Guilty pleasures
By The Associated Press
Teri Garr, the offbeat comic actor of ‘Young Frankenstein’ and ‘Tootsie,’ has died
LOS ANGELES | Teri Garr, the quirky comedy actor who rose from background dancer in Elvis Presley movies to co-star of such favorites as “Young Frankenstein” and “Tootsie,” has died. She was 79.
Garr died Tuesday of multiple sclerosis “surrounded by family and friends,” said publicist Heidi Schaeffer. Garr battled other health problems in recent years and underwent an operation in January 2007 to repair an aneurysm.
Admirers took to social media in her honor, with writer-director Paul Feig calling her “truly one of my comedy heroes. I couldn’t have loved her more” and screenwriter Cinco Paul saying: “Never the star, but always shining. She made everything she was in better.”
The actor, who was sometimes credited as Terri, Terry or Terry Ann during her long career, seemed destined for show business from her childhood.
Francis Ford Coppola to receive AFI Life Achievement Award
NEW YORK | Francis Ford Coppola will receive the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award, the American Film Institute announced Tuesday.
Coppola, who recently released his long-in-development epic “Megalopolis,” will be presented with the award in a gala tribute at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on April 26. The 85-year-old filmmaker will be the 50th recipient of the award first handed out to John Ford in 1973.
“Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist — one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who now embody his artistry and his independent spirit,” said the producer Kathleen Kennedy, chair of the AFI board of trustees.
Andrea Mitchell says she’s ending her daytime MSNBC show after 16 years
NEW YORK | Veteran NBC News reporter Andrea Mitchell said Tuesday that she plans to end her weekday MSNBC show after the inauguration of a new president and switch back to a reporting role.
Mitchell, 77, has been hosting “Andrea Mitchell Reports” in the daytime lineup since 2008, longer than anyone else at the network. She’s worked for NBC News since 1978, covering every major political convention since 1980.
She’ll continue to report for NBC News, and the network said she’ll be part of major breaking news and political events.
“After 16 years of being in the anchor chair every day, I want time to do more of what I love the most — more connecting, listening and reporting in the field, especially as whoever is elected president is going to undertake the monumental task of handling two foreign wars and the political divisions here at home,” she said on her show.
Mitchell will retain her titles as NBC News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent and chief Washington correspondent.
—From AP reports
