“This is a day I feared and knew was coming,” he captioned a post after Garr’s death was announced on Tuesday, October 29. “Forget about how great she was as an actress and comedienne. She was a wonderful woman. Not just great to work with but great to be around. AND go back and watch her comedic work-Man, was she great!! RIP girl.”
Garr was 79 years old and was “surrounded by family and friends” at the time of her death, her publicist, Heidi Schaeffer, told People. She is survived by her daughter, Molly O’Neil, whom she welcomed with ex-husband John O’Neil, as well as one grandson.
Keaton and Garr costarred together in the 1983 comedy film Mr. Mom along with Martin Mull, Ann Jillian, and Christopher Lloyd. It marked one of Keaton’s first leading roles, and made audiences laugh with its unconventional plot.
In a second post on Instagram, Keaton shared a video showing some of the titles that Garr worked on during her Hollywood career, including Tootsie, Young Frankenstein and more. She earned more than 150 credits throughout her career.
“Just scratches the surface. I’ve spoken fondly of her on Today show and other times,” he penned alongside the video. “I hope she saw them.”
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 25: Actress Teri Garr at The Hollywood Show held at the LAX Westin Hotel on April 25, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
The comment section of the post flooded with love for the late star, who publicly revealed she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2002, after keeping her battle secret for three years. She made her final acting appearance in 2011’s How to Marry a Billionaire, per IMDb.
“I think my career would have changed anyway at a certain age, but Hollywood’s very finicky about everyone being perfect. When things slowed down, it was either the MS or that I’m a stinking actress, so I chose to believe it’s the MS,” she once said. “There’s definitely fear and misunderstanding out there about what MS is, and that’s one of the reasons why it’s so important to me to go out and talk about it.”
Throughout her battle with the chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system, she maintained a positive outlook on life.
“I just don’t see the point of wallowing in it. It’s just a waste of time,” the Friends alum said. “It makes you stop and settle down and focus,” Teri said. “I have to sit and read. And all of a sudden I’m reading and I’m like, ‘This stuff is great. How come I never read this before?’ Because I was too busy shopping or having 8-by-10s taken of myself.”