Valerie Harper
Encyclopedia
Valerie Harper is an American
actress, known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern
on the 1970s television
show The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, and for her starring roles on the sitcoms Rhoda
(a spin-off
of The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and Valerie.
, Rockland County
, New York
. Her Canadian-born mother, Iva (née McConnell), was a nurse, and her father, Howard Donald Harper, was a lighting salesman. Harper is of French and British ancestry, and was raised Roman Catholic, although at an early age she "quit" the church. The family moved every two years because of her father's promotions, living in South Orange, New Jersey
. St. Andrews in Pasadena, California (where Harper attended the school St. Andrews); Monroe, Michigan, at age 10, where she attended St. Mary's Academy; then Ashland, Oregon
"at [age] 11 to 13"; and then Jersey City, New Jersey
from eighth grade through age 18. When her family returned to Oregon, Harper remained in the New York City area to study ballet
. She has an older sister, Leah; a younger brother, Don (originally Merrill); and a half-sister, Virginia, from her father's second marriage. Harper based her future character Rhoda Morgenstern
both on her Italian stepmother, Angela Basilico, and Penny Ann Green (née Joanna Greenberg from Brooklyn), with whom she danced in the Broadway musical Wildcat
.
Early TV-comedy influences included Lucille Ball
, Jackie Gleason
, Joan Davis
, Your Show of Shows
, and, later, Mary Tyler Moore
in The Dick Van Dyke Show
. She attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City, and finished high school at the private Young Professionals School on West 56th Street, where classmates included Sal Mineo
, Barbara Dana, Tuesday Weld
, and Carol Lynley
. She has been married to Tony Cacciotti since 1987.
in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She began with the musical Li'l Abner
and went on to perform in several Broadway shows for Michael Kidd
. Her Broadway shows included Wildcat
, in which she performed with Lucille Ball
; Take Me Along
with Jackie Gleason
; and Subways Are For Sleeping
. In-between she was cast in Destry Rides Again
but got sick and had to leave during rehearsals. Her roommate Arlene Golonka
introduced her to Second City
improvisation
theater and to improv performer Dick Schaal
, who Harper later married in 1965. Harper was stepmother to Schaal's daughter, actress Wendy Schaal
. They lived in Greenwich Village
at the corner of Perry Street and Bleecker Street
.
She can be seen as an extra in rock-and-roll promo films that featured such artists as Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers. In 2001, she starred in the Broadway production of Charles Busch
's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife
. Harper returned to Broadway in February 2010 starring as Tallulah Bankhead in Matthew Lombardo's Looped
at the Lyceum Theatre.
She also appeared in bit parts in several films beginning with Li'l Abner (1959), when she was a teenager, playing one of the Yokumberry Tonic wives. She broke into television with an episode of the soap opera
The Doctors, "Zip Guns can Kill" and was an extra in Love with the Proper Stranger
. She toured with Second City with Schaal, Linda Lavin
and others, and with Schaal and Skitch Henderson
did a New York City talk show
. She appeared in Carl Reiner
's play Something Different in 1968, and the two did sketches on Playboy After Dark
. Harper and Schaal moved to Los Angeles, California
in 1968, and co-wrote an episode of Love, American Style
.
TV sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show
. She co-starred from 1970–1974 and then starred in the spin-off
series, Rhoda
(CBS 1974-1978) in which her character returned to New York. She won four Emmy Award
s and a Golden Globe Award
for her work as Rhoda Morgenstern throughout this period. In 2000, Harper reunited with Mary Tyler Moore
in Mary and Rhoda
, a TV movie that brought their iconic characters back together again in later life. The first season of Rhoda was released on DVD on April 21, 2009 by Shout! Factory
.
She was also nominated for a Golden Globe for "New Star of the Year" for her role in 1974's Freebie and The Bean
. Harper was a guest star on The Muppet Show
in 1976, its first season.
