Rhoda Morgenstern | |
---|---|
First appearance | "Love Is All Around" (1970) |
Last appearance | Mary and Rhoda (2000) |
Created by | James L. Brooks and Allan Burns |
Portrayed by | Valerie Harper |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Female |
Occupation | Photographer Former costume designer Former window dresser |
Family | Martin Morgenstern (father) Ida Morgenstern (mother) Debbie Morgenstern (sister) Brenda Morgernstern (sister) Arnold Morgenstern (brother) Max (uncle) Leonard (uncle) Rose (aunt) Edith (cousin) Grandmother Morgenstern (paternal grandmother) |
Spouse | Joe Gerard (divorced) Jean-Pierre Rousseau (divorced) |
Children | Meredith Rousseau (daughter) Donny Gerard (stepson) |
Rhoda Faye Morgenstern, portrayed by Valerie Harper, is a fictional character on the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The character was spun off to the show Rhoda , in which she was the protagonist.
The original opening of the series Rhoda establishes that Rhoda Faye Morgenstern was born in the Bronx, New York, in December 1941. Her family is Jewish. [1] [2] She is the daughter of Ida and Martin Morgenstern (Nancy Walker and Harold Gould), and grew up in New York before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota sometime in the late 1960s. On The Mary Tyler Moore Show Rhoda had a sister named Debbie (Liberty Williams), seen in one episode, and a briefly-mentioned brother named Arnold; these two were retconned out of the back story when the character got her own series. On Rhoda, Rhoda's only sibling was a younger sister named Brenda, although in the sixth episode, Brenda refers to herself as Rhoda's "youngest sister."
Relocating from New York City, Rhoda was a window dresser at Hempel's after being fired from Bloomfield's department store in Minneapolis. (She also became the proprietor of a plant boutique in one third-season episode, though this was not referenced again). She rented an attic loft apartment in the same house as the building manager, Phyllis Lindstrom.
In the debut episode, Mary Richards moved into the larger apartment, one floor below, which Rhoda had been trying to secure for herself. This caused the two to initially clash, but in spite of themselves and their differences (Mary was a polite, sophisticated mid-westerner, Rhoda was an astringent, brash New Yorker) they quickly became best friends.
Throughout the series, Rhoda and Phyllis maintained an adversarial but friendly relationship. Rhoda also developed a close bond with Phyllis's daughter, Bess, who referred to Rhoda as her "aunt." While living in Minneapolis, Rhoda received infrequent visits from her parents.
In 1974, Harper departed from The Mary Tyler Moore Show to star in Rhoda.
In Rhoda, Rhoda Morgenstern moved back to New York City, where she met ruggedly handsome Joe Gerard (David Groh) and married him soon afterward. The couple moved into the same building occupied by Rhoda's sister, Brenda, and for the first two years of the show, Rhoda worked in her own small window dressing company while Joe pursued his career as a building contractor. Brenda, a single, insecure, self-conscious bank teller, often turned to Rhoda for advice (especially about her love life), and Rhoda's parents Ida and Martin were seen frequently.
Rhoda's Wedding Episode
On October 28, 1974, eight weeks into the start of the series, the characters Rhoda and Joe were married in a special hour-long episode of Rhoda. This episode set several television records, becoming the highest-rated television episode of the 1970s until it was surpassed by the miniseries Roots in 1977. At the time of its airing, it was the second most-watched television episode ever, following the birth of Little Ricky on I Love Lucy in 1953. [3]
The episode attracted over 52 million viewers, accounting for more than half of the U.S. television audience. During the broadcast, Monday Night Football host Howard Cosell humorously remarked that he had not been invited to the wedding before returning viewers to the game. Fans across the United States held “wedding parties” to celebrate the event, and CBS-TV studios received numerous wedding gifts for the fictional couple. Critics lauded the episode, describing it as a “television phenomenon” and “unlike anything that had happened on television for nearly twenty years.” The episode earned Valerie Harper her fourth Emmy award in 1975. Vogue magazine noted that people went to great lengths to watch the episode, including checking into motels and canceling dinner plans. [4]
Rhoda's marriage soured after two years, and Rhoda and Joe eventually divorced. Later episodes featured Rhoda tentatively re-entering the dating scene. She also wound down her struggling window dressing company, and took a job at a costume company.
