Valerie Harper
{{Short description|American actress (1939–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Valerie Harper 1974.JPG
| caption = Harper in 1974
| birth_name = Valerie Kathryn Harper
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|08|22}}
| birth_place = Suffern, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|08|30|1939|8|22}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| resting_place = Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles{{cite news| title=Valerie Harper Laid to Rest in L.A. as Daughter Gives Speech During Funeral| url=https://people.com/tv/valerie-harper-laid-to-rest-funeral/| first1=Johnny| last1=Dodd| first2=Eric| last2=Todisco| date=September 7, 2019| magazine=People| access-date=November 14, 2019}}
| spouse = {{ubl|{{Marriage|Richard Schaal|1964|1978|end=div}}|{{Marriage|Tony Cacciotti|1987|}}}}
| children = 1
| occupation = {{Hlist|Actress|comedian|dancer|writer}}
| years_active = 1956–2019
| website = {{Official website|http://www.valerieharper.com}}
}}
Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical Li'l Abner.{{Cite web |title=Valerie Harper – Broadway Cast & Staff {{!}} IBDB |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/valerie-harper-44186 |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www.ibdb.com}} She is best remembered for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977) and its spinoff Rhoda (1974–1978). For her work on Mary Tyler Moore, she thrice received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and later received the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Rhoda.
Her film appearances include roles in Freebie and the Bean (1974) and Chapter Two (1979), both of which garnered her Golden Globe Award nominations.
From 1986 to 1987, Harper appeared as Valerie Hogan on the sitcom Valerie, from which she was fired after two seasons. Her character was killed off, and the show was retitled Valerie's Family and eventually The Hogan Family. Actress Sandy Duncan was cast in a new role that served as a replacement for Harper's character.
Harper returned to stage work in her later career, appearing in several Broadway productions. In 2010, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Tallulah Bankhead in the play Looped.
Early life
Harper was born on August 22, 1939, in Suffern, New York,{{cite web| url=http://www.biography.com/people/valerie-harper-22232#awesm=~oBCDa5LXmLFa34| title=Valerie Harper Biography| publisher=The Biography Channel (A&E Networks)| access-date=April 16, 2014}}Harper in {{Cite AV media| url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/valerie-harper#| title=Valerie Harper Interview Part 1 of 3| publisher=Archive of American Television| time=00:36| date=February 26, 2009| access-date=April 16, 2014| quote=It's 'well-known' that I was born in 1940, I read it everywhere, but it was actually 1939.}} the daughter of Iva Mildred (née McConnell){{Cite web |url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPV7-563 |title=Iva Mcconell Harper |access-date=July 31, 2015 | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004225833/https://familysearch.org/ark%3A/61903/1%3A1%3AVPV7-563 |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |publisher=Family Search}} and Howard Donald Harper. Her father was a traveling lighting salesman; her mother was born (and raised) in Dalmeny, Saskatchewan, before becoming a teacher and later training as a nurse. Her parents married in Alberta before her mother immigrated to the United States.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVW9AAAAQBAJ&q=Iva+Mildred+mcconnell&pg=PA6 | title=I, Rhoda| isbn=978-1-4516-9947-0| last1=Harper| first1=Valerie| date=September 17, 2013| publisher=Simon & Schuster}}
Harper was the middle child of three, between her sister Leanne and her brother Merrill, who later took the name "Don". After her parents' divorce in 1957, she also had a half-sister, Virginia,{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}
from her father's second marriage to Angela Posillico (1933–1996).
She stated that her parents were expecting a boy. But after her arrival her first and middle names were derived from tennis players Valerie Scott and Kay Stammers who were victorious doubles partners at a tournament Harper's father was attending the day she was born.{{Cite book| last1=Harper| first1=Valerie| title=I Rhoda: A Memoir| date=January 15, 2013| publisher=Gallery Books| isbn=978-1-4516-9946-3| page=[https://archive.org/details/irhoda0000harp/page/8 8]| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/irhoda0000harp/page/8}}{{Cite web| last1=Ouzounian| first1=Richard| date=April 12, 2006| url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/1019846381.html?dids=1019846381:1019846381&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+12%2C+2006&author=Richard+Ouzounian&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Good+as+Golda%3B+Yes%2C+that+is+veteran+actress+Valerie+Harper+playing+Israel%27s+1970s+prime+minister+in+a+play+coming+soon+to+Toronto.+Turns+out+Rhoda+Morgenstern+has+Canadian+roots&pqatl=google| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131143738/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/1019846381.html?dids=1019846381:1019846381&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+12,+2006&author=Richard+Ouzounian&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Good+as+Golda;+Yes,+that+is+veteran+actress+Valerie+Harper+playing+Israel's+1970s+prime+minister+in+a+play+coming+soon+to+Toronto.