Speedbumps - Flooring It Through Hollywood is the autobiography of the talented actress Teri Garr. It's intelligent and moving as she talks about starting in Hollywood in her early teens and acting consistently in some of the biggest films of the seventies and eighties.
Growing up in a showbiz family (her father was the popular comic Eddie Garr and her mother an ex-Rockette turned costume designer) there wasn't much excitement when she continually landed roles in films as a dancer - it was just a job, no big deal. Dancing in "beach" movies - and seven Elvis movies - led to national ads and TV guest spots, such as Star Trek and Batman. Hanging out with friends like Albert Brooks, Richard Dreyfuss and Jack Nicolson, she landed parts in hit movies like Coppola's The Conversation and then right on to Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein, one of her most remembered roles.
She followed this with little films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Oh God!, The Black Stallion, Mr. Mom, Scorsese's After Hours, and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Tootsie (losing out to co-star Jessica Lange, who lost out for Frances to Meryl Streep for Sophie's Choice, so you can't win 'em all the time).
Working continuously thorough the 90's, she starred in several TV sitcoms. In seasons three and four, she played Lisa Kudrow's mother on Friends. Perfect casting! At the time you could see she had a limp, but was usually standing behind some furniture. No big deal, it was often overlooked or worked into the story.
She talks openly about her ongoing health as she has battled Multiple Sclerosis since the early 80's. It began with a slight limp after filming One From The Heart in 1982, and although she went to doctors for years, they could never give a complete diagnosis. Trying to figure out exactly what it was and continue working was sometimes difficult in Hollywood, but it didn't stop her. She was a major speaker as the national chair of the MS Society's Women Against MS Program.
A favourite guest on Late Night with David Letterman, she was last on in 2008 after having a brain aneurysm (!) - after having to relearn how to walk and talk - as ebullient as ever and promoting a new movie where she plays twins.
A genuinely funny and moving autobiography. I remembered her for so many movies that weren't considered hits, and was reminded of all her award winning work. It's a quick read, very entertaining, and recommended to anyone who likes clever biographies.
2005 / Hardcover / 244 pages
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