Valerie Harper

Valerie Harper Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: August 22, 1939

Death Date: August 30, 2019

Birth Place: Suffern, New York

Spouses: Richard Schaal

Partners: Peter Horton

A beloved presence on both the stage and screen, Valerie Harper remains best known for her iconic role as Rhoda Morgenstern on "Mary Tyler Moore" (CBS, 1970-77) and the spin-off "Rhoda" (CBS, 1974-78). Born in Suffern, New York in 1939, Harper's father's work required the family to make frequent moves. She had attended school in five different states by the time she opted to remain in New York on her own, studying ballet at Young Professionals School while appearing as a chorus girl at Radio City Corps de Ballet at the young age of 16. Harper went on to appear in Broadway productions like "Wildcat" and "Take Me Along" before joining the improv theater Second City, where she met and began a relationship with Richard Schaal, whom she later married in 1965. Harper branched into on-screen acting with a minor appearance on the soap opera "Doctors" (NBC, 1963-1982) before she and Schaal moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue film and television work more seriously. The pair co-wrote and starred in an episode of "Love, American Style" (ABC, 1969-1974) in 1970, right around the same time that Harper landed the role of Rhoda, best friend to protagonist Mary on the series "Mary Tyler Moore." The massive success of the series made Harper a star overnight, and though she also continued to appear on stage and in movies like "Freebie and the Bean" (1974), by 1974 Rhoda had become such an iconic character that she was offered her own spin-off. Harper began starring on "Rhoda" in 1974, occasionally returning for guest appearances on "Mary Tyler Moore." "Rhoda" wrapped in 1978, the same year Harper and Schaal divorced, and Harper moved on to appear in the film adaptation of Neil Simon's "Chapter Two" (1979). Over the coming years, Harper appeared in memorable projects like the cult hit "Blame it on Rio" (1984) before developing and starring on her own series, "Valerie" (NBC, 1986-1991) beginning in 1986. The family sitcom proved a big hit with viewers and Harper married second husband Tony Cacciotti on the heels of the show's success, but trouble hit after season two when network executives became intractable during routine contract negotiations. Unable to reach an agreement, the network fired Harper and, infamously, wrote her character off of the show, changing the series' name to "Valerie's Family" and eventually "The Hogan Family." Harper sued the show's production company and was awarded $1.4 million plus 12.5% of the show's profits, and she moved on to star on the Paul Haggis series "The City" (CBS, 1990), in addition to starring in acclaimed off-Broadway productions of "Death Defying Acts" and "All Under Heaven." Harper made a memorable appearance on an episode of "Sex and the City" (HBO, 1998-2004) before reuniting with Mary Tyler Moore for the reunion TV movie "Mary and Rhoda" (ABC, 2000). She returned to Broadway to star as Tallulah Bankhead in "Looped" in 2011, earning tremendous acclaim, and enjoyed making cameo appearances as a voice actor on "The Simpsons" (Fox, 1989-) and "American Dad!" (Fox, 2005-). Harper passed away in 2019, several years after being diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. She was 80 years old.

Credits

The Year in Memoriam 2017

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2017

Banner on the Moon

Narrator
Movie
2016

My Mom and the Girl

Actor
Norma / Nanny
Movie
2016

She's the Best Thing In It

Self
Movie
2015

Merry Xmas

Actor
Mother
Movie
2015

The Meredith Vieira Show

Guest
Talk
2014

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Guest Star
Franchise
2014

The Town That Came A-Courtin'

Actor
Charlotte
Movie
2014

The Town That Came A-Courtin'

Executive Producer
Movie
2014

Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity

Actor
Movie
2014

The Queen Latifah Show

Guest
Talk
2013

Katie

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Talk
2012

The Jeff Probst Show

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2012

The Rosie Show

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2011

The Chew

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2011

2 Broke GirlsStream

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Nola
Series
2011

My Future Boyfriend

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Bobbi Moreau
Movie
2011

Fixing Pete

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Mrs. Friedlander
Movie
2011

Shiver

Actor
Audrey Alden
Movie
2011

Certainty

Actor
Kathryn
Movie
2011

The Talk

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Talk
2010

Access Hollywood Live

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2010

Melissa & JoeyStream

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Aunt Bunny
Series
2010

Hot in ClevelandStream

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Angie
Series
2010

Stars in Shorts

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Mother
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2010