+Turns+out+Rhoda+Morgenstern+has+Canadian+roots&pqatl=google| url-status=dead| archive-date=January 31, 2013| title=Good as Golda; Yes, that is veteran actress Valerie Harper playing Israel's 1970s prime minister in a play coming soon to Toronto. Turns out Rhoda Morgenstern has Canadian roots| work=Toronto Star| access-date=August 28, 2017| url-access=subscription}}{{Sfn|Bawden|1987}} Her father was of English and French ancestry and her mother was of French-Canadian, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry.{{Cite news| newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning Journal| date=July 28, 1973| title=Ask Them Yourself| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fpkeAAAAIBAJ&pg=4169,4618603&dq=for-valerie-harper}} Harper based her character Rhoda Morgenstern on her Italian-American stepmother and Penny Ann Green (née Joanna Greenberg), with whom she danced in the Broadway musical Wildcat.{{Sfn|Jacobs|2008|p=1}} She was raised Catholic,{{Sfn|Lacher|2008}} although at an early age she quit the church.{{Sfn|Gregory|2002|p=35}}
Her family moved every two years due to her father's work. Harper attended schools in South Orange, New Jersey; Pasadena, California; Monroe, Michigan; Ashland, Oregon; and Jersey City, New Jersey. When her family returned to Oregon, she stayed in the New York City area to study ballet. She attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City, New JerseyArnold, Laurence. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-31/valerie-harper-rhoda-in-hit-70s-television-shows-dies-at-80 "Valerie Harper, 'Rhoda' in Hit '70s Television Shows, Dies at 80"], Bloomberg News, August 31, 2019. Accessed September 12, 2021. "For her father's job, the family moved every few years, from Massachusetts to New Jersey to California to Michigan to Oregon and then back to New Jersey, where Harper attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City." before graduating from the private Young Professionals School on West 56th Street, where classmates included Sal Mineo, Tuesday Weld, and Carol Lynley.
Career
= Broadway dancer and improv =
Harper began her show business career as a dancer and chorus girl on Broadway, and went on to perform in several Broadway shows, some choreographed by Michael Kidd, including Wildcat (starring Lucille Ball), Li'l Abner, Take Me Along (starring Jackie Gleason), and Subways Are for Sleeping. She was also cast in the musical Destry Rides Again, but was forced to leave rehearsals due to illness. She returned to Broadway in February 2010, playing Tallulah Bankhead in Matthew Lombardo's Looped at the Lyceum Theatre.{{Cite web |url=http://www.loopedonbroadway.com |title=LoopedOnBroadway.com |publisher=Loopedonbroadway.com |access-date=March 12, 2013 | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301111951/http://www.loopedonbroadway.com/ |archive-date=March 1, 2013}}
Harper had bit parts in Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956) and the film version of Li'l Abner (1959), where she played a Yokumberry Tonic wife. She broke into television on a 1963 episode of the soap opera The Doctors ("Zip Guns Can Kill"), and was an extra in Love with the Proper Stranger (1963). She was in the ensemble cast of Paul Sills' Story Theatre and toured with Second City along with then-husband Richard Schaal, Linda Lavin, and others, later appearing in sketches on Playboy After Dark in 1969. She performed several characters in a comedy LP record, When You're in Love the Whole World is Jewish (1965), which included the popular novelty single, The Ballad of Irving, a recitation by TV announcer Frank Gallop. Harper and Schaal moved to Los Angeles in 1968, and co-wrote an episode of Love, American Style.
= Television and film =
File:Mary Tyler Moore Valerie Harper Cloris Leachman Last Mary Tyler Moore show 1977.JPG and Cloris Leachman in the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1977)]]
Richard Schaal and Harper wrote "Love and the Visitor" (1970) for Love, American Style, a TV romantic comedy series.{{Cite web |last= |date=2020-01-06 |title=Valerie Harper: You Will Be Missed |url=https://thewritelife61.com/2020/01/06/valerie-harper-you-will-be-missed/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=thewritelife61 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Wagner |first=Laura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEKBLT-Z9sgC&dq=Richard+Schaal+Valerie+Harper+Love+Visitor+American+Style&pg=PA194 |title=Anne Francis: The Life and Career |date=2011-08-12 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8600-7 |language=en}} {{Cite web |date=2020-04-04 |title=Guest TV Appearances - The William Windom Tribute Site |url=https://williamwindom.com/tv-roles-tv-movies-miniseries/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |language=en-US}}
While doing theater in Los Angeles in 1970, Harper was spotted by casting agent Ethel Winant, who called her in to audition for the role of Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She co-starred there from 1970 to 1974, then starred in the spinoff series Rhoda (CBS 1974–1978) in which her character returned to New York City.
She won four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for her work as Rhoda Morgenstern. The first season of Rhoda was released on DVD on April 21, 2009 by Shout! Factory.[http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Rhoda-Season-1-Press-Release/11350 "Rhoda - Formal Press Release from Shout! Factory for Rhoda's 1st Season DVDs"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601022735/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Rhoda-Season-1-Press-Release/11350 |date=June 1, 2009}} Tvshowsondvd.com, accessed January 26, 2011.
