancer in multiple films of the King of Rock and Roll.
Garr, who would later become known for her work in movies like Tootsie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Young Frankenstein, once reflected on working in Presley’s movies, candidly stating it’s no secret that his movies were bad.
Teri Garr’s Candid Reflection on Elvis Presley’s Movies
After starting her career as a dancer in the 1960s, Teri Garr started landing opportunities in Hollywood and was soon starring as a dancer in a string of Elvis Presley movies, including Fun in Acapulco, Kissin’ Cousins, Viva Las Vegas, Roustabout, and Clambake.
In a previous interview with A.V. Club, the actress reflected on her time working on Presley’s movies while talking about the pop star’s seriousness on the set and the low quality of his movies.
You weren’t supposed to laugh at Elvis, or he’d kill you with a karate chop. Oh, Kissin’ Cousins. Wasn’t that a good one. That’s where he played twins, right? Some blond guy and him. I did a string of about six or seven Elvis movies, all in a row. He made all of those movies in two years’ time.
“All of them bad. Don’t quote me,” she said before adding, “No, quote me. It’s not a secret that they were bad.” And it appears that the actor would have agreed with the sentiment, as his father later revealed that he hardly watched his movies.
“Elvis hardly ever watched the movies he made because he didn’t like most of them,” his father Vernon Presley stated in an article for Good Housekeeping Magazine in 1978 after the Burning Love singer’s passing in 1977, via Express.
Further in the conversation, Garr also described Presley as “cool,” stating that he genuinely wanted to connect with the cast and crew and often hung out with dancers as well.
The Oscar-Nominated Actress Teri Garr Passed Away at 79
The Oscar-nominated actress Teri Garr passed away at the age of 79 on October 29, 2024, at her home in Los Angeles after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. The actress had previously opened up about her diagnosis.
She has shared that she initially noted the symptoms of multiple sclerosis during the filming of the 1982 film Tootsie. Later she came out publicly with her diagnosis in 2002. She shared in an interview with Larry King,
I would run, jog in the park, and I just started tripping. It was just like my toe — I would start to trip, and then that would go away. Then I would get some tingling in my arm.
She further stated,
It’s very hard to get a diagnosis and it’s very hard to find out — difficult to find out if you have this, because the things come and go and the things are subtle.
Later she also revealed that she had to visit multiple doctors before she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In 2006, Garr suffered a brain aneurysm, which left her in a coma for a week.
Her publicist and friend Heidi Schaeffer has told NBC News, that the Young Frankenstein star passed away due to complications from multiple sclerosis. Several Hollywood figures have shared their tribute to the late actress since her passing, including Michael Keaton, Paul Feig and David Letterman along with the FRIENDS star Lisa Kudrow.
