Terri Garr Stood Up To Gene Roddenberry’s Sexism During Star Trek

Entertainment lost one of its most vivacious talents today with the passing of Teri Garr at the age of 79. Though she’d been gone from our screens since 2011 due to her complications from multiple sclerosis, Garr shined so brightly in the ’70s and ’80s that she was never far from our thoughts. I was born in 1973, and grew up considering Garr to be the epitome of a movie star from watching her in classic films like “Young Frankenstein,” “Oh, God!,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “The Black Stallion,” and “Tootsie.” Note that she was a supporting actor in these movies, and marvel at how little that mattered. She was so spirited that she could overwhelm the scenery-munching likes of Gene Wilder, Richard Dreyfuss, and Dustin Hoffman.

This mirrored Garr’s strength in real life. Having broken into acting as a background dancer on television and in Elvis movies, she was no doubt used to the irksome gaze of men. Fortunately, Garr learned how to put her foot down early, most notably in a pivotal role on the Original Series of “Star Trek,” where the show’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, let his worst leering tendencies blot out all he did so well.

1968 was a big year in Garr’s career. She landed her first big-screen speaking part in Bob Rafelson’s ultra-groovy Monkees movie “Head,” and played secretary Roberta Lincoln to 20th century CIA Agent Robert Seven (Robert Lansing) in the “Star Trek” episode “Assignment: Earth.”

Garr’s part in “Assignment: Earth” was much more than just window dressing (she nearly halts Seven from preventing the start of World War III), but according to “The Impossible Has Happened: The Life and Work of Gene Roddenberry,” the series’ creator was distracted by her costume. Garr was already donning a very short skirt, but Roddenberry thought it should be two inches shorter. This prompted Garr to walk off the set. Though she did return to complete her scenes, she never appeared in another “Star Trek” television show or movie again, and only expressed distaste for the franchise going forward.

While it’s heartening that Garr stood her ground and hit back against Roddenberry’s sexist actions, you can’t help but look over her impressive career and wonder where the leading parts were. She was a multi-talented powerhouse who only got to combine her acting and dancing chops to prominent effect in Francis Ford Coppola’s severely underrated “One from the Heart.” She was brilliant in everything, but I feel like we only scraped just a chip of the iceberg with her. Nevertheless, I’m grateful for the time we got to spend with Teri Garr.