Harper was nominated for a Golden Globe for "New Star of the Year" for her supporting role in Freebie and the Bean (1974),{{Cite web |url=http://www.thegoldenglobes.com/nominee/harper_valerie.html |title=Valerie Harper profile |publisher=Thegoldenglobes.com |access-date=March 12, 2013}} and was a guest star on The Muppet Show in 1976, its first season.{{Citation needed |date=March 2021}} She had a starring role in the suspense movie Night Terror (1977), playing a murder witness who's pursued by the killer. She had a supporting role in the romantic comedy Chapter Two (1979), starring James Caan and Marsha Mason, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also starred as Maggie in a telefilm production of the Michael Cristofer play The Shadow Box (1980), directed by Paul Newman.
Harper returned to situation comedy in 1986 when she played family matriarch Valerie Hogan on the NBC series Valerie.{{Sfn|Weinman|2008}} Following a salary dispute with NBC and production company Lorimar in 1987, she was fired from the series at the end of its second season,{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{Sfn|Weinman|2008}}{{Sfn|Hutchings|1987}}{{Sfn|Brennan|1988}}{{Sfn|Farber|1988}}{{Sfn|Lacayo|Seufert|1988}}}} and she sued NBC and Lorimar for breach of contract. Her claims against NBC were dismissed, but the jury found that Lorimar had wrongfully fired her and awarded her $1.4 million plus 12.5% of the show's profits.{{Sfn|Brennan|1988}}{{Sfn|Farber|1988}} The series continued without her, with the explanation that her character had died offscreen.{{Sfn|Weinman|2008}}{{Sfn|Hutchings|1987}} In 1987, it was initially renamed Valerie's Family, then The Hogan Family, as Harper was replaced by Sandy Duncan, who played her sister-in-law Sandy Hogan.{{Sfn|Weinman|2008}}
Harper appeared in various television films, including guest roles on such series as Touched by an Angel (1996), Melrose Place (1998) ,Sex and the City (1999), and That 70's Show (2001).
In 2000, she reunited with Moore in Mary and Rhoda, a television film that reunited their characters in later life.{{Cite web |url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/mary-and-rhoda |title=Mary and Rhoda | Archive of American Television |website=Emmytvlegends.org |date=February 7, 2000 |access-date=August 28, 2016}}
= Later career =
File:Valerie Harper in Red Dress Collection 2010.jpg]]
Harper was a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and ran for its presidency in 2001, losing to Melissa Gilbert. She served on SAG's Hollywood board of directors.{{Cite news| title=Divided SAG Elects Melissa Gilbert| date=November 3, 2001| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-03-me-65202-story.html| access-date=August 28, 2017| last1=Bates| first1=James| work=Los Angeles Times}}
In 2005–2006, Harper portrayed Golda Meir in a United States national tour of the one-woman drama Golda's Balcony.{{Cite news |url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/rhoda-actress-non-jewish-zionist-has-incurable-brain-cancer/2013/03/11/ |title=Pro-Israel Valerie Harper (Rhoda) Suffering Incurable Cancer |work=The Jewish Press |date=March 11, 2013 |first1=Lori Lowenthal |last1=Marcus |access-date=August 28, 2017}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/valerie-harper-to-play-meir-in-goldas-balcony-tour-com-125117 |title=Valerie Harper to Play Meir in Golda's Balcony Tour |first1=Robert |last1=Simonson|author-link1=Robert Simonson |date=April 5, 2005 |work=Playbill |access-date=August 28, 2017}} A film of the production was released in 2007.
She played Tallulah Bankhead in the world-premiere production of Matthew Lombardo's Looped at the Pasadena Playhouse from June 27 to August 3, 2008.{{Cite web |url=http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/2008_looped.htm |title=Looped |access-date=March 5, 2010 | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611004128/http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/2008_looped.htm |archive-date=June 11, 2009 |publisher=Pasadena Playhouse}}{{Cite news| title='Looped' at the Pasadena Playhouse| url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-looped10-2008jul10-story.html| first1=Charles| last1=McNulty| date=July 10, 2008| work=Los Angeles Times}} The show moved to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in 2009.{{Cite web |url=http://www.arenastage.org/season/08-09/looped |title=Looped |access-date=May 27, 2009 | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505034735/http://www.arenastage.org/season/08-09/looped |archive-date=May 5, 2009 |publisher=Arena Stage}} It then briefly ran on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre, from February 2010 (previews) through April 2010, for which Harper received a Tony Award nomination.{{Cite news| last1=Jones| first1=Kenneth| url=http://www.playbill.com/article/looped-will-play-its-final-fadeout-april-11-com-167403| title='Looped' Will Play Its Final Fadeout April 11| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100407032257/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138473-Looped-Will-Play-Its-Final-Fadeout-April-11 |archive-date=April 7, 2010 |work=Playbill |date=April 5, 2010}} She was to continue the role on a national tour beginning January 2013, but withdrew due to her health.{{Cite news| title=Valerie Harper Drops Out Of 'Looped' Tour For Health Reasons| url=https://www.courant.com/2013/01/28/valerie-harper-drops-out-of-looped-tour-for-health-reasons-2/| last1=Rizzo| first1=Frank| date=January 28, 2013| work=Hartford Courant| access-date=August 28, 2017}}
She played Claire Bremmer, aunt of Susan Delfino (Teri Hatcher), on ABC's Desperate Housewives in 2011.{{cite journal| url= http://www.tvguide.com/News/Rhoda-Comes-Desperate-1026277.aspx| title=Keck's Exclusives: Rhoda Comes to Desperate Housewives| journal=TV Guide| date=December 2010| access-date=December 1, 2010}}
On September 4, 2013, Harper was announced as a contestant for the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Tristan MacManus.{{Cite web| title=Dancing With the Stars 2013: Season 17 Cast Announced| url=http://gma.yahoo.com/dancing-with-the-stars-2013-season-17-cast-announced-192113776.html?vp=1| first1=Lauren| last1=Sher| work=Good Morning America| publisher=ABC News| date=September 4, 2013| access-date=November 6, 2014}} They were eliminated from the show on October 7, 2013.
