Rhoda Morgenstern
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| Rhoda Morgenstern | |
|---|---|
 Mary and Rhoda. |
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| First appearance | "Love Is All Around" |
| Last appearance | Mary and Rhoda |
| Created by | James L. Brooks and Allan Burns |
| Portrayed by | Valerie Harper |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Photographer 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(s) | Joe Gerard (divorced) Jean-Pierre Rousseau (divorced) |
| Children | Meredith Rousseau (daughter) Donny Gerard (stepson) |
Rhoda Morgenstern, portrayed by Valerie Harper, is a character on the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and subsequent spin-off Rhoda.
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[edit] The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Relocating from New York City, Rhoda was a window dresser at Hempel's after being fired at Bloomfield's department store in Minneapolis, Minnesota and rented an attic loft apartment in the same house as the building manager, Phyllis Lindstrom.
After Mary Richards moved into the apartment below Rhoda, they quickly became best friends. Throughout the series, Rhoda and Phyllis maintained an adversarial-but-friendly relationship. She also developed a close bond with Phyllis's daughter, Bess, who referred to Rhoda as her "aunt."
Rhoda received infrequent visits from her parents, Ida and Martin Morgenstern (Nancy Walker and Harold Gould). They, and a younger sister Debbie (Liberty Williams), featured in an episode when Rhoda and Mary visited New York to attend Debbie's wedding. A brother named Arnold was mentioned in another episode. The spin off Rhoda featured only an unmarried younger sister for Rhoda.
[edit] Rhoda
In 1974, Harper departed from The Mary Tyler Moore Show to star in Rhoda. After relocating back to New York City, Rhoda 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. The marriage soured after two years, and they divorced. After arriving in New York, Rhoda started her own window dressing company and later took a job at costume company.
[edit] Mary and Rhoda
Rhoda gave up her career as a window dresser/costume designer and pursued a career as a photographer in the time between the 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 first child, a daughter named Meredith.
[edit] Reception
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.[1] Bravo ranked Rhoda 57th on their list of the 100 greatest TV characters.[2] In 2000, Time magazine stated that Rhoda's relationship with Mary Richards was "one of the most renowned friendships in TV."[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Greatest sidekicks ever". Entertainment Weekly. July 13, 2006. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1213459,00.html.
- ^ "The 100 Greatest TV Characters". Bravo. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071015070449/http://www.bravotv.com/The_100_Greatest_TV_Characters/index.shtml. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
- ^ Poniewozik, James (February 7, 2000). "Television: Doing Less with Moore". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,996022,00.html. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
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