People Bid(s) Valerie Harper Goodbye

Some members of the Mary Tyler Moore group I belong to on Facebook have been expressing dismay that Valerie Harper only got a refer instead of the cover of People magazine, as Mary had when she died. But after being greeted with a few blank stares by even some Gen Xers at work when I said we should run Valerie’s obituary, I’m just happy she’s out front at all.

Valerie Harper Laid to Rest in L.A. as Daughter Gives Speech During Funeral (2019)

Enjoy other times Rhoda was the celebrity bible’s cover girl -- and Mary's goodbye -- below .. 

Valerie Harper Is Ready to Say Goodbye (2013)

Rhoda’s Revenge (1980)

With trainer-cum-husband Tony Cacciotti

Surviving Twin Sitcoms (1975)

Dick Schaal, Valerie's first husband about whom she writes very lovingly in her “I, Rhoda,” memoir, played four different characters on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”: Howard Arnell, his brother Paul, Chuckles the Clown and Dino; three characters on “The Bob Newhart Show”: Carol’s boyfriend with the bad feet named Don Fezler (aka Dr. Scholl); Don Livingston and Chuck Brock; one on “Rhoda” (as Charlie Burke); before becoming a regular on “Phyllis” season one, as the dimwitted photographer Leo Heatherton. Schaal died in 2014.

Legendary Actress Mary Tyler Moore Dies at 80 (2017)

Mary Tyler Moore's Grieving Husband Speaks Out: 'Oh to See Her Smile Just Once More'

Inside Valerie Harper’s Final Reunion with Her Mary Tyler Moore Costars

Inside Valerie Harper's Friendship with Mary Tyler Moore: 'We Had a Great Time with Each Other'

25 Facts About the 'Mary Tyler Moore' Finale

A 44th anniversary isn't exactly one you book a banquet hall for. But with Valerie Harper, Georgia Engel, Cloris Leachman and Allan Burns all dying in the past two years, it's never a bad time to celebrate "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" -- arguably the greatest sitcom in television history -- which went off the air 44 years ago tonight. As regular readers know, watching the famed CBS Saturday night lineup was an integral party of my boyhood, Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, Suzanne Pleshette and Jean Stapleton were like the aunts I never had, babysitting me once a week while my parents were away at their bowling league (mandatory if you're from the Midwest), my older brothers were in the basement (probably listening to Simon & Garfunkel and Gordon Lightfoot albums) and my baby sister was asleep in her crib upstairs. Read TV historian David Davis's deep dive into the WJM gang's long way to Tipperary HERE.

Harvey's having a MTM moment, too.

Valerie Harper Turns 78

Thanks to Greg in Hollywood for making note of Valerie Harper's birthday (I'm a day late!). Damian and I have been on a "Rhoda" kick thanks to MeTV recently picking up the beloved spinoff. The show was never as funny or well-written as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." But the relationship between the three female leads -- Rhoda, Ida (Nancy Walker) and Brenda (Julie Kavner) -- was so endearing and rang so true that it was always a pleasure to watch. (And Joe's HAIRY CHEST helped me blossom into a young woman back in the day.) We're only on Season 2 now. But I watched the show as a kid and am already dreading -- as is Damian, for the first time -- the impending separation from Joe, although Rhoda's post-marriage life definitely had some memorable moments.

Her memoir, "I, Rhoda," made me fall in love with her even more.

Happy birthday, Valerie! I know you're been through your share of health struggles in recent years. But here's hoping you're surrounding by people who love and adore you in real life as much as your TV fans love and adore you from afar.

I was so devastated when I heard about Valerie's brain cancer that I bought this issue of People. Four years later, Valerie is still around and the magazine is long since lost!

Valerie Harper Has a Gay Old Time

As if we're not heartbroken enough about Valerie Harper's terminal diagnosis, she reminds us on "The Doctors" (airing Monday) why we love her so much, with this gay memory opposite Cloris Leachman on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

The Advocate reposted its 2006 interview with the LGBT ally in which she discusses the same episode HERE. Ben was played by Robert Moore, who later directed Harper in "Rhoda" and in Neil Simon's "Chapter Two" before dying of AIDS in 1984:

There’s an episode in season 3 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show where Rhoda dates Phyllis’s brother and Phyllis is horrified to think that he might fall for Rhoda. Then Rhoda breaks the news to Phyllis about her brother.