One of Harper's final network television roles, in 2015, was a guest role as Nola on 2 Broke Girls. This was a full circle moment, as the show was similar to her breakout role of two best girlfriends making it on their own in a city as portrayed in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Coincidentally, on Harper's own show Rhoda, Vivian Vance guest starred on Rhoda shortly before Vance's death, which mirrored Vance's breakout role of two best girlfriends portrayed in I Love Lucy.
Harper appeared as the character Wanda on the American comedy web television series Liza on Demand, in its July 11, 2018, episode: "Valentine's Day".{{cite web| title=Liza Koshy's YouTube Premium Series LIZA ON DEMAND Now Streaming 2013: Season 17 Cast Announced| url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Liza-Koshys-YouTube-Premium-Series-LIZA-ON-DEMAND-Now-Streaming-20180627| publisher=Broadway World| date=June 27, 2018| access-date=July 27, 2019}}
= Activism and charity work =
In the 1970s, Harper was involved in the women's liberation movement and was an advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment.{{cite news| title=Rhoda Morgenster's Tumblr| newspaper=Tumblr| url=https://rhodamorgensterns.tumblr.com/post/48127416958/valerie-harper-center-participated-in-a-rally| quote=Valerie Harper, center, participated in a rally in support of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1978 in Seattle. She is flanked by her sister, Leah Windward, right, and Diane Narasaki."| access-date=November 14, 2019}}{{cite web| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LeULAAAAIBAJ&pg=6492,1476703&dq=equal-rights-amendment+valerie-harper&hl=en| title=Valerie Harper She Doesn't Mince Words; She's Here For Equality| last1=Forbish| first1=Lynn| work=Evening Independent| location=St. Petersburg, Florida| date=September 20, 1980| access-date=August 28, 2017}} With Dennis Weaver she co-founded L.I.F.E. (Love Is Feeding Everyone) in 1983, a charity that fed thousands of needy people in Los Angeles.{{Cite web| first1=Antonio| last1=Olivo| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-06-me-47248-story.html| title=Info re L.I.F.E. (charity)| work=Los Angeles Times| date=October 6, 1994| access-date=August 28, 2013}}{{cite news| url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1992-10-23/features/9202250146_1_madonna-musical-stars-charity| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526014229/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1992-10-23/features/9202250146_1_madonna-musical-stars-charity| url-status=dead| archive-date=May 26, 2013| title=Album's Proceeds To Go To Charity| work=Sun-Sentinel| location=Fort Lauderdale| date=October 23, 1992| access-date=March 12, 2013}}
Personal life
Harper's NYC roommate was Arlene Golonka.{{cite web |last1=Molseed |first1=Megan |title='The Andy Griffith Show' Star Lived with Valerie Harper, Put 'Rhoda' Actor on Fast Track to Success |url=https://outsider.com/entertainment/the-andy-griffith-show-star-lived-with-valerie-harper-put-rhoda-actor-on-fast-track-to-success/ |website=Outsider |access-date=30 December 2022 |date=12 October 2021}}
Harper married actor Richard Schaal in 1964. They divorced in 1978, after which she had a relationship with Peter Horton.{{cite web |last1=Galella |first1=Ron |author1-link=Ron Galella |title=Actress Valerie Harper and actor Peter Horton attend the Seventh Annual American Film Institute (AFI) Lifetime Achievement Award Salute to Alfred Hitchcock on March 7, 1979 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actress-valerie-harper-and-actor-peter-horton-attend-the-news-photo/163765575 |website=Getty Images |language=en-us |date=March 7, 1979}} She married Tony Cacciotti in 1987, after dating for seven years, and they adopted a daughter, Cristina.{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-09-19-ca-1680-story.html| title=Valerie Harper Savors Her Victory| first1=Diane| last1=Haithman| work=Los Angeles Times| date=September 19, 1988| access-date=July 24, 2019}}
Despite playing Jewish characters such as Rhoda Morgenstern, Harper herself was not Jewish.{{cite news| title=Valerie Harper, Who Won Fame and Emmys as 'Rhoda,' Dies at 80| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/30/obituaries/valerie-harper-dead.html| first1=Bruce| last1=Weber| date=August 30, 2019| publisher=The New York Times}}