Harper returned to situation comedy in 1986 when she played family matriarch Valerie Hogan on the NBC series Valerie. Following a salary dispute with NBC and production company Lorimar in 1987, Harper was fired from the series at the end of its second season. Harper sued NBC and Lorimar for breach of contract. Her claims against NBC were dismissed, but she prevailed in her claims against Lorimar. The series continued without her with the explanation that her character had died off-screen. In 1987, it was initially renamed Valerie's Family and then The Hogan Family
, as Harper was replaced by actress Sandy Duncan, who played her sister-in-law Sandy Hogan. NBC canceled The Hogan Family in 1990, but it was picked up by CBS for one more season.
Harper has worked almost exclusively in theater and television, but did have key supporting roles in Neil Simon's Chapter Two in 1979 and Stanley Donen's Blame It on Rio
(1984) opposite Michael Caine
. She has had roles in TV movies and guest spots on a number of series, including Melrose Place in 1998 and Sex and the City
in 1999. Also in the 1990s, she advocated hormone replacement therapy
for Eli Lilly and Company
.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Harper was involved in the Women's Liberation Movement
and was an advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment
.
(SAG) and ran for president in the 2001 election
, losing to Melissa Gilbert
. However, she serves on the Hollywood Board of Directors of SAG.
In 2005 through 2006, Harper portrayed Golda Meir
in a US National tour of the one-woman drama Golda's Balcony
. A film of this production was released in 2007.
She played Tallulah Bankhead
in the world-premiere production of Matthew Lombardo's Looped
at the Pasadena Playhouse
in California in a June 27 to August 3, 2008 run, and at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, in 2009. The play had a brief run on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre, from February 2010 (previews) through April 2010.
Harper will play the role of Claire, aunt of Susan Delfino
(Teri Hatcher
), on ABC's Desperate Housewives
in 2011.
Nominations
Emmy Awards
Nominations
Golden Globe Awards
Nominations
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern
Rhoda Morgenstern
Rhoda Morgenstern, portrayed by Valerie Harper, is a character on the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and subsequent spin-off Rhoda.-The Mary Tyler Moore Show:...
on the 1970s television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, and for her starring roles on the sitcoms Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
(a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and Valerie.
Early life and career
Harper was born at the Good Samaritan Hospital in SuffernSuffern, New York
Suffern is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the State of New Jersey; east of Hillburn; south of Montebello and west of Airmont...
, Rockland County
Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Her Canadian-born mother, Iva (née McConnell), was a nurse, and her father, Howard Donald Harper, was a lighting salesman. Harper is of French and British ancestry, and was raised Roman Catholic, although at an early age she "quit" the church. The family moved every two years because of her father's promotions, living in South Orange, New Jersey
South Orange, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,964 people, 5,522 households, and 3,766 families residing in the township. The population density was 5,945.3 people per square mile . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of 1,987.5 per square mile...
. St. Andrews in Pasadena, California (where Harper attended the school St. Andrews); Monroe, Michigan, at age 10, where she attended St. Mary's Academy; then Ashland, Oregon
Ashland, Oregon
Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other...
"at [age] 11 to 13"; and then Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
from eighth grade through age 18. When her family returned to Oregon, Harper remained in the New York City area to study ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
. She has an older sister, Leah; a younger brother, Don (originally Merrill); and a half-sister, Virginia, from her father's second marriage. Harper based her future character Rhoda Morgenstern
Rhoda Morgenstern
Rhoda Morgenstern, portrayed by Valerie Harper, is a character on the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and subsequent spin-off Rhoda.-The Mary Tyler Moore Show:...
both on her Italian stepmother, Angela Basilico, and Penny Ann Green (née Joanna Greenberg from Brooklyn), with whom she danced in the Broadway musical Wildcat
Wildcat (musical)
Wildcat is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, and music by Cy Coleman.The original production opened on Broadway in 1960, starring a 48-year-old Lucille Ball in her only Broadway show.-Background and production:...
.
Early TV-comedy influences included Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
, Joan Davis
Joan Davis
Joan Davis was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy, I Married Joan, Davis had a successful earlier career as a B-movie actress and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy.Born as Madonna Josephine...
, Your Show of Shows
Your Show of Shows
Your Show of Shows is a live 90-minute variety show that appeared weekly in the United States on NBC , from February 25, 1950, until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca....