That he’s gay! Yes, I loved doing that episode. When I tell Phyllis, she says, “Oh, what a relief!” Do you know, when I said that line “He’s gay,” we got the biggest laugh ever on the show? I mean, this was the ’70s, long before Will & Grace or Ellen; there really weren’t gay characters on television back then. The ­audience laughed and cheered for over a minute. They had to take most of the audience response out for the broadcast cut. It was amazing. That was an extremely well-written episode — we were blessed with brilliant writing on that show.

Valerie Harper Has Terminal Brain Cancer

 Just heartbroken to wake up to the news that Valerie Harper has terminal brain cancer. The minute I read in her memoir that she was a "lung cancer survivor," I was immediately nervous. (Is there really such a thing?) A friend and I were just talking about how surprising it was that all but one of the original "Mary Tyler Moore" cast members were still alive. (Ted Knight died in 1986 at 62.) But that Rhoda -- whose costars include Betty White (b. 1922), Cloris Leachman (b. 1926) and Ed Asner (b. 1929) -- would be likely to pass next seems unfathomable. Such a sweet woman who has brought me countless hours of joy. You will be missed, Valerie. You will be missed but will live on forever as the ultimate best friend to Mare and all of us.

At the 2007 Tony Awards

Fun Couples: Valerie Harper and Debbie Harry

  With Blondie popping up everywhere -- stream the new album HERE, watch them on "The Daily Show" HERE, watch Deb do a funny PSA HERE , read how Deb and Chris Stein are defending a musician friend who was mixed up in the Philip Seymour Hoffman overdose HERE -- it's hard for even me to keep up. But seeing this photo of Debbie Harry with Valerie Harper from when they were both on "Good Morning America" (watch Blondie HERE) earlier in the week is by far my favorite!

How hot does she look here?

Love Is All Around ... Valerie Harper

Big ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ Reunion 

On ‘Hot In Cleveland’: Moore, Valerie Harper & Cloris Leachman Join Betty White & Georgia Engel

I think I'm the one who's died ... and gone to heaven. Read HERE.

Who Can Turn the World on With Her Smile?

What a treat yesterday's Oprah was, when she reunited the cast of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" -- surprising everyone with carefully crafted replicas of the WJM newsroom and Mary's original (studio) apartment. I'd forgotten that Oprah -- who was coming of age just as "Mary Tyler Moore" hit the airwaves -- was such a huge fan, even dressing and styling her her to look like Mary Richards back in the 1970s! (She credits the MTM logo at the end of every episode as her inspiration for starting Harpo Productions.) The reunion -- which included all of the show's principals minus Ted Knight, who died in 1986 -- made me smile from ear to ear. Sure, Oprah was so excited she wouldn't let anyone finish a thought (I'd have been the same way), but the didn't stop Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman from getting in a few good licks along the way.

Although I was too young to watch the first few seasons when they originally aired, by the time the mid-'70s rolled around -- and my parents would be heading out to their bowling league in Madison Heights, Mich. -- I was as hooked on CBS' Saturday night line-up --"All in the Family," "M*A*S*H," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Bob Newhart Show"and "The Carol Burnett Show" -- as any adult in America. Oprah's Web site makes a point of saying that the reunion is something that "will surely never happen again," and given the advanced ages of most of the actors, it's probably true. Although everyone looks remarkably good (with the sad exception of Mary herself, who has looked unnatural for ages thanks to that bad face lift she got years ago), I was reminded just how old they're getting when Valerie started reminiscing about how she got the producers to bring Rhoda and Phyllis back for the series finale (you may recall that both had left for their own spinoffs) and Cloris, now 82, insisted that she had not been on the finale. (She totally reminded me of my similarly aged great-aunt Betty, who gets so adamant about things that I know she is wrong about.) Valerie even tried to remind her of the scene, in which both women return to Minneapolis to cheer Mary up after she's lost her job at the station, but Cloris stands firm that she was not on that show. As it would happen, YouTube has that very scene. Have a look and you'll be reminded why this show was just so special. (Oprah)

Valerie Cherish

I haven't bought People magazine in a dozen years or more, but I just reflexively handed it to the cashier at Rite Aid last night. Valerie Harper isn't going to make royalties off sales of this week's cover story, but I somehow felt it was the least I could do to show my love and appreciation for her long and impressive career. Ann Romano hurt, but this is like losing a family member. I hope you're basking in the love right now, Valerie.

Harper's Bizarre

   I don't think we've ever seen a Hollywood star announce he or she was dying, and then promptly go on a whirlwind media blitz before. But Valerie Harper, like her beloved character Rhoda Morgenstern, always did things her way, so I couldn't be happier to spend this precious time "with" her. I saw her on "Access Hollywood Live" the other morning at the gym and she was simply beaming, which only caused me to break into tears on the treadmill. (My still-aching foot wasn't helping.) As an encore, an upcoming reunion of the women from  "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" on "Hot in Cleveland" is about the best thing I could think of for her ... other than a miracle. 