In 2014 Harper was on The Howard Stern Show and, while discussing her terminal illness, told Howard in private a secret code word that only the two of them would know, which could be used after her death to prove if psychics were real.{{cite news| url=https://www.howardstern.com/show/2019/09/03/howard-stern-invites-psychics-guess-secret-word-late-valerie-harper-told-him/| title=Howard Stern Invites Psychics to Guess the Secret Word the Late Valerie Harper Once Told Him| date=September 19, 2014}} This idea for a secret word was based on a pact Harry Houdini had made with his wife Bess{{cite news| url=https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2020/10/hollywood-houdini-and-the-halloween-seance-of-1936/| title=Hollywood, Houdini and the Halloween Seance of 1936| first1=Mark| last1=Dimunation| publisher=The Library of Congress| date=October 30, 2020}} where they promised each other that the first one to die would attempt to contact the surviving spouse from the afterlife, using a code the couple had created to verify any spiritualists or psychics claiming they had made contact. In December, 2024, magician and mentalist Oz Pearlman appeared on the Howard Stern Show and guessed that the word was "curly."{{cite news| title=Oz ‘The Mentalist’ Pearlman Makes His ‘Howard Stern Show’ Debut| url=https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65015211/?ref_=tt_nwr_1| date=December 16, 2024| publisher=IMDb.com}}
Illness and death
In 2009, Harper was diagnosed with lung cancer.Lloyd, Janice (March 6, 2013). [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/06/valerie-harper-brain-cancer/1967129 "Harper's brain cancer likely related to previous cancer"]. USA Today. She announced on March 6, 2013, that tests from a January hospital stay revealed she had leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition where cancer cells spread into the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain. She explained her doctors had given her as little as three months to live.{{cite news| url=https://people.com/celebrity/valerie-harper-has-brain-cancer-leptomeningeal-carcinomatosis/| title=Valerie Harper Has Terminal Brain Cancer| first1=Michelle| last1=Tauber| first2=Johnny| last2=Dodd| work=People| date=March 6, 2013| access-date=March 6, 2013}} Although the disease was considered incurable, her doctors said they were treating her with chemotherapy to try to slow its progress.{{cite news| url=https://people.com/celebrity/valerie-harper-has-terminal-cancer-leptomeningeal-carcinomatosis-explained/| title=Valerie Harper's Rare Cancer Explained| first1=Johnny| last1=Dodd| first2= Michelle| last2=Tauber| work=People| date=March 6, 2013| access-date=March 7, 2013}}
In April 2014, Harper said she was responding well to the treatment.[http://www.closerweekly.com/posts/valerie-harper-reveals-i-am-absolutely-cancer-free-37249 Valerie Harper Reveals: "I Am Absolutely Cancer-Free!"]. Closer. Retrieved April 16, 2014. On July 30, 2015, she was hospitalized in Maine after falling unconscious, and taken via medevac to a larger hospital for further treatment.{{cite magazine| url=http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/30/valerie-harper-hospitalized-maine-precaution| title=Valerie Harper's hospitalization prior to a Maine performance a 'precaution,' says the theater| first1=Megan| last1=Daley| magazine=Entertainment Weekly| date=July 30, 2015| access-date=July 30, 2015}}{{cite magazine| url=http://www.etonline.com/news/169019_valerie_harper_in_a_coma_source/| title=Valerie Harper In a Coma, Sources Say| magazine=Entertainment Weekly| access-date=July 30, 2015| date=July 30, 2015}}{{cite web| url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2015/07/30/valerie-harper-hospitalized-maine/30895361/| title=Valerie Harper released from hospital| work=USA Today| first1=Jayme| last1=Deerwester}} She was later discharged.{{cite news| url=http://bangordailynews.com/2015/07/31/news/state/valerie-harper-not-in-coma-looking-forward-to-returning-to-ogunquit-playhouse/| title=Valerie Harper not in coma, looking forward to returning to Ogunquit Playhouse| first1=Dawn| last1=Gagnon| work=Bangor Daily News| access-date=August 28, 2016}}
In 2016, Harper's cancer treatment continued at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and she was well enough to appear in a short film, My Mom and the Girl, based on the experiences of director/writer Susie Singer Carter, whose mother has Alzheimer's disease.{{cite news |url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1510975-valerie-harper-back-on-screen-despite-cancer-struggle |title=Valerie Harper back on screen despite cancer struggle |date=October 12, 2017 |access-date=October 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028044155/http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1510975-valerie-harper-back-on-screen-despite-cancer-struggle |newspaper=The Chronicle Herald| location=Halifax, Nova Scotia| archive-date=October 28, 2017| url-status=dead}} In September 2017, she said: "People are saying, 'She's on her way to death and quickly'. Now it's five years instead of three months... I'm going to fight this. I'm going to see a way."{{cite news| url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/valerie-harpers-cancer-battle-now-its-5-years-instead-of-3-months| title=Valerie Harper's cancer battle: 'Now it's 5 years instead of 3 months'| first1=Stephanie| last1=Nolasco| date=September 27, 2017| website=Fox News| access-date=February 16, 2019}} At the time, she was developing a television series with Carter.{{Cite web| url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Interview-Valerie-Harper-Talks-New-Film-Not-Letting-Life-Slip-By-20171005| title=BWW Interview: Valerie Harper Talks New Film & Not Letting Life Slip By| first1=Leigh| last1=Scheps| website=BroadwayWorld.com| access-date=February 16, 2019}}