, and, later, Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
in The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
. She attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City, and finished high school at the private Young Professionals School on West 56th Street, where classmates included Sal Mineo
Sal Mineo
Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. , was an American film and theatre actor, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause...
, Barbara Dana, Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
, and Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
. She has been married to Tony Cacciotti since 1987.
Broadway dancer and improv
Harper began as a dancer/chorus girl on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She began with the musical Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
and went on to perform in several Broadway shows for Michael Kidd
Michael Kidd
Michael Kidd was an American film and stage choreographer.-Life and career:Born Milton Greenwald in New York City on the Lower East Side, the son of Abraham Greenwald, an immigrant barber, and his wife Lillian, Michael Kidd moved to Brooklyn with his family and attended New Utrecht High School there...
. Her Broadway shows included Wildcat
Wildcat (musical)
Wildcat is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, and music by Cy Coleman.The original production opened on Broadway in 1960, starring a 48-year-old Lucille Ball in her only Broadway show.-Background and production:...
, in which she performed with Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
; Take Me Along
Take Me Along
Take Me Along is a musical based on the Eugene O'Neill play Ah, Wilderness, with music and lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Joseph Stein and Robert Russell.-Background:...
with Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
; and Subways Are For Sleeping
Subways Are For Sleeping
Subways Are for Sleeping is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The original Broadway production played in 1961-62....
. In-between she was cast in Destry Rides Again
Destry Rides Again
Destry Rides Again is a western starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey, Billy Gilbert, Bill Cody, Jr., and Una Merkel. The original Max Brand novel was translated into an "oater" with the...
but got sick and had to leave during rehearsals. Her roommate Arlene Golonka
Arlene Golonka
Arlene Golonka is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Millie Swanson on the television comedies The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., and often portrayed bubbly, eccentric blondes in supporting character roles on stage, film, and television.-Early years:Golonka was...
introduced her to Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
theater and to improv performer Dick Schaal
Richard Schaal
Richard Schaal is an American television actor.He was married to actress Valerie Harper from 1964 to 1978. His daughter is actress Wendy Schaal by his first marriage to Lois née Treacy....
, who Harper later married in 1965. Harper was stepmother to Schaal's daughter, actress Wendy Schaal
Wendy Schaal
Wendy Schaal is an American actress and voice actress. She is best known as the voice of Francine Smith in the TV series American Dad!.-Personal life:...
. They lived in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
at the corner of Perry Street and Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street is a street in New York City's Manhattan borough. It is perhaps most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street is a spine that connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was once a major center for American bohemia.Bleecker...
.
She can be seen as an extra in rock-and-roll promo films that featured such artists as Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers. In 2001, she starred in the Broadway production of Charles Busch
Charles Busch
Charles Louis Busch is an American actor, screenwriter, playwright and female impersonator, known for his appearances on stage in his own camp style plays and in film and television. He wrote The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, which was a success on Broadway.-Early life:Busch was born in 1954 and...
's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife
The Tale of the Allergist's Wife
The Tale of the Allergist's Wife is a play by Charles Busch.In his first play written for a mainstream audience, Busch explores the Upper West Side milieu of aspiring intellectual and middle-aged upper class matron Marjorie Taub, who lives comfortably with her doctor husband Ira in an expensively...
. Harper returned to Broadway in February 2010 starring as Tallulah Bankhead in Matthew Lombardo's Looped
Looped
Looped is a play by Matthew Lombardo that had its Broadway run in 2010, after two previous productions in 2008 and 2009, all of them featuring Valerie Harper.-Productions:...
at the Lyceum Theatre.
She also appeared in bit parts in several films beginning with Li'l Abner (1959), when she was a teenager, playing one of the Yokumberry Tonic wives. She broke into television with an episode of the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Doctors, "Zip Guns can Kill" and was an extra in Love with the Proper Stranger
Love with the Proper Stranger
Love with the Proper Stranger is a 1963 romantic comedy drama film made by Pakula-Mulligan Productions and Boardwalk Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Robert Mulligan and produced by Alan J. Pakula from a screenplay by Arnold Schulman.The film stars Natalie Wood,...