Love Is All Around Mary Tyler Moore

Read what dozens of stars -- including several cast members from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" -- are saying about the late actress HERE.

The one that really got me was Cloris Leachman:

My heart goes out to her husband, Robert — he was never more than a touch away from her. The picture that we all have of her, that’s how she was — sweet, kind, so tender, so delicate. She was America’s sweetheart. Valerie and I always had to rehearse and rehearse, to work things through but Mary was always ready to go, thoroughly prepared. The last time I saw her was our "Hot in Cleveland" reunion. I had a feeling I wouldn’t see her again. If I could see her one last time I’d hold her in my arms and say, “We love you.”

Still no word from Valerie Harper, who has been fighting for her own life for several years now.

Related: My MTM obituary HERE. 

Any Gay You Can Get It

Growing up gay in the '70s and '80s meant getting your acknowledgement -- that wasn't being called a "fag" in the hallway at school -- where you could. The Decider remembers one of those nascent television moments, the infamous "My Brother's Keeper" episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" that originally aired in 1973, where Phyllis's dream of setting her brother Ben up with Mary unravels when he finds Rhoda more engaging. While more subtle than the "Judging Books by Covers" episode of "All in the Family" -- Richard Nixon even got angry when Archie learned his macho football-playing friend is gay -- or any of the episodes about his relationship with Beverly LaSalle (the female impersonator on whom Archie performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation), Robert Moore's turn as Phyllis's brother was just what a gay boy from Michizona needed at the time (in reruns) to not feel so alone in the world. 

Jodie Dallas (Billy Crystal) and Donald (Philip Charles MacKenzie) -- who first played Jack to Cliff's (Paul Regina) Will on Showtime's "Brothers" -- were also a nod, even if they used to make me sweat whenever they came on the screen. 

... and don't get me started about Stephen Strucker from "Airplane"! Although I was so naive when I first saw it I thought he was imitating Mister Rogers, of which you can make what you will. 

And does anyone remember when Mel tried to fix Alice up with a football-player friend (played by Denny Miller) who turned out to be light in the loafers?

Or femme burglar Marty (Jack DeLeon) and his lover, Darryl (Ray Stewart), on "Barney Miller"?

In Valerie Harper's sweet 2013 memoir, "I, Rhoda," she recounted an interesting detail about the episode:

Though [creators] Jim [Brooks] and Allan [Burns] were firmly in charge, they also welcomed our input on how we would deliver certain lines. We were able to offer our emphasis and intention, and if it was funny, the guys welcomed it. After all, we were the ones who had gotten to know each of our characters intimately. This was particularly interesting in the episode when Phyllis tries to set up her brother, Ben, with Mary, only to discover that he's more interested in hanging out with Rhoda. Naturally, this horrifies Phyllis. At the end of the episode, Phyllis tells Rhoda in her own spectacularly condescending way that she's OK with her brother marrying Rhoda, to which Rhoda replies, "Phyllis, I'm not going to marry Ben."  

"Why not?" Phyllis says defensively. "My brother is successful. He's handsome. He's intelligent." 

"He's gay," Rhoda says. 

Before filming, Jim, Allan and I had a discussion with [director] Jay [Sandrich] about how Rhoda should deliver the line. Should she break the news to Phyllis gently? Should she whisper it, to be discreet? I felt Rhoda would be matter-of-fact and not tiptoe around the issue. We all agreed that Rhoda didn't think Ben's being gay was a bad thing. It just made marriage impossible. As in, he's a priest. He's married. He's moving to Tibet. 

The audience didn't see it coming. They roared. The laughter went on so long that Cloris and I had to keep on acting silently until she could deliver her rejoinder. "Oh, Rhoda, I'm so relieved." Anything was better to Phyllis than her brother marrying "dumb awful" Rhoda. 

Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon as seen on "The Funny Side" in 1971. McMahon died in 2015.

