Valerie Harper | |
|---|---|
 Harper in 1974 | |
| Born | Valerie Kathryn Harper (1939-08-22)August 22, 1939 Suffern, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 30, 2019(2019-08-30) (aged 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles[1] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1956–2019 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | Official website |
Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer onBroadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musicalLi'l Abner.[2] She playedRhoda Morgenstern onThe Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977) and its spinoffRhoda (1974–1978). For her work onMary Tyler Moore, she received thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series three times, and later received the award forOutstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series forRhoda.
Her film appearances include roles inFreebie and the Bean (1974) andChapter Two (1979), both of which garnered herGolden Globe Award nominations.
From 1986 to 1987, Harper appeared as Valerie Hogan on the sitcomValerie, from which she was fired after two seasons. Her character was killed off, and the show was retitledValerie's Family and eventuallyThe Hogan Family. ActressSandy 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 theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance asTallulah Bankhead in the playLooped.
Harper was born on August 22, 1939, inSuffern, New York,[3][4] the daughter of Iva Mildred (née McConnell)[5] and Howard Donald Harper. Her father was a traveling lighting salesman; her mother was born (and raised) inDalmeny, Saskatchewan, before becoming a teacher and later training as a nurse. Her parents married inAlberta before her mother immigrated to the United States.[6]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]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 playersValerie Scott andKay Stammers who were victorious doubles partners at a tournament Harper's father was attending the day she was born.[7][8][9] Her father was of English and French-Canadian ancestry and her mother was of French-Canadian, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry.[10] 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 musicalWildcat.[11][4] She was raisedCatholic and attended several Catholic schools during her childhood,[12][13] although at an early age she quit attending church.[14]
Harper's family moved frequently throughout her childhood due to her father's work.[13] When she was two years old, shortly after her brother was born, the family relocated fromNorthampton, Massachusetts toSouth Orange, New Jersey, where she enrolled in childhood dance classes.[13] When Harper was in first grade, the family relocated again to California, living inAltadena andPasadena before briefly residing inMonroe, Michigan.[13] In 1951, the family settled inAshland, Oregon, where Harper attended junior high school for three years.[13] "During those years in Oregon, Dad was gone on more frequent and more lengthy road trips," Harper recalled. "As a result, Mom was alone a lot, so much that she was virtually a single parent."[13]
After she completed junior high school in Oregon, the family moved again toJersey City, New Jersey,[13] where Harper attendedLincoln High School.[15] before graduating from the private Young Professionals School on West 56th Street, where classmates includedSal Mineo,Tuesday Weld, andCarol Lynley.[4]
Harper began her show business career as adancer andchorus girl onBroadway, and went on to perform in several Broadway shows, some choreographed byMichael Kidd, includingWildcat (starringLucille Ball),Li'l Abner,Take Me Along (starringJackie Gleason), andSubways Are for Sleeping. She was also cast in the musicalDestry Rides Again, but was forced to leave rehearsals due to illness. She returned to Broadway in February 2010, playing Tallulah Bankhead in Matthew Lombardo'sLooped at theLyceum Theatre.[16]
Harper hadbit parts inRock, Rock, Rock! (1956) and the film version ofLi'l Abner (1959), where she played a Yokumberry Tonic wife. She broke into television on a 1963 episode of the soap operaThe Doctors ("Zip Guns Can Kill"), and was anextra inLove with the Proper Stranger (1963). She was in theensemble cast ofPaul Sills' Story Theatre and toured with Second City along with then-husbandRichard Schaal,Linda Lavin, and others, later appearing in sketches onPlayboy After Dark in 1969. She performed several characters in a comedyLP 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 announcerFrank Gallop. Harper and Schaal moved to Los Angeles in 1968, and co-wrote an episode ofLove, American Style.[4]
Richard Schaal and Harper wrote "Love and the Visitor" (1970) forLove, American Style, a TV romantic comedy series.[17][18][19]
While doing theater in Los Angeles in 1970, Harper was spotted by casting agentEthel Winant, who called her in to audition for the role of Rhoda Morgenstern onThe Mary Tyler Moore Show.[4] She co-starred there from 1970 to 1974, then starred in thespinoff seriesRhoda (CBS 1974–1978) in which her character returned to New York City.
