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IMDbPro

Valerie Harper(1939-2019)

  • Actress
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeter
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Valerie Harper
A true story based on a former singer named Norma "Nanny" (Valerie Harper) from the East Coast, now suffering from Alzheimers, has a chance encounter after leaving the safety of family and friends to explore the streets of East Los Angeles. With her watchful caregiver, Irlanda (Liz Torres), on her heals, their brief but adventurous journey takes a dark turn when they stumble upon "the Girl" (Harmony Santana), a wild character with an unexpected narrative. The meeting proves to have a profoundly positive effect on three very disparate - desperate - women with unpredictable results. Fearlessly facing potential dangers with sardonic humor as they face crossroads in each of their lives, an urban adventure becomes a funny, poignant, and surprisingly encouraging story, where apparent disabilities can be redefined as gifts.
Play trailer2:16
My Mom and the Girl (2016)
10 Videos
99+ Photos
Making people laugh was only one facet of Valerie Harper's career, which extended from the stage to television and feature films. A native of Suffern, New York -- "I was born to suffer" -- Harper began her career as a dancer with the corps de ballet at Radio City Hall during its spectacular heyday. She gradually moved into acting, working in everything from industrial shows to regional theatre to the Second City comedy troupe of Chicago. Eventually, she made it to Broadway in productions of Dear Liar, the Tony Award winning Story Theatre, Something Different and Metamorphosis. Stardom came with television, including four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for her work in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) and Rhoda (1974), in which the latter she played the title role. Harper won Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year, and her Rhoda's Wedding episode set that 1974's ratings record. Since retiring Rhoda Morganstern to re-runs, Harper was active on stage and in movies. Her feature films included Freebie and the Bean (1974), Chapter Two (1979), The Last Married Couple in America (1980) and Blame It on Rio (1984). In television, she starred on all three networks in movies of the week, including Farrell for the People (1982) (NBC), Don't Go to Sleep (1982) (ABC) and An Invasion of Privacy (1983) (CBS). A strong supporter of women's rights, Harper worked since the mid-80s on a film with second husband Tony Cacciotti which will probably never reach fruition after all this time, based on a true story involving domestic violence.
BornAugust 22, 1939
DiedAugust 30, 2019(80)
BornAugust 22, 1939
DiedAugust 30, 2019(80)
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  • Won 4 Primetime Emmys

Photos154

Valerie Harper, Mary Tyler Moore, and David Groh in Rhoda (1974)
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper
Edward Asner, Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Ted Knight, and Gavin MacLeod in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper

Known for

Edward Asner, Valerie Harper, and Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
8.2
TV Series
  • Rhoda Morgenstern
  • Rhoda Gerard
Valerie Harper in Rhoda (1974)
Rhoda
6.8
TV Series
  • Rhoda Gerard
  • Rhoda Morgenstern
Freebie and the Bean (1974)
Freebie and the Bean
6.6
  • Consuelo - Bean's Wife
  • 1974
Valerie Harper, Liz Torres, Rebecca Ashley, Herman Beeftink, Tony Cacciotti, Romell Foster-Owens, Christopher Tufty, DawnMarie Ferrara, Don Priess, Josh McClenney, Harmony Santana, Giuseppe Alfano, Emily Kasp, Rick Singer, and Claudia Marie Dobbins in My Mom and the Girl (2016)
My Mom and the Girl
7.2
Short
  • Norma
  • Nanny
  • 2016

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Patrick Stewart, Curtis Armstrong, Dee Bradley Baker, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jeff Fischer, Scott Grimes, David Koechner, Seth MacFarlane, Kevin Michael Richardson, Wendy Schaal, Daisuke Suzuki, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Mike Barker, Mike Henry, Rachael MacFarlane, and Matt McKenna in American Dad! (2005)
    American Dad!
    • (voice)
  • Travis Coles, Kimiko Glenn, and Liza Koshy in Liza on Demand (2018)
    Liza on Demand
  • Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and Yeardley Smith in The Simpsons (1989)
    The Simpsons
    • (voice) ...
  • Stars in Shorts: No Ordinary Love (2016)
    Stars in Shorts: No Ordinary Love
  • Valerie Harper, Liz Torres, Rebecca Ashley, Herman Beeftink, Tony Cacciotti, Romell Foster-Owens, Christopher Tufty, DawnMarie Ferrara, Don Priess, Josh McClenney, Harmony Santana, Giuseppe Alfano, Emily Kasp, Rick Singer, and Claudia Marie Dobbins in My Mom and the Girl (2016)
    My Mom and the Girl
  • Childrens Hospital (2008)
    Childrens Hospital
  • Poster designed by Celsius Brand Team
    Merry Xmas
  • Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs in 2 Broke Girls (2011)
    2 Broke Girls
  • Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence in Melissa & Joey (2010)
    Melissa & Joey
  • Kristin Booth, Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, Eric Mabius, and Geoff Gustafson in Signed, Sealed, Delivered (2013)
    Signed, Sealed, Delivered
  • Lauren Holly, Valerie Harper, and Cameron Bancroft in The Town That Came A-Courtin' (2014)
    The Town That Came A-Courtin'
  • Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White in Hot in Cleveland (2010)
    Hot in Cleveland
  • Brooke Elliott in Drop Dead Diva (2009)
    Drop Dead Diva
  • Shiver (2012)
    Shiver
  • Valerie Harper, John Ratzenberger, Brooke Burns, and Dylan Bruno in Fixing Pete (2011)
    Fixing Pete

Writer

  • Love, American Style (1969)
    Love, American Style
    • (segment Love and the Visitor)

Producer

  • Lauren Holly, Valerie Harper, and Cameron Bancroft in The Town That Came A-Courtin' (2014)
    The Town That Came A-Courtin'

Videos10

Mary Tyler Moore show
Clip 3:01
Mary Tyler Moore show
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:11
Official Trailer
Rhoda
Trailer 1:09
Rhoda
She's The Best Thing In It
Trailer 1:39
She's The Best Thing In It
My Future Boyfriend
Trailer 0:52
My Future Boyfriend
Rhoda: Season One - The 35th Anniversary Edition
Trailer 1:12
Rhoda: Season One - The 35th Anniversary Edition
The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season 5
Trailer 1:18
The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season 5
Rhoda: Season 5
Trailer 2:25
Rhoda: Season 5
Rhoda
Trailer 1:01
Rhoda
My Mom and The Girl Official Trailer 2016
Trailer 2:16
My Mom and The Girl Official Trailer 2016

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • August 22, 1939
    • Suffern, New York, USA
    • August 30, 2019
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(brain cancer)
    • Tony CacciottiApril 8, 1987 - August 30, 2019 (her death, 1 child)
  • Other works
    (9/97) Stage: Appeared in one-woman play "The Dragon and the Pearl" about the life of Pearl S. Buck, in Cambridge, MA, and later in New York.
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 3 Interviews
    • 7 Articles
    • 51 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In the fall of 1987 she was abruptly fired by Lorimar from her NBC TV series Valerie (1986). She didn't show for filming one day. The series decided to continue on without her as "Valerie's Family" with Sandy Duncan playing Sandy Hogan, replacing Harper's "Valerie Hogan" character. Harper sued Lorimar for breach of contract and in the fall of 1988 was awarded $1.4 million plus 12.5% of the profits of the show, which continued on without her until 1991.
  • Quotes
    I used to get some ego thing out of saying I wasn't a star, just an actress. Forget it. I'm a star. I wanted it. I worked for it. I got it.
    • Her characters often reflected a Jewish personality.
    • The Mary Tyler Moore Show
      (1970)
      $700 per episode (season 1)

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