. She toured with Second City with Schaal, Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin is an American singer and actress. She is best known for playing the title character in the sitcom Alice and for her Broadway performances.After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Compass Players in the late 1950s...
and others, and with Schaal and Skitch Henderson
Skitch Henderson
Lyle Russell Cedric “Skitch” Henderson was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname reportedly derived from his ability to quickly "re-sketch" a song in a different key.- Biography :...
did a New York City talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
. She appeared in Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
's play Something Different in 1968, and the two did sketches on Playboy After Dark
Playboy After Dark
Playboy After Dark is an American television show hosted by Hugh Hefner. It ran in syndication through Screen Gems from 1969 to 1970 and was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles....
. Harper and Schaal moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1968, and co-wrote an episode of Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
.
Television stardom
Harper was doing theater in a small theater on Vermont Street in Los Angeles, where casting agent Ethel Winant spotted her and in 1970 called her in to audition for the role of the wise-cracking Jewish New Yorker Rhoda Morgenstern on the landmark CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
TV sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
. She co-starred from 1970–1974 and then starred in the spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series, Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
(CBS 1974-1978) in which her character returned to New York. She won four Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s and a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for her work as Rhoda Morgenstern throughout this period. In 2000, Harper reunited with Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
in Mary and Rhoda
Mary and Rhoda
Mary and Rhoda is a 2000 made-for-television movie that reunited Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper as Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern from the 1970–1977 sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Although the film is a spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, James L. Brooks and Allan Burns were...
, a TV movie that brought their iconic characters back together again in later life. The first season of Rhoda was released on DVD on April 21, 2009 by Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
.
She was also nominated for a Golden Globe for "New Star of the Year" for her role in 1974's Freebie and The Bean
Freebie and The Bean
Freebie and The Bean is a 1974 action-comedy film about two San Francisco police detectives who have one goal in life, bringing down a local hijacking boss. The picture, a precursor to the buddy cop film genre popularized a decade later, stars James Caan, Alan Arkin, Loretta Swit and Valerie...
. Harper was a guest star on The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
in 1976, its first season.
Harper returned to situation comedy in 1986 when she played family matriarch Valerie Hogan on the NBC series Valerie. Following a salary dispute with NBC and production company Lorimar in 1987, Harper was fired from the series at the end of its second season. Harper sued NBC and Lorimar for breach of contract. Her claims against NBC were dismissed, but she prevailed in her claims against Lorimar. The series continued without her with the explanation that her character had died off-screen. In 1987, it was initially renamed Valerie's Family and then The Hogan Family
The Hogan Family
The Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired from March 1, 1986 to July 20, 1991...
, as Harper was replaced by actress Sandy Duncan, who played her sister-in-law Sandy Hogan. NBC canceled The Hogan Family in 1990, but it was picked up by CBS for one more season.
Harper has worked almost exclusively in theater and television, but did have key supporting roles in Neil Simon's Chapter Two in 1979 and Stanley Donen's Blame It on Rio
Blame it on Rio
Blame it on Rio is a 1984 romantic comedy film, written by Charlie Peters and Larry Gelbart and directed by Stanley Donen. The script is based on the 1977 French film, Un moment d'égarement. The original music score was composed by Kenneth Wannberg...
(1984) opposite Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
. She has had roles in TV movies and guest spots on a number of series, including Melrose Place in 1998 and Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
in 1999. Also in the 1990s, she advocated hormone replacement therapy
Hormone replacement therapy (menopause)
Hormone replacement therapy is a system of medical treatment for surgically menopausal, perimenopausal and to a lesser extent postmenopausal women...
for Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Harper was involved in the Women's Liberation Movement
Second-wave feminism
The Feminist Movement, or the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States refers to a period of feminist activity which began during the early 1960s and lasted through the early 1990s....
and was an advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time...
.
Later career
Harper is a member of the Screen Actors GuildScreen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
(SAG) and ran for president in the 2001 election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
, losing to Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Ellen Gilbert is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie...
. However, she serves on the Hollywood Board of Directors of SAG.
