Joe Gerard, played by actor

David Groh David Lawrence Groh (May 21, 1939 – February 12, 2008)Noland, Clair"David Groh, 68; Husband on 'Rhoda'" ''Los Angeles Times''. 14 February 2008. was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Joe Gerard in the 1970s television series ''R ...

, is a fictional character on the television sitcom ''

Rhoda ''Rhoda'' is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974, to December 9, 1978. It was the first spin-off of ''The Mary Tyle ...

'', a spin-off of ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') 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 1970 to 1977. Moor ...

''.

Rhoda's Husband

While on vacation in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Rhoda Morgenstern Rhoda Faye Morgenstern, portrayed by Valerie Harper, is a fictional character on the television sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and subsequent spin-off, ''Rhoda''. Character background The original opening of the series ''Rhoda'' establis ...

met Joe Gerard, a handsome divorcée with a young son who ran the New York Wrecking Company. Joe and Rhoda fell in love and eventually he invited her to live with him in his apartment; once she moved in, Rhoda decided she wanted to get married and, after a little hesitation, Joe finally agreed. After their wedding, Rhoda and Joe also lived in the same apartment building as Rhoda's sister, Brenda. The first and second seasons of ''Rhoda'' centered on Joe and Rhoda's life as a married couple. However, in the first episode of the third season, they decided to separate after Joe revealed that he was restless and unhappy in their marriage. In the episode "Two Little Words - Marriage Counselor", Joe admitted that he never really wanted to remarry, and that he had only married Rhoda because she pressured him into it. During the remainder of that season, Joe would pop in and out of Rhoda's life, but they never reconciled and in the episode "The Ultimatum", Rhoda finally issues Joe an ultimatum: either he can really try to make their marriage work, or she's going to start seeing other people. He tells her to see other people and exits the series. By the beginning of the fourth season, it was announced that their divorce was finalized.

Reception

Although the producers of ''Rhoda'' believed the plot development was essential, the fan response to Rhoda and Joe's separation in the third season was overwhelmingly negative and hostile.

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

was inundated with thousands of angry letters protesting the plot development, "Rhoda" and "Joe" received sympathy cards and letters of condolence, with Groh later reporting that he had received

hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwise ...

for as much as a year after the season had ended.''The Sally Jesse Raphael Show'', Rhoda reunion episode, May 1996 This sentiment would translate into a steep ratings decline during the course of the season and the show ranked #32 for the 1976–77 season (falling from #7 the year before).

References

Television characters introduced in 1974 Fictional characters from New York City Fictional construction workers Gerard, Joe {{comedy-tv-char-stub