She won fourEmmy Awards and aGolden Globe Award for her work as Rhoda Morgenstern. The first season ofRhoda was released on DVD on April 21, 2009 byShout! Factory.[20]
Harper was nominated for aGolden Globe for "New Star of the Year" for her supporting role inFreebie and the Bean (1974),[21] and was a guest star onThe Muppet Show in 1976, its first season.[citation needed] She had a starring role in the suspense movieNight Terror (1977), playing a murder witness who's pursued by the killer. She had a supporting role in the romantic comedyChapter Two (1979), starringJames Caan andMarsha Mason, and was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also starred as Maggie in a telefilm production of theMichael Cristofer playThe Shadow Box (1980), directed byPaul Newman.
Harper returned to situation comedy in 1986 when she played family matriarch Valerie Hogan on theNBC seriesValerie.[22] Following a salary dispute with NBC and production companyLorimar in 1987, she was fired from the series at the end of its second season,[a] and she sued NBC and Lorimar forbreach of contract. Her claims against NBC were dismissed, but the jury found that Lorimar hadwrongfully fired her and awarded her $1.4 million plus 12.5% of the show's profits.[24][25] The series continued without her, with the explanation that her character had died off-screen.[22][23] In 1987, it was initially renamedValerie's Family, thenThe Hogan Family, as Harper was replaced bySandy Duncan, who played her sister-in-law Sandy Hogan.[22]
Harper appeared in various television films, including guest roles on such series asTouched by an Angel (1996),Melrose Place (1998) ,Sex and the City (1999), andThat 70's Show (2001).
In 2000, she reunited with Moore inMary and Rhoda, a television film that reunited their characters in later life.[27]
Harper was a member of theScreen Actors Guild (SAG) and ran for its presidency in 2001, losing toMelissa Gilbert. She served on SAG's Hollywood board of directors.[28]
In 2005–2006, Harper portrayedGolda Meir in a United States national tour of the one-woman dramaGolda's Balcony.[29][30] A film of the production was released in 2007.
She playedTallulah Bankhead in the world-premiere production of Matthew Lombardo'sLooped at thePasadena Playhouse from June 27 to August 3, 2008.[31][32] The show moved toArena Stage inWashington, D.C., in 2009.[33] It then briefly ran onBroadway at the Lyceum Theatre, from February 2010 (previews) through April 2010, for which Harper received aTony Award nomination.[16][34] She was to continue the role on a national tour beginning January 2013, but withdrew due to her health.[35]
She played Claire Bremmer, aunt ofSusan Delfino (Teri Hatcher), on ABC'sDesperate Housewives in 2011.[36]
On September 4, 2013, Harper was announced as a contestant for the17th season ofDancing with the Stars, partnered with professional dancerTristan MacManus.[37] 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 on2 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 inThe Mary Tyler Moore Show. Coincidentally, on Harper's own showRhoda,Vivian Vance guest starred onRhoda shortly before Vance's death, which mirrored Vance's breakout role of two best girlfriends portrayed inI Love Lucy.
Harper appeared as the character Wanda on the Americancomedyweb television seriesLiza on Demand, in its July 11, 2018, episode: "Valentine's Day".[38]
In the 1970s, Harper was involved in thewomen's liberation movement and was an advocate of theEqual Rights Amendment.[39][40] WithDennis 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.[41][42]
On March 30, 2012, theScreen Actors Guild (SAG) and theAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) completed a merger of equals forming a new unionSAG-AFTRA. As a result of this merger, a group of actors including Harper, fellow voice actorsMichael Bell,Clancy Brown, Harper’s former stepdaughterWendy Schaal, and other actors including former SAG PresidentEdward Asner,Martin Sheen,Ed Harris, andNancy Sinatra immediately sued against the current SAG PresidentKen Howard and several SAG Vice Presidents to overturn the merger and separate the (now merged) two unions because of their claims that the election was improper.[43] The plaintiffs dropped their lawsuit several months later.[44]
Harper's NYC roommate wasArlene Golonka.[45]
Harper married actorRichard Schaal in 1964. They divorced in 1978, after which she had a relationship withPeter Horton.[46] She married Tony Cacciotti in 1987, after dating for seven years, and they adopted a daughter, Cristina.[47]
Despite playing Jewish characters such as Rhoda Morgenstern,[48] Harper herself was not Jewish.[48]
