Supplied

Vive La Garr! | Do yourself a favour and read Teri Garr’s entire interview at www.avclub.com.

On Tootsie | “I just saw Tootsie again recently. I hadn’t seen it in twentysomething years. And it’s the same thing! Pretty, nice girls being taken advantage of by slimy men. They put a man in a dress, and he’s supposed to know what it feels like to be a woman. But of course he doesn’t. I think what Dustin [Hoffman] says is, ‘I realize now how important it is for a woman to be pretty. And I wasn’t pretty.’

God! That’s all you realized? Jesus Christ. Oh well. Don’t quote me. Actually, quote me. That movie was made by sexist men. I can say that now, because Sydney [Pollack] isn’t with us anymore. [Laughs.] But he was a fine director. He just wanted the beautiful, blonde, cute, shiksa girls to be nice and shut the fuck up! [Laughs.] God, I’m bad. But that’s what he wanted. And that’s what the world wants, I think. I’m bitter. Bitter!”

On One From the Heart | “God, that was long and tedious and hard. Francis [Ford Coppola] was outside in a trailer, speaking over a loudspeaker to direct us. That was not easy. Over the loudspeaker he’d say, ‘Let’s do another take, and this time let’s try acting, Ms. Garr.’ [Laughs.] I’d be like, ‘What does that mean? I guess I wasn’t good.’ Actually, you know what I think? Francis wanted it to be a woman’s point of view. This was an Italian guy—a humourless Italian guy. Oh, I shouldn’t say that. He’s got humour. Anyway, he wanted a woman’s point of view, but I don’t think he had a clue. But he’s a smart guy. He makes good movies, let’s face it. The Godfather was like an opera. It was so beautiful.”

On Auditions | “I used to read the trades when I was in high school, and I would go to all these auditions. I auditioned for West Side Story and got kicked out. A couple days later, my friend said she was going to the callbacks, and I said, ‘I’m going with you.’ And she said, ‘You can’t go! You got dinged!’ And I said, ‘I don’t care. Now I know what they want.’ So I went back and I got the job, just by being pushy and ornery. And that’s how I figured out how to get jobs in this town.”

On Her Brain Aneurysm | “It’s actually amazing that I’m alive. Everyone I tell that I had an aneurysm always says, ‘Oh, my cousin died from that.’ Well, I didn’t, so I’m amazed. I was in a wheelchair, and I had to go to rehab. And now I’m walking! I haven’t been in a wheelchair in three months, and it’s amazing. I did all this therapy: exercise, swimming, biking. I’m really grateful for my dancers’ discipline. God’s not done with me yet. If She’s up there. She said, ‘Your time isn’t up yet.’”