Incidentally, the guy who played Ben -- who first made a name for himself by directing the landmark play "The Boys in the Band" -- must have struck up a real-life friendship with the thoroughly modern Valerie (her book reveals her to be a lifelong champion of civil and LGBT rights) because he ended up directing 27 episodes of her "Rhoda" spinoff. The Decider piece makes a point of noting that the "My Brother's Keeper" episode was written by a male-female duo (Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon) that were likely a real-life Will and Grace. (They also wrote for "The Carol Burnett Show" and co-created "The Facts of Life," "It's a Living" and "Mama Family.") But it's also worth (sadly) mentioning that both Robert Moore and Dick Clair died of AIDS -- Moore succumbed to AIDS-related pneumonia in New York City in 1984 and Clair died in 1988 after multiple AIDS-related infections, which was the other side of the coin of knowing about anyone gay back then. (RIP: Rock Hudson, Robert Reed, Lance Loud, Perry Ellis, Freddie Mercury, Anthony Perkins, Ricky Wilson, Brad Davis, Halston, Nureyev, Peter Allen, Liberace, Leigh Bowery, Tony Richardson -- and sassy airport employee Stephen Strucker, who was just 38 when he died in 1986.)

The article also talks about the "Cheers" episode called "The Boys in the Bar," which I need to track down. (I was curiously not that big of a fan of the show.) But while writing this piece I looked it up and guess what? The baseball player who inspired it, Glenn Burke, also died of AIDS, in 1995. What a very dark, dark time in our collective gay history. How fortunate we are that the current generation of LGBT kids have healthy role models from all walks of life, and are often in a better position to be living their lives openly, unashamed and without the constant fear of impending doom hanging over them.

Read HERE.

99 Candles

 

Betty White has been part of our lives for as long as any of us can remember. And as two of my favorite sitcom characters of all time -- Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and Elka Ostrovsky on "Hot in Cleveland" -- and countless other appearances, she has brought me a lifetime of joy. 

Here's wishing Mrs. Ludden the happiest of birthdays! 

I only recently came across this from 2010! 

If you didn't pick Betty and Ed Asner to outlive Georgia Engel, Valerie Harper and Mary Tyler Moore, you weren't alone! 

Betty White bloopers are the best bloopers 🥰 #HappyBirthdayBettyWhite https://t.co/jzm2g1Ydmc

— Valerie Bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) January 17, 2021

Jackhole of the Week: Thomas Roberts

MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts Takes Over 

Miss Universe After Andy Cohen Bows Out 

By now you've surely heard Thomas Roberts' flimsy explanation for why he's stepping into Andy Cohen's wisely vacated shoes to host the Miss Universe pageant in Russia. (And which is worse, Putin's dangerously anti-gay laws or accepting a paycheck from Donald Trump?)

James St. James dissected this misguided move beautifully. Now see if you can spot the exact moment when the World of Wonder scribe made me do a spit-take! 

St. James writes:

Roberts says: "I choose to offer my support of the LGBT community in Russia by going to Moscow and hosting this event as a journalist, an anchor and a man who happens to be gay.” 

HUH? How does that work again? As a gay man you are going to go to Russia to… teach ‘em a lesson? Are you also going to eat Barilla pasta with Maggie Gallagher? Will that help change the world? I think I’ve lost all respect for Thomas Roberts. He’s like a scab laborer who crosses the picket line to work. He’s like Stevie Wonder playing in Sun City. He’s like Hilary Swank singing Happy Birthday to Chechnyan dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. He’s like Sandy Duncan replacing Valerie Harper on Valerie’s Family. (Anybody? Anybody?). As a gay man, you need to stand tall, and just say no. I will not be watching the Miss Universe pageant this year. I’ll wait for Andy to be back next year, when they should have it in P-Town or Fire Island. Or WeHo. Or SOMEWHERE gay-friendly. After all, we’re the only ones who watch.

Love you, James!

Tweet Nothings

Apparently, they didn’t catch any fake votes but they did catch a fake virus. https://t.co/l9N6mcIdbP

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) August 23, 2021

Saying I'm from Michizona has only gotten harder over the years 

"How much macarons-inspired furniture do you want?"

"Yes"#vilnius #EuTravelMeme pic.twitter.com/NyQwH3bJK0

— DG MEME 🇪🇺 (@meme_ec) August 19, 2021

First stop on our upcoming trip to Lithuania(!) 

Barbara Eden is an incredible 90 today! She told @THR: "It's like any other birthday. I'm just happy to be here. I really don't think about it. Everybody else does, but I never have." https://t.co/5gcBXjGoHb

— Matthew Rettenmund (@mattrett) August 23, 2021

I was a 'Bewitched' kid, but Jeannie is still going strong 26 years after we lost Samantha ... plus Les Nessman is 81 today

TV Guide Cover, August 23-29, 1986: Valerie Harper pic.twitter.com/bFp6MM8XFR

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) August 23, 2021

When 'Valerie' still had a family! 

