Teri Garr, the Oscar-nominated comedic actor best known for her spirited performances in classics such as “Young Frankenstein,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Tootsie,” died Tuesday in Los Angeles, her publicist and girlfriend Heidi. Schaeffer.

She was 79. The cause of death was complications from multiple sclerosis, Schaeffer said.

Garr has been open about her experience with MS, a health problem she described in the 2005 autobiography “Speedbumps: Flooring it Through Hollywood.”

In a film career that spanned more than 40 years, Garr endeared herself to audiences with her quirky on-screen persona and quick wit. She was a familiar face on sitcoms and late-night talk shows, including NBC’s “The Tonight Show” during the Johnny Carson era.

Trained as a ballet performer, Garr launched her Hollywood career as an uncredited go-go dancer in six musicals starring Elvis Presley.

In the early 1970s, Garr turned to more substantive acting roles, working with some of the leading filmmakers of the decade.

The year 1974 was pivotal: Garr had a supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” and played Gene Wilder’s German-accented assistant Inga in Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein,” a black-and-white parody of Hollywood horror films.

Garr’s profile rose even further after Steven Spielberg cast her as Richard Dreyfuss’ wife in the sci-fi landmark “Close Encounters.” Garr’s character watches in bewilderment as her husband becomes increasingly fixated on UFOs.

Sydney Pollack’s “Tootsie” earned Garr an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She played a neurotic acting student whose heart is broken by Dustin Hoffman’s character, a struggling artist who disguises himself as a woman to land a role on a soap opera.

Garr also collaborated with Martin Scorsese (“After Hours”) and Robert Altman (“Prêt-à-Porter”); Coppola made her the center of the surreal 1982 musical “One from the Heart,” a box office hit that contemporary critics have positively reviewed.

Younger viewers may know Garr better thanks to her role opposite Michael Keaton in “Mr. Mom” ​​and her recurring role on the NBC sitcom “Friends” as Lisa Kudrow’s estranged mother.

Teri Ann Garr was born on December 11, 1944 in Ohio; her father was a vaudeville performer and her mother was a dancer. The family eventually settled in the Los Angeles area, where Garr’s father died of a heart attack when she was young. Garr trained in the art of ballet before heading to New York City to try her hand at acting.

She landed her first speaking role in 1968’s “Head,” a wacky satirical musical starring The Monkees and written by Jack Nicholson.

Garr’s early small-screen work included appearances in the 1960s incarnation of “Batman,” an episode of the original “Star Trek” and the variety show “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.”

“I was always looking for the next job,” Garr wrote in her autobiography.

Garr’s tenacity paid off, and she remained productive throughout her film career. Pauline Kael, the legendary film critic of The New Yorker, once praised Garr as “perhaps the funniest, most neurotic giddy lady on screen.”

Garr made her multiple sclerosis diagnosis public on national television in October 2002. She later became a leading advocate for MS awareness, traveling the country speaking to doctors and patients about her experiences.

“I think everyone is scared when they hear something like that,” Garr told CNN in 2002. “That’s because there’s so much – you know, there’s not a lot of information about it. And a lot of people don’t do that.” I don’t know that it’s not that bad. I mean, I’m going to get on with my life.”

In late 2006, Garr suffered a brain aneurysm that changed her speech and motor skills.

She retired from acting in 2011, but her legacy has continued to loom large in the comedy world, inspiring younger female comedians.

“The person I always think about is Teri Garr,” Tina Fey once said. “There was a time when Teri Garr was in everything. She was cute, but also very real. Her body was real, her teeth were real, and you thought she could be your friend.”