A Fond Farewell to Valerie Harper

Harper had been consistently busy and visible on television in movies and on stage since that time but she had never again enjoyed such phenomenal success amp160That didnamp8217t matter thoughamp160 Her announcement in 2013 that she had been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer and had been told she had only a few months to liveamp160brought back a flood of memories for so many of us who enjoyed both shows during their first runsamp160 Happily Harper beat those oddsamp160 But now six yearsamp160later it really does feel as if we have lost a cherished friendAsk anyone who is old enough to clearly remember television in the Seventies amp8211 the last full decade of unchallenged threenetwork dominance amp8211 and he or she will tell you about the many wonderful broadcast shows of that time amp160Their titles remain wellknown today some of them still very much in playamp160 For example on September 9 HGTV will debut the limited series A Very Brady Renovation featuring the six actors who played the kids on The Brady Bunch working with HGTV personalities to turn the interior of the home in Sherman Oaks CA that was used as the exterior of the iconic Brady house into a replica of their beloved TV dwellingamp160 And recently ABC hit the jackpot with live presentations of classic episodes of All in the Family and The Jeffersonsamp160 amp160The Mary Tyler Moore Show which in 1970 introduced Harper to the television audience is certainly one of the programs at the top of that list amp160Maryamp160was a gamechanger because of its sophisticated depiction of independent women in primetime television entertainment and it was one of the first great characterdriven comedies that did not rely on physical comedy or forced punch lines to generate laughs amp160The enduring popularity of this show has a lot to do with the fact that it was firstrate television amp160But another big reason why Mary and so many other fine series from the nowdistant past remain so loved so many decades later is that the characters in these shows and the actors who portrayed them were hugely significant in their dayRhoda Morgenstern is an excellent example of a character who really mattered then and still matters nowamp160 For the first four seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show when Harper was in the cast the relationship between Mary and Rhoda became one of the most powerful friendships in the history of televisionamp160 Indeed it was so strong that it remained unbroken when Harper left the show in 1974 and brought Rhoda to New York City for her spinoff amp160Mary on her show and Rhoda on hers would refer to each other for years to comeAnd speaking of Rhoda which actually enjoyed higher ratings than The Mary Tyler Moore Show many people have forgotten that the onehour episode in which Rhoda married toughguy Joe Girard was at the time of its October 28 1974 telecast the second highestrated episode of a scripted television series in the history of the medium amp160Fiftytwo million people tuned in to see the single friend with whom they had spent so many Saturday nights marry the love of her lifeamp160 Unfortunately someone at MTM Productions andor CBS eventually decided that Rhoda wasnamp8217t as funny a character as a married womanamp160 Rhoda and Joe were married in the eighth episode of season oneamp160 At the start of season three Joe was suddenly inexplicably unfulfilled by the relationshipamp160 The breakup was as rushed as the courtship and wedding had beenamp160 Over the next two seasons those viewers who stuck around watched the detailed depiction of the slow unraveling of what had been a wonderful marriage and the painful realities of separation and divorce and that wasnamp8217t very funny either amp160The failing of Lou Grantamp8217s marriage and his subsequent divorce from Edie had been handled with way more skill and sensitivity over on MaryThe fact that it was our Rhoda who was dealing with all that pain made it doubly difficult to watchamp160 That was because we cared about her amp8211 and all the characters we had come to know on The Mary Tyler Moore Show amp8211 so very muchamp160 For many of us young and old alike that weekly visit to 119 North Weatherly Ave the address of the multifamily house that was home to Mary Richards Rhoda Morgenstern and Phyllis Lars and Bess Lindstrom as well as the WJMTV newsroom where Mary worked alongside Lou Grant Murray Slaughter Ted Baxter and eventually Sue Ann Nivens was an incomparable source of pure joy amp160The opportunity to spend time with these people made staying home on Saturday night something specialAnd so it is that we say a final goodbye to Mary and Rhoda oneofakind friends from another era the likes of whom we hadn39t seen before havenamp8217t seen since and may never seeamp160againamp160 Weamp8217re better off for having known them bothClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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A Fond Farewell to Valerie Harper

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Ed Martin

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A Fond Farewell to Valerie Harper

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