Teri Garr Wasn’t Impressed By Elvis Presley’s Movies: ‘They Were Bad’

Teri Garr, who died on Oct. 29 at 79, was known for her roles in movies such as Tootsie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Young Frankenstein. But before she became a leading lady, she spent years as a bit player, landing small parts in various TV shows and movies throughout the 1960s. That included a string of appearances as a dancer in Elvis Presley movies, which she later admitted were not exactly Oscar material. 

Teri Garr recalled working as a dancer in Elvis Presley movies  

Garr trained as a dancer and landed a spot in the touring company of West Side Story when she was a teenager. In the early 1960s, she began working in Hollywood, appearing as a dancer in a string of Elvis Presley’s movies, including Fun in Acapulco, Kissin’ Cousins, Viva Las Vegas, Roustabout, and Clambake. 

In a conversation with A.V. Club in 2008 where she reflected on some of her past roles, Garr gave a blunt assessment of the films’ quality.  

“You weren’t supposed to laugh at Elvis, or he’d kill you with a karate chop,” she said. “Oh, Kissin’ Cousins. Wasn’t that a good one. That’s where he played twins, right? Some blond guy and him. I did a string of about six or seven Elvis movies, all in a row. He made all of those movies in two years’ time. All of them bad. Don’t quote me.”

“No, quote me,” she added. “It’s not a secret that they were bad.”

Presley, who died in 1977, likely would have agreed with Garr’s assessment. 

 “Elvis hardly ever watched the movies he made because he didn’t like most of them,” the King of Rock and Roll’s father Vernon Presley told Good Housekeeping (via Express) after his death. 

Elvis was ‘cool,’ the ‘Tootsie’ star said 

While Elvis’ cinematic output might not have been very impressive, Garr had fond memories of the man himself. 

“Elvis was cool. He wanted to be part of the gang,” she said. “There were always dancers around, and we hung out together. He always had his Memphis Mafia guys, and they would try to be friends with us … He wanted to be part of the crowd. I liked that about him.”

Garr also recalled spending time at the ‘Hound Dog’ singer’s house. 

“Elvis used to have parties at his house – and I’ve told this story a million times – but they weren’t really parties, because there was no chips or dip,” she said. “Just Elvis and his boys watching TV, and him making funny comments, and everybody laughing at them. Is that a party? Not really. But that’s Hollywood.”

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