By July 2019, she was on a regimen of "a multitude of medications and chemotherapy drugs" and was experiencing "extreme physical and painful challenges" that required "around-the-clock, 24/7 care."{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/07/18/valerie-harper-gofundme-created-ease-medical-costs-amid-cancer-fight/1764860001/| title=GoFundMe created to ease Valerie Harper's 'unrelenting medical costs' amid cancer fight| first1=Erin| last1=Jensen| work=USA Today| date=July 18, 2019| access-date=July 18, 2019}} Harper died on the morning of August 30, 2019, in Los Angeles.Saperstein, Pat. [https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/valerie-harper-dead-dies-mary-tyler-moore-rhoda-1203319887/?yptr=yahoo "Valerie Harper, Rhoda on 'Mary Tyler Moore Show,' Dies at 80"] Variety, August 30, 2019{{cite news| url=https://www.npr.org/2019/08/30/512035751/valerie-harper-who-played-beloved-tv-sidekick-rhoda-dies-at-80| series=All Things Considered| work=NPR| last1=Blair| first1=Elizabeth| date=August 30, 2019| access-date=August 30, 2019| title=Valerie Harper, Who Played Beloved TV Sidekick Rhoda, Dies At 80}}
Harper is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.{{cite web | url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/valerie-harper-laid-to-rest-in-intimate-los-angeles-funeral/ | title=Valerie Harper Laid to Rest in Intimate Los Angeles Funeral | date=September 8, 2019 }}
Filmography
= Films =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1956
| Dancer at Prom | rowspan=2|Uncredited |
| 1959
| Luke's Wife |
| 1963
| Trash Program | Wife | Voice, uncredited |
| 1969
| With a Feminine Touch | | |
| 1973
| {{Sortname|The|Shape of Things|nolink=1}} | Herself | rowspan=2|Television film |
| rowspan=2|1974
| Ann Menzente |
| Freebie and the Bean
| Consuelo | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress |
| 1977
| Carol Turner | Television film |
| 1979
| Faye Medwick | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| rowspan=3|1980
| {{Sortname|The|Last Married Couple in America}} | Barbara | |
| Fun and Games
| Carol Hefferman |rowspan=6|Television film |
| {{Sortname|The|Shadow Box}}
| Maggie |
| 1981
| Norma Danner |
| rowspan=2|1982
| Farrell for the People | Elizabeth "Liz" Farrell |
| Don't Go to Sleep
| Laura |
| 1983
| {{Sortname|An|Invasion of Privacy|nolink=1}} | Kate Bianchi |
| 1984
| Karen Hollis | |
| 1985
| {{Sortname|The|Execution|nolink=1}} | Hannah Epstein | rowspan=13|Television film |
| 1987
| Lynn Glover |
| rowspan=2|1988
| Drop-Out Mother | Nora Cromwell |
| {{Sortname|The|People Across the Lake|nolink=1}}
| Rachel Yoman |
| 1989
| Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration | Herself |
| 1990
| Stolen: One Husband | Katherine Slade |
| 1991
| Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion | Dyan Draper |
| 1993
| {{Sortname|The|Poetry Hall of Fame|nolink=1}} | Herself |
| 1994
| {{Sortname|A|Friend to Die For}} | Mrs. Delvecchio |
| 1995
| {{Sortname|The|Great Mom Swap}} | Grace Venessi |
| 1997
| Chicken (voice) |
| 2000 |
| 2002
| Claire |
| 2007
| |
| rowspan=4|2011
| Shiver | Audrey Alden | |
| My Future Boyfriend
| Bobbi Moreau | rowspan=2|Television film |
| Fixing Pete
| Mrs. Friedlander |
| Certainty
| Kathryn | |
| 2014
| The Town That Came A-Courtin{{'}} | Charlotte | Television film |
| 2015
| Mother | 7 minute short |
| rowspan=2|2016
| My Mom and the Girl | 22 minute short |
| Stars in Shorts: No Ordinary Love
| Mother | Merry Xmas segment |
= Television =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| ! Title
! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1963
| Mrs. Steiner | Episode: "Zip Guns Can Kill" |
| 1970–1977
| {{Sortname|The|Mary Tyler Moore Show}} | 92 episodes |
| rowspan=3|1971
| Story Theatre | Unknown | Unknown episodes |
| Love, American Style
| Barbara Watkins | Episode: "Love and the Housekeeper" |
| The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
| Herself | 1 episode |
| rowspan=2|1972
| Columbo | Eve Babcock | Episode: "The Most Crucial Game" |
| The Dick Cavett Show
| rowspan=2|Herself | rowspan=2|1 episode |
| 1973 |
| 1974–1978
| Rhoda | 110 episodes |
| rowspan=2|1975
| John Denver Rocky Mountain Christmas 1975 TV Special |rowspan=7|Herself | Television special |
| Dean Martin Celebrity Roast |
| 1976
| Episode: "Valerie Harper" |
| 1976–1977
| Dinah! | 4 episodes |
| 1976–1990
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 8 episodes |
| 1978–1980
| 7 episodes |
| 1982
| Fridays | 1 episode |
| 1986
| {{Sortname|The|Love Boat}} | Laurel Peters | 2 episodes: "Egyptian Cruise Part 1 & Part 2" |
| 1986–1987
| Valerie | Valerie Hogan | 32 episodes |
| 1989–1990
| Herself | 2 episodes |
| rowspan=2|1990
| City | Liz Gianni | 13 episodes |
| Late Night with David Letterman
| rowspan=2|Herself | 1 episode |
| 1991