In 2014 Harper was onThe 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.[49] This idea for a secret word was based on a pactHarry Houdini had made with his wife Bess[50] 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 mentalistOz Pearlman appeared on the Howard Stern Show and guessed that the word was "curly."[51]
In 2009, Harper was diagnosed withlung cancer.[52] She announced on March 6, 2013, that tests from a January hospital stay revealed she hadleptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition where cancer cells spread into themeninges, the membranes surrounding the brain. She said that her doctors had given her as little as three months to live.[53] Although the disease was considered incurable, her doctors said they were treating her withchemotherapy to try to slow its progress.[54]
In April 2014, Harper said she was responding well to the treatment.[55] On July 30, 2015, she was hospitalized inMaine after falling unconscious, and taken viamedevac to a larger hospital for further treatment.[56][57][58] She was later discharged.[59]
In 2016, Harper's cancer treatment continued atCedars-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/writerSusie Singer Carter, whose mother hasAlzheimer's disease.[60] 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."[61] At the time, she was developing a television series with Carter.[62]
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."[63] Harper died on the morning of August 30, 2019, in Los Angeles.[64][65]
Harper is buried atHollywood Forever Cemetery inLos Angeles,California.[66]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Rock, Rock, Rock! | Dancer at Prom | Uncredited |
| 1959 | Li'l Abner | Luke's Wife | |
| 1963 | Trash Program | Wife | Voice, uncredited |
| 1969 | With a Feminine Touch | ||
| 1973 | The Shape of Things | Herself | Television film |
| 1974 | Thursday's Game | Ann Menzente | |
| Freebie and the Bean | Consuelo | Nominated —Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress | |
| 1977 | Night Terror | Carol Turner | Television film |
| 1979 | Chapter Two | Faye Medwick | Nominated —Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| 1980 | The Last Married Couple in America | Barbara | |
| Fun and Games | Carol Hefferman | Television film | |
| The Shadow Box | Maggie | ||
| 1981 | The Day the Loving Stopped | Norma Danner | |
| 1982 | Farrell for the People | Elizabeth "Liz" Farrell | |
| Don't Go to Sleep | Laura | ||
| 1983 | An Invasion of Privacy | Kate Bianchi | |
| 1984 | Blame It on Rio | Karen Hollis | |
| 1985 | The Execution | Hannah Epstein | Television film |
| 1987 | Strange Voices | Lynn Glover | |
| 1988 | Drop-Out Mother | Nora Cromwell | |
| The People Across the Lake | 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 | The Poetry Hall of Fame | Herself | |
| 1994 | A Friend to Die For | Mrs. Delvecchio | |
| 1995 | The Great Mom Swap | Grace Venessi | |
| 1997 | Dog's Best Friend | Chicken (voice) | |
| 2000 | Mary and Rhoda | Rhoda Morgenstern-Rousseau | |
| 2002 | Dancing at the Harvest Moon | Claire | |
| 2007 | Golda's Balcony | Golda Meir | |
| 2011 | Shiver | Audrey Alden | |
| My Future Boyfriend | Bobbi Moreau | Television film | |
| Fixing Pete | Mrs. Friedlander | ||
| Certainty | Kathryn | ||
| 2014 | The Town That Came A-Courtin' | Charlotte | Television film |
| 2015 | Merry Xmas | Mother | 7 minute short |
| 2016 | My Mom and the Girl | Norma/Nanny[67] | 22 minute short |
| Stars in Shorts: No Ordinary Love | Mother | Merry Xmas segment |
| Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Doctors | Mrs. Steiner | Episode: "Zip Guns Can Kill" |
| 1970–1977 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Rhoda Morgenstern | 92 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series(1971–73) Nominated —Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film(1973–74) Nominated —Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series |
| 1971 | Story Theatre | Unknown | Unknown episodes |
| Love, American Style | Barbara Watkins | Episode: "Love and the Housekeeper" | |
| The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 1972 | Columbo | Eve Babcock | Episode: "The Most Crucial Game" |
| The Dick Cavett Show | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 1973 | The Carol Burnett Show | ||
| 1974–1978 | Rhoda | Rhoda Morgenstern Gerard | 110 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated —Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated —Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series(1976–78) |
| 1975 | John Denver Rocky Mountain Christmas 1975 TV Special | Herself | Television special |
| Dean Martin Celebrity Roast | |||
| 1976 | The Muppet Show | Episode: "Valerie Harper" | |
| 1976–1977 | Dinah! | 4 episodes | |
| 1976–1990 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 8 episodes | |
| 1978–1980 | The Mike Douglas Show | 7 episodes | |