In 2005 through 2006, Harper portrayed Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
in a US National tour of the one-woman drama Golda's Balcony
Golda's Balcony
Golda's Balcony is a play by William Gibson.It follows the trajectory of the life of Golda Meir from Russian immigrant to American schoolteacher to a leader of international politics as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Much of its focus is on the period surrounding the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when...
. A film of this production was released in 2007.
She played Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
in the world-premiere production of Matthew Lombardo's Looped
Looped
Looped is a play by Matthew Lombardo that had its Broadway run in 2010, after two previous productions in 2008 and 2009, all of them featuring Valerie Harper.-Productions:...
at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
in California in a June 27 to August 3, 2008 run, and at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, in 2009. The play had a brief run on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre, from February 2010 (previews) through April 2010.
Harper will play the role of Claire, aunt of Susan Delfino
Susan Mayer
Susan Delfino is a fictional character played by Teri Hatcher on the American Broadcasting Company television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on October 3, 2004...
(Teri Hatcher
Teri Hatcher
Teri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
), on ABC's Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
in 2011.
Television
- The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
(1970–1974) - Columbo: The Most Crucial Game (1972)
- Thursday's GameThursday's GameThursday's Game is a television movie comedy written by James L. Brooks and directed by Robert Moore. Though filmed in 1971, it first aired in 1974 as an ABC Movie of the Week....
(1974) - RhodaRhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
(1974–1978) - The Muppet ShowThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
(1976) - Night Terror (film) (1977)
- Fun and Games (1980)
- The Shadow BoxThe Shadow BoxThe Shadow Box is a play written by actor Michael Cristofer. The play made its Broadway debut on March 31, 1977. The original cast included Simon Oakland as Joe, Laurence Luckinbill as Brian, Mandy Patinkin as Mark, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Felicity, and Vincent Spano as Steve.-Plot synopsis:The...
(1980) - The Day the Loving Stopped (1981)
- Farrell for the People (1982)
- Don't Go to SleepDon't Go to SleepDon't Go To Sleep is a 1982 made-for-TV movie that was produced by Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer. The movie featured Dennis Weaver, Valerie Harper, Ruth Gordon, Robert Webber, and youngsters Kristin Cumming, Robin Ignico and Oliver Robins of Poltergeist fame...
(1982) - An Invasion of Privacy (1983)
- The Execution (1985)
- ValerieThe Hogan FamilyThe Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired from March 1, 1986 to July 20, 1991...
(cast member from 1986–1987) - Strange VoicesStrange VoicesStrange Voices is a 1987 television film about schizophrenia directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman. The film, based on actual events, was criticized as inferior to other made-for-television movies about the disorder, including Promise...
(1987) - Drop-Out Mother (1988)
- The People Across the Lake (1988)
- CityCity (TV Series)City was an American sitcom which aired for 13 episodes, on CBS, during the latter half of the 1989-1990 season. It was a new starring vehicle for Valerie Harper, which went into development not long after she and husband Tony Cacciotti won their lawsuit against Lorimar Telepictures over her...
(1990) (canceled after 6 months) - Stolen: One Husband (1990)
- Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion (1991)
- A Friend to Die ForA Friend to Die ForA Friend to Die For is a 1994 American TV movie directed by William A. Graham. Written by Randall Sullivan, the film is based on Sullivan's Rolling Stone magazine article concerning the real-life murder of a high school girl by her jealous classmate...
(1994) - The Office (1995) (canceled after 2 months)
- The Great Mom SwapThe Great Mom SwapThe Great Mom Swap is a 1995 film released direct-to-video by Hallmark Entertainment.-Plot:Terri Venessi , a local deli girl, always seems to be at odds with the cheerleading captain, Karen Ridgeway . One day their pranks on each other go too far and the school has to close as a result. The girls...
(1995) - Dog's Best FriendDog's Best FriendDog's Best Friend is a TV movie starring Richard Mulligan and Bobcat Goldthwait. It premiered on The Family Channel in 1997. It was directed by Allan A. Goldstein....
(1997) (voice only) - Sex and the CitySex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
(1999) One episode - Mary and RhodaMary and RhodaMary and Rhoda is a 2000 made-for-television movie that reunited Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper as Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern from the 1970–1977 sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Although the film is a spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, James L. Brooks and Allan Burns were...