| Mary Tyler Moore: The 20th Anniversary Show | Television special |
| 1994
| Ellen Hartig | 3 episodes |
| rowspan=2|1995
| The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder | Herself | 1 episode |
| The Office
| Rita Stone | 6 episodes |
| 1996–1999
| Kate Prescott | 2 episodes: "Flesh and Blood" (1996) and "Full Circle" (1999) |
| 1996–2001
| Herself | 6 episodes |
| 1996
| Molly Arnold | Episode: "The Magic Gate" |
| rowspan=3|1998
| Various | Voice |
| Melrose Place
| Mia Mancini | 2 episodes |
| Sorcerous Stabber Orphen
| Townspeople | Voice, episode: "The Sword of Baltanders" |
| 1999
| Wallis Wysel | Episode: "Shortcomings" |
| rowspan=2|2000
| Unknown | Episode: "Be Careful What You Wish For" |
| As Told by Ginger
| Maryellen | Voice, episode: "The Wedding Frame" |
| rowspan=3|2001
| Paula | Episode: "Eric's Naughty No-no" |
| Family Law
| Julia | Episode: "Clemency" |
| Three Sisters
| Merle Keats | 2 episodes |
| 2002
| The Mary Tyler Moore Reunion | Herself | Television special |
| 2003−2004
| Judith | 2 episodes |
| 2005
| Lily Solomon | Episode: "The Mother Episode" |
| 2007–2016
| rowspan=2|Herself | 7 episodes |
| 2008
| 1 episode |
| 2009
| Barbara | Episode: "The Courtship of Eddie's Parents" |
| 2011
| Claire Bremmer | Episode: "Where Do I Belong" |
| 2011–2012
| Judge Leslie Singer | 2 episodes |
| 2011–2013
| The Talk | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2013–2018
| Various characters | Voice, 8 episodes |
| rowspan=3|2013
| Angie | Episode: "Love Is All Around" |
| The View
| Herself | 2 episodes |
| Dancing with the Stars
| Herself (Contestant) | 6 episodes |
| 2014–2019
| IHOP Diner / Various | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2014
| Signed, Sealed, Delivered{{Cite press release| url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2014/01/08/valerie-harper-will-guest-star-in-first-two-episodes-of-signed-sealed-delivered-the-highly-anticipated-hallmark-channel-original-956313/20140108hallmark01/|title=Valerie Harper Will Guest Star in First Two Episodes of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," the Highly Anticipated Hallmark Channel Original| work=The Futon Critic| publisher=Hallmark Channel| date=January 8, 2014}} | Theresa Capodiamonte | Guest star; 2 episodes: "Time to Start Livin' " and "To Whom It May Concern" |
| rowspan=2|2015
| Aunt Bunny | Episode: "Thanks But No Thanks" |
| 2 Broke Girls
| Nola | Episode: "And The Great Unwashed" |
| 2016
| Mamma Fiorucci | Episode: "Childrens Horsepital" |
=Web=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2018
| Wanda | Episode: "Valentine's Day" |
= Theater =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1957–1958
| Dancer | Replacement, was not in opening night cast. |
| 1959–1960
| Lady Entertainer, Townswoman | |
| 1960–1961
| Wildcat | Dancer | |
| 1961–1962
| Dancer | |
| 1967–1968
| Something Different | Beth Nemerov | Replacement |
| 1970–1971
| Various | |
| 1971
| Ovid's Metamorphoses | Ensemble | |
| 1995
| Death Defying Acts | Dorothy/Carol | Replacement. Off-Broadway: Variety Arts Theatre – 1997 "The Dragon and the Pearl," by Marty Martin, bio of Pearl S. Buck, commissioned by Cacciotti. The play workshopped at Milford, NH's American Stage Festival and was developed at Chicago's Organic Theatre. (Playbill, 11/16/1998) Later performed at TheaterWorks in Hartford, Connecticut. |
| 1998–1999
| All Under Heaven | Pearl S. Buck | Off-Broadway's Century Center Theatre. Ran November 3, 1998 – January 11, 1999. Played 16 previews and 65 regular performances. |
| 2001–2002
| {{Sortname|The|Tale of the Allergist's Wife}} | Marjorie | Replacement (July 31, 2001 – May 26, 2002) |
| 2008–2010
| Looped | 2010 Tony Award nominee: Best Actress in a Play. Looped ran on Broadway (at the Lyceum Theatre), February 19 – April 11, 2010 for 60 performances. |
| 2015
| Millicent Winter | Ogunquit Playhouse (Maine) (July 22–29—bowed out after collapsing backstage and being hospitalized. Replaced by Brenda Vaccaro for remaining run through August 15, 2015.) |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
!Award !Category !Work !Result |
|---|
| 1971
| rowspan=2|Primetime Emmy | rowspan=2|Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | rowspan=6|The Mary Tyler Moore Show |rowspan=2 {{won}} |
| rowspan=2|1972 |
| Golden Globe
| Best Supporting Actress — Television | {{nom}} |
| rowspan=2|1973
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | {{won}} |
| Golden Globe
| Best Supporting Actress — Television |rowspan=3 {{nom}} |
| rowspan=3|1974
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series |
| rowspan=2|Golden Globe
| New Female Star of the Year |
| Best Actress in a TV Comedy Series
|rowspan=6|Rhoda |rowspan=2 {{won}} |
| rowspan=2|1975
| Primetime Emmy |
| Golden Globe
| Best Actress in a TV Comedy Series |rowspan=6 {{nom}} |
| 1976
| rowspan=3|Primetime Emmy |rowspan=3|Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series |
| 1977 |
| 1978 |
| 1979
| Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress — Motion Picture | Chapter Two |