The Dr. Oz Show

Guest
Talk
2009

Drop Dead DivaStream

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Judge Leslie Singer
Series
2009
78%

The Doctors

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2008

The Wendy Williams Show

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2008

Golda's Balcony

Actor
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2007

'Til DeathStream

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Series
2006

Dancing With the StarsStream

Contestant
Reality
2005

American DadStream

Guest Voice
IHOP Diner
Series
2005

Committed

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2005

Desperate HousewivesStream

Guest Star
Claire Bremmer
Series
2004
72%

Less Than PerfectStream

Guest Star
Series
2002

Dancing at the Harvest Moon

Actor
Claire
Movie
2002

Three Sisters

Guest Star
Show
2001

The Passionate Eye

Guest
Show
2000

Mary and Rhoda

Actor
Rhoda Morgenstern Gerard Rousseau
Movie
2000

Family LawStream

Guest Star
Series
1999

That '70s ShowStream

Guest Star
Series
1998

Sex and the CityStream

Guest Star
Wallis Wysel
Series
1998
70%

The View

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Talk
1997

Dog's Best Friend

Voice
Chicken
Movie
1997

Promised Land

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Series
1996

Access Hollywood

Guest
News
1996

The Office

Actor
Rita Stone
Show
1995

The Great Mom Swap

Actor
Grace
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1995

Touched by an AngelStream

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1994

Extra

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1994

Death of A CheerleaderStream

Actor
Mrs. Delvecchio
Movie
1994

Cityline

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1993

Melrose PlaceStream

Guest Star
Mia Mancini
Series
1992

Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion

Actor
Dyan Draper
Movie
1991

A Festival at Ford's Theatre: The Stars Salute the President

Host
Show
1990

Stolen: One Husband

Actor
Katherine Slade
Movie
1990

The SimpsonsStream

Guest Voice
Department of Standardized Testing Proctor
Series
1989
85%

The Joan Rivers ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1989

The People Across the Lake

Actor
Rachel Yoman
Movie
1988

Des Voix dans la nuit

Actor
Movie
1988

Strange Voices

Actor
Lynn Glover
Movie
1987

Drop-Out Mother

Actor
Nora Cromwell
Movie
1987

Strange Voices

Actor
Movie
1987

The Oprah Winfrey ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1986

The Hogan Family

Actor
Valerie Hogan
Series
1986

The Execution

Actor
Hannah Epstein
Movie
1985

An Invasion of Privacy

Actor
Kate Bianchi
Movie
1983

Blame It on Rio

Actor
Karen Hollis
Movie
1983

Farrell for the People

Actor
Liz Farrell
Movie
1982

Don't Go to Sleep

Actor
Laura
Movie
1982

La Rupture

Actor
Movie
1981

The Day the Loving Stopped

Actor
Norma Danner
Movie
1981

The Last Married Couple in America

Actor
Barbara
Movie
1980

The Shadow Box

Actor
Maggie
Movie
1980

Fun and Games

Actor
Carol Hefferman
Movie
1980

Chapter Two

Actor
Faye Medwick
Movie
1979

Night Terror

Actor
Carol Turner
Movie
1976

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Valerie Harper

Guest
Show
1975

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

Rhoda

Actor
Rhoda Morgenstern Gerard
Series
1974

Freebie and the Bean

Actor
Bean's Wife
Movie
1974

Thursday's Game

Actor
Ann Menzente
Movie
1974

Colombo: Gioco mortale

Actor
Eve Babcock
Movie
1972

ColumboStream

Guest Star
Eve Babcock
Series
1971

The Mary Tyler Moore ShowStream

Actor
Rhoda Morgenstern
Series
1970

Love, American Style

Actor
Barbara Watkins
Series
1969

Love, American Style

Writer
Series
1969

The Dick Cavett ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1968

The Carol Burnett ShowStream

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Variety Show
1967

Today

Guest
News
1952

News aboutValerie Harper