Mel Brooks Remembers Teri Garr and ‘Young Frankenstein’

Mel Brookswho directed Teri Garr in the iconic 1974 comedy Young Frankensteinremembered the actor after her death yesterday, remembering Garr’s talent and spirit.

“We are very sorry to hear about the passing of Teri Garr,” Brooks said in a statement on social media. “She was so talented and so funny. Her humor and lively spirit made the Young Frankenstein a pleasure to work on. Her ‘German’ accent got us all in trouble! She will be greatly missed.”

Garr was a highlight in a film full of highlights. She played Inga, the German laboratory assistant to visiting American Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced “FRONK-un-STEEN,” please), played by Gene Wilder. As a seemingly ditsy – “seemingly” is the operative word – Inga, Garr used a rather ersatz German accent, hence Brooks’s quotation marks around the word.

In a 2008 interview with the AV club, Garr explained how she came up with the accent and how she was cast in the role. Initially, she was up for the role of Frederick’s fiancée Elizabeth, which would ultimately be unforgettably played by Madeline Kahn. The accent and her recasting were, it seems, inextricably linked.

When asked if she based the accent on anyone specific, Garr, who adopted the accent, replied, “Yes, Cher’s wig maker!” I even auditioned for the role of the fiancée – the financier – and (Mel Brooks) said, ‘I want Madeline Kahn to play this role, but she doesn’t want to do it.’ And when I got called back for the third time, 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 role of assistant.” I said (adopts German accent) ‘Oh yeah, I’ll come back tomorrow.’ Cher’s wig maker was from Dusseldorf, so I just did an imitation of her.”

Garr and Cher had worked together and become friends The Sonny & Cher comedy hour early seventies.

Reflecting on the film and its continued popularity, Garr said: “I have to say though, being in that film really put me on the map. I had no idea it would be such a big hit, and it’s still hot. People still watch it all the time. I had no idea. It was really the first time my name was on the poster, starring and all that kind of stuff. So I’m very grateful that I was in it at all, that I came back with that German accent.”

And when asked about working with the film’s impeccable cast – in addition to Wilder and Kahn, the main cast included Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle and Cloris Leachman – Garr recalled: “You know, it was like the teacher says he has to stop laughing, and so what you can do is laugh more. Mel would say, “Can we do another take without laughing?” And then we said, ‘We’ll try.’ We would laugh at everything. Marty Feldman – God, he was funny.”