| 2010
| Looped |
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
{{Refbegin|30em}}
- {{Cite news| last1=Bawden| first1=Jim| newspaper=Toronto Star| date=June 28, 1987|page=C.1| title=The hits keep on coming for Valerie Harper| url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/472834391.html?dids=472834391:472834391&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+28%2C+1987&author=Jim+Bawden+Toronto+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=The+hits+keep+on+coming+for+Valerie+Harper| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130208170245/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/472834391.html?dids=472834391:472834391&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+28,+1987&author=Jim+Bawden+Toronto+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=The+hits+keep+on+coming+for+Valerie+Harper| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 8, 2013}}
- {{Cite news| last1=Brennan| first1=Patricia| url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/472834391.html?dids=472834391:472834391&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+28%2C+1987&author=Jim+Bawden+Toronto+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=The+hits+keep+on+coming+for+Valerie+Harper| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130208170245/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/472834391.html?dids=472834391:472834391&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+28,+1987&author=Jim+Bawden+Toronto+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=The+hits+keep+on+coming+for+Valerie+Harper| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 8, 2013| title=Life After Lawsuit| newspaper=The Washington Post| date=October 2, 1988}}
- {{Cite news| last1=Farber| first1=Stephen| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/03/arts/harper-in-tv-film-on-network-she-sued.html| title=Harper in TV Film on Network She Sued| newspaper=The New York Times| date=October 3, 1988}}
- {{Cite journal| last1=Hutchings| first1=David| url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20097372,00.html| title=Suing the Bosses Who Bounced Her, a Bitter Valerie Harper Fights to Save Her Reputation| journal=People| date=October 19, 1987}}
- {{Cite news| last1=Jacobs| title=Valerie Harper: 'Jewish in my heart'| date=August 20, 2008| first1=Andrea| newspaper=Intermountain Jewish News| url=http://ijn.com/leisure/leisure/338-valerie-harper-jewish-in-my-heart| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106014459/http://ijn.com./leisure/leisure/338-valerie-harper-jewish-in-my-heart| archive-date=January 6, 2016}}
- {{Cite magazine| last1=Lacayo| first1=Richard| first2=Nancy| last2=Seufert| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968299,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621115234/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968299,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=June 21, 2008| title=Law: Tell It to the Rent-a-Judge| magazine=Time|date=August 29, 1988}}
- {{Cite news| last1=Lacher| first1=Irene| url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-valerie-harper6-2008jul06,0,4529036.story| title=Valerie Harper tackles Tallulah| work=Los Angeles Times| quote=Harper is actually Catholic,...| date=July 6, 2008| access-date=September 16, 2010}}
- {{Cite book| last1=Gregory| first1=Mollie| url=https://archive.org/details/womenwhorunshowh00greg| url-access=registration| quote=That was the end of the Catholic church for me. I quit. I had a big click.| page=[https://archive.org/details/womenwhorunshowh00greg/page/35 35]| publisher=St. Martin's Press| isbn=978-0-312-30182-8| year=2002| title=Women who run the show}}
- {{Cite web| last1=Weinman| first1=Jaime| url=http://www.macleans.ca/2008/11/28/the-20th-anniversary-of-the-most-awesomest-tv-contract-dispute-ever| title=The 20th Anniversary Of the Most Awesomest TV Contract Dispute Ever| work=Maclean's| date=November 28, 2008}}
{{Refend}}
External links
{{Commons|Valerie Harper}}
- {{Official website}}
- {{IMDb name|0001320}}
- {{tcmdb name}}
- {{Find a Grave|202581904}}
- {{The Interviews name|valerie-harper}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{Iobdb name|6543}}
- {{Playbill person}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Valerie Harper
|list =
{{EmmyAward ComedyLeadActress}}
{{EmmyAward ComedySupportingActress}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Actress TV Comedy}}
{{Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Valerie}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:20th-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American women comedians
Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners
Category:Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Category:Deaths from lung cancer in California
Category:Former Roman Catholics
Category:Lincoln High School (New Jersey) alumni
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
Category:Participants in American reality television series