| 1982 | Fridays | 1 episode | |
| 1986 | The Love Boat | Laurel Peters | 2 episodes: "Egyptian Cruise Part 1 & Part 2" |
| 1986–1987 | Valerie | Valerie Hogan | 32 episodes |
| 1989–1990 | The Arsenio Hall Show | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | City | Liz Gianni | 13 episodes |
| Late Night with David Letterman | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 1991 | Mary Tyler Moore: The 20th Anniversary Show | Television special | |
| 1994 | Missing Persons | Ellen Hartig | 3 episodes |
| 1995 | The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder | Herself | 1 episode |
| The Office | Rita Stone | 6 episodes | |
| 1996–1999 | Touched by an Angel | Kate Prescott | 2 episodes: "Flesh and Blood" (1996) and "Full Circle" (1999) |
| 1996–2001 | The Rosie O'Donnell Show | Herself | 6 episodes |
| 1996 | Promised Land | Molly Arnold | Episode: "The Magic Gate" |
| 1998 | Generator Gawl | Various | Voice |
| Melrose Place | Mia Mancini | 2 episodes | |
| Sorcerous Stabber Orphen | Townspeople | Voice, episode: "The Sword of Baltanders" | |
| 1999 | Sex and the City | Wallis Wysel | Episode: "Shortcomings" |
| 2000 | Beggars and Choosers | Unknown | Episode: "Be Careful What You Wish For" |
| As Told by Ginger | Maryellen | Voice, episode: "The Wedding Frame" | |
| 2001 | That '70s Show | 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 | Less than Perfect | Judith | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Committed | Lily Solomon | Episode: "The Mother Episode" |
| 2007–2016 | Entertainment Tonight | Herself | 7 episodes |
| 2008 | The Oprah Winfrey Show | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | 'Til Death | Barbara | Episode: "The Courtship of Eddie's Parents" |
| 2011 | Desperate Housewives | Claire Bremmer | Episode: "Where Do I Belong" |
| 2011–2012 | Drop Dead Diva | Judge Leslie Singer | 2 episodes |
| 2011–2013 | The Talk | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2013–2018 | The Simpsons | Various characters | Voice, 8 episodes |
| 2013 | Hot in Cleveland | Angie | Episode: "Love Is All Around" |
| The View | Herself | 2 episodes | |
| Dancing with the Stars | Herself (Contestant) | 6 episodes | |
| 2014–2019 | American Dad! | IHOP Diner / Various | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Signed, Sealed, Delivered[68] | Theresa Capodiamonte | Guest star; 2 episodes: "Time to Start Livin' " and "To Whom It May Concern" |
| 2015 | Melissa & Joey | Aunt Bunny | Episode: "Thanks But No Thanks" |
| 2 Broke Girls | Nola | Episode: "And The Great Unwashed" | |
| 2016 | Childrens Hospital | Mamma Fiorucci | Episode: "Childrens Horsepital" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Liza on Demand | Wanda | Episode: "Valentine's Day" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957–1958 | Li'l Abner | Dancer | Replacement, was not in opening night cast. |
| 1959–1960 | Take Me Along | Lady Entertainer, Townswoman | |
| 1960–1961 | Wildcat | Dancer | |
| 1961–1962 | Subways Are for Sleeping | Dancer | |
| 1967–1968 | Something Different | Beth Nemerov | Replacement |
| 1970–1971 | Paul Sills' Story Theatre | 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 | The Tale of the Allergist's Wife | Marjorie | Replacement (July 31, 2001 – May 26, 2002) |
| 2008–2010 | Looped | Tallulah Bankhead | 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 | Nice Work if You Can Get It | Millicent Winter | Ogunquit Playhouse (Maine) (July 22–29—bowed out after collapsing backstage and being hospitalized. Replaced byBrenda Vaccaro for remaining run through August 15, 2015.) |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Won |
| 1972 | ||||
| Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress — Television | Nominated | ||
| 1973 | Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Won | |
| Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress — Television | Nominated | ||
| 1974 | Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | ||
| Golden Globe | New Female Star of the Year | Freebie and the Bean | ||
| Best Actress in a TV Comedy Series | Rhoda | Won | ||
| 1975 | Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | ||
| Golden Globe | Best Actress in a TV Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| 1976 | Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | ||
| 1977 | ||||
| 1978 | ||||
| 1979 | Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress — Motion Picture | Chapter Two | |
| 2010 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Play | Looped |
It's 'well-known' that I was born in 1940, I read it everywhere, but it was actually 1939.
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."
Bibliography
Harper is actually Catholic,...
That was the end of the Catholic church for me. I quit. I had a big click.