Rhoda gave up her career as a window dresser/costume designer and pursued a career as a photographer in the time between the 1978 cancellation of Rhoda and the 2000 made-for-television movie Mary and Rhoda . By this time she had also married and divorced Jean-Pierre Rousseau, a union which produced her only child, a daughter named Meredith. Mary and Rhoda had lost track of one-another after an argument over Rhoda's second husband, whom Mary disliked, but they reconnected and reestablished their friendship in the 2000 movie.
Harper won four Primetime Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Rhoda, with three of these awards for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and one for Rhoda. In 2006, Entertainment Weekly ranked Rhoda Morgenstern 23rd on its list of the best sidekicks ever. [5] Bravo ranked Rhoda 57th on their list of the 100 greatest TV characters. [6] In 2000, Time magazine stated that Rhoda's relationship with Mary Richards was "one of the most renowned friendships in TV." [7]
Mary Tyler Moore was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and especially The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), which "helped define a new vision of American womanhood" and "appealed to an audience facing the new trials of modern-day existence". Moore won seven Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Ordinary People. Moore had major supporting roles in the musical film Thoroughly Modern Millie and the dark comedy film Flirting with Disaster. Moore also received praise for her performance in the television film Heartsounds. Moore was an advocate for animal rights, vegetarianism and diabetes awareness and research.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970, to March 19, 1977. Moore portrayed Mary Richards, an unmarried, independent woman focused on her career as associate producer of a news show at the fictional local station WJM in Minneapolis. Ed Asner co-starred as Mary's boss Lou Grant, alongside Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight, Georgia Engel, Betty White, Valerie Harper as friend and neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern, and Cloris Leachman as friend and landlady Phyllis Lindstrom.
Julie Deborah Kavner is an American actress. Before becoming well-known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, Kavner attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, the younger sister of Valerie Harper's title character in the sitcom Rhoda, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also voices other characters for The Simpsons, including Marge's mother, Jacqueline Bouvier, sisters Patty and Selma Bouvier, and half-step-great-aunt Eunice Bouvier.
Rhoda is an American sitcom television series created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974, to May 18, 1979. It was the first spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show in which Harper reprised her role as Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky and flamboyantly fashioned young woman seen as unconventional by the standards of her Jewish family from New York City. The series was originally distributed by Viacom Enterprises.
Valerie Kathryn Harper was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical Li'l Abner. She is best remembered for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977) and its spinoff Rhoda (1974–1978). For her work on Mary Tyler Moore, she thrice received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and later received the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Rhoda.
Nancy Walker was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director. During her five-decade-long career, she may be best remembered for her long-running roles as Mildred on McMillan & Wife and as Ida Morgenstern on several episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and on the spinoff series Rhoda as a prominent recurring character.
Phyllis is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from September 8, 1975, to March 13, 1977. Created mainly by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels, it was the second spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Mary Tyler Moore Show producer James L. Brooks was also involved with the show as a creative consultant. The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who had been Mary Richards' friend, neighbor, and landlady on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Richard Schaal was an American film and television actor born in Chicago, Illinois.
Sue Ann Nivens is a fictional character portrayed by Betty White on situation comedy The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Mary Richards, portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore, is the lead character of the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Phyllis Lindstrom is a fictional character portrayed by Cloris Leachman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series Phyllis.
Mary and Rhoda is a 2000 American made-for-television comedy-drama film starring Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper reprising their roles as Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern from the 1970–1977 sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
"The Last Show" is the 168th episode and series finale of the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and it was written by Allan Burns, James L. Brooks, Ed Weinberger, Stan Daniels, David Lloyd, and Bob Ellison. Internationally, it was first aired in Canada on CBC Television, March 18, 1977 at 8 p.m. In the U.S., it was one day later on Saturday, March 19, on CBS.
Joe Gerard, played by actor David Groh, is a fictional character on the television sitcom Rhoda, a spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show opening sequence is an element of the American television series The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The theme song, "Love Is All Around", was written and performed by Sonny Curtis.
The first season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show aired on CBS from September 19, 1970, to March 6, 1971. It consisted of 24 half-hour episodes. The first season aired on CBS on Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m.
Charlotte Sue Brown is an American television producer, writer, director, and showrunner who in 1977 was acclaimed to have become the first woman showrunner of a primetime network television series for her work on The Mary Tyler Moore Show spin-off Rhoda. However, Gertrude Berg, who created The Goldbergs, earned that title almost two decades earlier.