Appreciation: With Rhoda Morgenstern, Valerie Harper made the sidekick a star
LOS ANGELES - Valerie Harper, who died Friday at the age of 80, played many parts in a six-decade career, but none for as long or as memorably as Rhoda Morgenstern, Mary Richards' best friend and confidante on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" from 1970 to 1974 and the Moore-produced "Rhoda" from 1974 to 1978 - shows that have never been far out of reach, as reruns, videos or to stream. There was, of course, more to Harper than Rhoda, but there was no Rhoda without Harper, and you couldn't fall for one without falling for the other.
Rhoda thinks less highly of herself than we do. She has a
