The endearing actor had an offbeat zany charm that made her perfect for comedy. I always enjoyed seeing her in films and so was saddened by the news of her death at the age of 79.

She became famous after she appeared in Young Frankenstein.

Her big film break came as Gene Hackman’s girlfriend in 1974’s Francis Ford Coppola thriller “The Conversation.” That led to an interview with Mel Brooks, who said he would hire her for the role of Gene Wilder’s German lab assistant in 1974’s “Young Frankenstein” — if she could speak with a German accent.

“Cher had this German woman, Renata, making wigs, so I got the accent from her,” Garr once recalled.

The film established her as a talented comedy performer, with New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael proclaiming her “the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on the screen.”

She was a popular guest on TV talk shows.

The actor Lisa Kudrow, who became famous for her role as Phoebe in the hit TV series Friends and then went on to act in many films, strongly reminded me of Garr, both in terms of looks and zaniness and charm. So it seemed like no-brainer casting to have Garr playing Phoebe’s mother in a few episodes of the show. I had not watched Friends and so was unaware of this until I read about it in her obituaries.

Here is a clip from one of those episodes that I found and you can see the resemblance in looks, personality, and acting styles.