Multiple sclerosis (MS) is far from the first obstacle actress Teri Garr hurdled in her determination to define her own life. Her book, Speedbumps: Flooring it Through Hollywood, is a story about how she traveled up the ranks of the rich and famous to become one of Hollywood’s most fascinating icons. Garr writes honestly and humorously about her days as a dancer, an actress and an all-around comedienne, but the book does also feature seriously introspective moments, especially when Garr details her experience facing MS.
Speedbumps isn’t a typical Hollywood tale though. In the 1950s and 60s, Garr and her family stood largely on the outskirts of fame looking in. Her dad, Eddie Garr, was an alcoholic “Hollywood gypsy” who spent time in gambling halls while her mother moved their kids around the country to keep the family together. During that time, Garr danced in several Elvis Presley films, on the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour TV show, and on the show Shivaree before landing bigger parts like the one she tackled in Mr. Mom.
“My career was blazing,” Garr writes about being nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Sandy Lester, Dustin Hoffman’s neurotic, struggling actress girlfriend, in Tootsie. “I had a sweet house in the Hollywood Hills. I was a regular on The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman. I was on the cover of Ms. Magazine, and in The New Yorker. Pauline Kael said I had ‘become the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on the screen.’. . . Life was good.”
But just as her career took off, she began experiencing a limp and some twitching that she couldn’t control. Like many who live with MS, she was misdiagnosed several times before finding a doctor (in 2002) who could tell her what had really been happening to her body over the past 20 years.
But the laugh-out-loud Speedbumps isn’t exclusively about MS. In addition to detailing Garr’s life with the disease, the book also takes readers on a first-hand tour of other aspects of Garr’s life, including her childhood, her experiences in Hollywood, and her take on motherhood. Now, more than ever, Garr says she appreciates all that she’s been given, including her daughter, her friendships, her work, and the joy of life itself.
Speedbumps, which Garr wrote with Henriette Mantel, is presented in the friendly, personable tone you might expect if you were to meet Garr in person. Hidden in the middle of the book is a treasure trove of glossy photos, each complemented by funny captions. It manages to be funny yet insightful and inspirational at the same time—that’s quite a feat for a Hollywood memoir.
Today, as the national chair of the Multiple Sclerosis Women against MS program, Garr travels the country speaking to people about her disease. During her limited downtime she takes life slowly and of it all, she reflects by saying, “One of the only things we can control about any affliction—and life in general—is our attitude toward dealing with it."
Speedbumps: Flooring it Through Hollywood is available in paperback and is 256 pages. It was published by Plume in October 2006.
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