Legendary New York Actress Valerie Harper Dies At Age 80
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Legendary actress Valerie Harper died on Friday at the age of 80, her family confirmed.
Harper – a New York native who was born in Suffern, New York – is best known for her role in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its spin-off "Rhoda" in the 1970s.
Harper began her career as a dancer on Broadway before landing her breakthrough role in 1970 when she joined the cast of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" as Rhoda Morgenstern.
PHOTOS: Remembering Valerie Harper
She won three consecutive Emmys (1971-73) as supporting actress on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and another for outstanding lead actress for "Rhoda," which ran from 1974-78. Beyond awards, she was immortalized — and typecast — for playing one of television's most beloved characters, a best friend the equal of Ethel Mertz and Ed Norton in TV's sidekick pantheon.
Fans had long feared the news of her passing. In 2013, she first revealed that she had been diagnosed with brain cancer and had been told by her doctors she had as little as three months to live. Some responded as if a family member were in peril.
But she refused to despair. "I'm not dying until I do," Harper said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show. "I promise I won't." Harper did outlive her famous co-star: Mary Tyler Moore died in January 2017. Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman and Betty White are among the former cast members who survive her.
In recent years, Harper's other appearances included "American Dad!" ''The Simpsons" and "Two Broke Girls."
Harper was a chorus dancer on Broadway as a teen before moving into comedy and improv when, in 1970, she auditioned for the part of a Bronx-born Jewish girl who would be a neighbor and pal of Minneapolis news producer Mary Richards on a new sitcom for CBS.
She reunited with Moore in a 2000 TV film, "Mary and Rhoda." In 2013, there was an even grander reunion: Harper and Moore were back together along with fellow "MTM" alumnae Leachman, White and Georgia Engel to tape an episode of White's hit comedy, "Hot in Cleveland." It was the ensemble's first acting job together in more than 30 years and during a news conference Harper cited a valuable lesson: The character of Rhoda, she said, pointing to Moore, "taught me to thank your lucky stars for a fabulous friend."
Harper is survived by her husband, Tony Cacciotti and their daughter, Cristina.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