(2000) - That '70s ShowThat '70s ShowThat '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
(episode 74) (2001) - Dancing at the Harvest MoonDancing at the Harvest MoonDancing at the Harvest Moon is a 2002 CBS television film directed by Bobby Roth. It is based on K.C. McKinnon's novel-of-the-same-name. It stars Jacqueline Bisset and Eric Mabius as unlikely lovers and aired on 22 October 2002.-Plot:...
(2001) - Less Than PerfectLess Than PerfectLess Than Perfect is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from October 1, 2002, to June 6, 2006. The show was about a young female office employee and her co-workers...
Judith, Owen's mom (2003–2004, Seasons 2-3, 2 episodes) - 'Til Death'Til Death’Til Death is an American sitcom which aired on the Fox network from September 7, 2006, to June 20, 2010. The series was created by husband-and-wife team Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who were also the writers and executive-producers...
Barbara, Eddie's mom (2009) - Desperate HousewivesDesperate HousewivesDesperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
(2011)
Film
- Rock, Rock, RockRock, Rock, Rock (film)Rock, Rock, Rock is a 1956 black-and-white motion picture featuring performances from a number of early rock 'n' roll stars, such as Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Teddy Randazzo, The Moonglows, The Flamingos, and The Teenagers with Frankie Lymon as lead singer. Future West Side Story cast member David...
(1956) - Li'l AbnerLi'l AbnerLi'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
(1959) - With a Feminine Touch (1969)
- Freebie and the BeanFreebie and The BeanFreebie and The Bean is a 1974 action-comedy film about two San Francisco police detectives who have one goal in life, bringing down a local hijacking boss. The picture, a precursor to the buddy cop film genre popularized a decade later, stars James Caan, Alan Arkin, Loretta Swit and Valerie...
(1974) - Chapter Two (1979)
- The Last Married Couple in AmericaThe Last Married Couple in AmericaThe Last Married Couple in America is a 1980 comedy film released in the US.It was directed by Gilbert Cates, whose most successful film Oh, God! Book II, was released in the same year...
(1980) - Blame It on RioBlame it on RioBlame it on Rio is a 1984 romantic comedy film, written by Charlie Peters and Larry Gelbart and directed by Stanley Donen. The script is based on the 1977 French film, Un moment d'égarement. The original music score was composed by Kenneth Wannberg...
(1984) - I Want Him Back! (1995)
Awards
Tony AwardsNominations
- 2010 Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play - "LoopedLoopedLooped is a play by Matthew Lombardo that had its Broadway run in 2010, after two previous productions in 2008 and 2009, all of them featuring Valerie Harper.-Productions:...
"
Emmy Awards
- 1971 Outstanding Supporting Actress — Comedy Series - The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
- 1972 Outstanding Supporting Actress — Comedy Series - The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
- 1973 Outstanding Supporting Actress — Comedy Series - The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
- 1975 Outstanding Lead Actress — Comedy Series - RhodaRhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
Nominations
- 1978 Outstanding Lead Actress — Comedy Series - RhodaRhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
- 1977 Outstanding Lead Actress — Comedy Series - RhodaRhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
- 1976 Outstanding Lead Actress — Comedy Series - RhodaRhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
- 1974 Outstanding Supporting Actress — Comedy Series - The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
Golden Globe Awards
- 1974 - Winner — Actress In A Leading Role — Musical Or Comedy Series - RhodaRhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
Nominations
- 1979 Actress In A Supporting Role - Chapter Two
- 1975 Actress In A Leading Role — Musical Or Comedy Series - RhodaRhodaRhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
- 1974 New Star Of The Year — Female - Freebie and the BeanFreebie and The BeanFreebie and The Bean is a 1974 action-comedy film about two San Francisco police detectives who have one goal in life, bringing down a local hijacking boss. The picture, a precursor to the buddy cop film genre popularized a decade later, stars James Caan, Alan Arkin, Loretta Swit and Valerie...
- 1973 Actress In A Supporting Role — Series, Mini-Series Or Television Movie - The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
- 1972 Actress In A Supporting Role — Series, Mini-Series Or Television Movie - The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...