Dorothy Parker finally laid to rest in fitting style in her beloved NYC https://t.co/6NhUNHZjz3 via @nypost

— Isabel Vincent (@isareport) August 23, 2021

I'd like to think there's some kismet in my being born the day after she left the planet  

(August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967)

'You're Gonna Laugh'

Details' cover story on Jason Bateman is definitely worth a read ("Not All Former Child Stars Are Felons"). It's fun seeing someone really appreciating their "second time around," and no one is happier with his resurgence than I am. Bateman was easily the best part of "Juno" and "State of Play" and has seven new films coming down the pike, inching him toward leading man again, starting with Mike Judge's "Extract" later this summer. (I must admit, though, that I still have never seen an episode of "Arrested Development," despite getting Season One on DVD for my birthday in 2005, which I still haven't opened!)

  "Teen Wolf Too" aside, I recall liking Bateman growing up. (Oddly, I was gaga for "older man" Michael J. Fox at one point but never really had a crush on Bateman, who is two years my junior. I was also hot for Corey Hart, so maybe it was Canadian lust?!) But as I read Steve Kandell's article I knew it was neither of Bateman's best-known child roles that drew me to him. "Silver Spoons" creeped me out because of that albino kid (who grew up to be kinda hot) and I stopped watching "Valerie" after they killed Valerie Harper off (you know how I love my Rhoda). Then I remembered it was the short-lived sitcom "It's Your Move" that really made me take notice. (The mom, played by Caren Kaye, was a hero of mine too for bedding Matt Lattanzi in "My Tutor" the summer before!) I just rewatched the pilot episode on YouTube and I have to say it holds up incredibly well, with its razor-sharp writing and Bateman's pitch-perfect performance and genius timing going up against his mom's suitor, played nicely by David Garrison. Not unlike some of the groundbreaking Norman Lear shows of the 1970s, I honestly don't think a show this smart could even get on the air today -- even if sitcoms still existed. Its mature humor probably explains why it only lasted 18 episodes, while more middle-of-the-road shows like "Growing Pains" were on for years.

 

Page 1 Roundup (07/16)

The Daily News: ‘Teach it to each other first’: At funeral for teen shot by stray bullet, the Rev. Al Sharpton puts spin on Black Lives Matter message

CBS News: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg discharged from the hospital and doing well

Gr8er Days: This is why Willie Aames was the first pick for 'The Blue Lagoon'

Towleroad: Toppled statue of slave trader replaced with statue of ‘Black Lives Matter’ activist  

NPR: Oklahoma governor tests positive for coronavirus

NewNowNext: Netflix’s 'Say I Do' will give you just what you need -- a good ugly cry

THR: TV Academy sues to stop auction of Valerie Harper's four Emmy statuettes she won for playing Rhoda Morgenstern, which it says are only on loan

The WoW Report: 27-year-old model who inherited his 81-year-old husband’s life savings says he’s no gold digger

Greg in Hollywood: After Covid-19, hunky NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky is finally feeling like his old self

Boy Culture: Nick Cannon, fired for anti-Semitic comments, accuses Viacom of racism and unfair business practices

SF Gate: Airbnb asks people to donate money to landlords, backlash ensues

Queerty: Who wore it (aka nothing) better: model Pietro Boselli or the statue of David?

New York Post: NYPD officials attacked, bloodied at Brooklyn Bridge police-brutality protests

 ‘The Golden Girls’ home can be yours for $3 million but it’s not even close to Miami

Spirit airline employees battered in violent brawl over delayed flight

The Washington Post: White House backs away from Fauci attacks days after promoting them

New police video reveals George Floyd’s desperate pleas before his death

St. Louis prosecutor receives death threats as Donnie defends couple who pointed guns at protesters

The New York Times: A brazen online attack targets VIP Twitter users in a bitcoin scam

In publishing, ‘everything is up for change’

It’s long past time to get that beard under control

ABC News: Walmart and Sam's Club to require all customers to wear masks

The Wall Street Journal: Biden expands lead as Trump’s approval drops

The greatest coronavirus risks when you fly

Scrabble traditionalists decry online innovation, especially the baby dragons

Hot Cat of the Day: Someone's tail needs to be paid for working overtime!

She Might Just Make It After All

Valerie Harper's terminal brain cancer is 'pretty close to remission,' say doctors 

Wow! So this is why she's going to be on "Dancing With the Stars." Still, while her doctors say her cancer is responding to treatment now, it will almost surely come back. Still, for now she's defying the odds.So happy for her and her family -- and her fans. Read HERE.