''Rhoda'' is an American television
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
created by
James L. Brooks and
Allan Burns
Allan Pennington Burns (May 18, 1935January 30, 2021) was an American screenwriter and television producer. He was best known for co-creating and writing for the television sitcoms ''The Munsters'' and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.
Early life ...
starring
Valerie Harper
Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical ''Li'l Abner''. She is best remembered for her role as Rho ...
that originally aired on
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 Entertainm ...
for five seasons from September 9, 1974, to December 9, 1978. It was the first
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. Mo ...
'', in which Harper reprised her role as
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 ...
, a spunky and flamboyantly fashioned young woman seen as unconventional by the standards of her
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
''Rhoda'' begins as the character returns to New York where she soon meets and marries
Joe Gerard
Joe Gerard, played by actor David Groh, is a fictional character on the television sitcom ''Rhoda'', a spin-off of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.
Rhoda's Husband
While on vacation in New York City, Rhoda Morgenstern met Joe Gerard, a handsome ...
(
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 ...
). The series' third season chronicled the characters' separation and ''Rhodas later seasons revolved mainly around the character's misadventures as a single
divorcée. Main co-stars included
Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress. Best known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', Kavner first attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, the younge ...
as Rhoda's sister Brenda alongside
Nancy Walker
Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', on wh ...
as their mother Ida Morgenstern. Other co-stars throughout the series included
Lorenzo Music as Rhoda and Brenda's
scarcely seen doorman Carlton,
Harold Gould
Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom ''The Golden ...
as their father Martin Morgenstern,
Ron Silver
Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor/activist, director, producer, and radio host. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best Acto ...
as their neighbor Gary Levy,
Ray Buktenica as Brenda's boyfriend and later fiancé Benny Goodwin, and
Kenneth McMillan as Rhoda's boss Jack Doyle.
A large ratings success during its first two seasons, ''Rhodas viewership suffered following the creative decision to dissolve the marriage of Rhoda and Joe as series creators Brooks and Burns believed that the title character had lost her "edge" as a married woman. The series' later seasons failed to recapture the commercial success it had initially enjoyed and CBS ultimately cancelled ''Rhoda'' midway through its fifth season in 1978, leaving several unaired episodes that later appeared in
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
. ''Rhoda'' was the recipient of two
Golden Globe Awards and two
Primetime Emmy Awards, and was filmed Friday evenings in front of a
live studio audience
A studio audience is an audience present for the recording of all or part of a television program or radio program. The primary purpose of the studio audience is to provide applause and/or laughter to the program's soundtrack (as opposed to canned ...
at
CBS Studio Center, Stage 14 in
Studio City, Los Angeles, California.
Synopsis
![Valerie Harper Julie Kavner Nancy Walker Rhoda 1974](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Valerie_Harper_Julie_Kavner_Nancy_Walker_Rhoda_1974.JPG)
The series opens with the
pilot episode featuring Rhoda Morgenstern traveling from her home in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, where she was born and raised, for a two-week vacation, staying with her younger sister, Brenda (
Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress. Best known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', Kavner first attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, the younge ...
).
While there, she meets
Joe Gerard
Joe Gerard, played by actor David Groh, is a fictional character on the television sitcom ''Rhoda'', a spin-off of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.
Rhoda's Husband
While on vacation in New York City, Rhoda Morgenstern met Joe Gerard, a handsome ...
(
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 ...
), a handsome divorcé who owns a wrecking company and has a ten-year-old son, Donny, whom Brenda babysits. Following Brenda's prompting, Rhoda and Joe meet and develop an instant attraction to each other which leads to their
dating
Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...
nightly for the duration of her vacation. After an argument about their feelings for each other, Joe asks Rhoda to stay in New York City, which she does, initially moving in with Brenda at 332 E. 64th Street (however, actual exterior shots are o
332 East 84th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues on the southeast end of the block).
Brenda, a bank teller, is an insecure person with low self-esteem with dating problems, similar to how Rhoda herself had experienced difficulty in dating in Minneapolis in the early years of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.
The first episode of Season 1, entitled "Joe", aired on
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 Entertainm ...
on Monday, September 9, 1974, at 9:30 PM. and immediately set a record by being the first and only (at the time) television series ever to achieve a number-one
Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
for its premiere pilot episode, defeating the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
ratings juggernaut, ''
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...
'' in the process.
![Valerie Harper David Groh Rhoda 1974](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Valerie_Harper_David_Groh_Rhoda_1974.JPG)
Rhoda and Brenda soon realize that the small
studio apartment can't hold them both, so Rhoda moves in with their parents
Ida (
Nancy Walker
Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', on wh ...
) and
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austr ...
(
Harold Gould
Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom ''The Golden ...
) at their apartment in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. Ida and Martin are the stereotypical
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents. Ida is overbearing, overprotective, benevolently manipulative, and desperate to ensure her daughters find good husbands. Martin is her dutiful, mild-mannered husband. Ida initially goes to great lengths to baby her daughter. When it becomes apparent Rhoda is sliding into a rut by occupying her childhood bedroom, Ida forces her to move out for her own good.
As the weeks go by, the relationship between Joe and Rhoda quickly blossoms. By the sixth episode, "Pop Goes the Question", an insecure Rhoda asks Joe where their relationship is heading. His response is to invite Rhoda to move in with him. After some careful thought, and consultation with her sister and father, Rhoda accepts Joe's invitation, but within minutes of moving in decides that rather than living together out of wedlock she prefers to be married. Rhoda attempts to convince Joe that they are very compatible and would be a happily married couple. After some hesitation, Joe agrees and a wedding is planned.
Rhoda's wedding
![Valerie Harper David Groh Rhoda wedding 1974](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Valerie_Harper_David_Groh_Rhoda_wedding_1974.JPG)
Eight weeks into the series on Monday, October 28, 1974, Rhoda and Joe were married in a special hour-long episode which broke several television records. Heavily publicized, it became the highest-rated television episode of the 1970's, a record it held until the miniseries ''
Roots
A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients.
Root or roots may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
'' claimed that title in 1977. Additionally, on the night of its airing it had become the second-most-watched television episode of all time, surpassed only by the birth of Little Ricky on ''
I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along wit ...
'' in 1953.
It was watched by more than 52 million Americans, over half of the US viewing audience. At the conclusion of the episode, ''
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...
'' host
Howard Cosell
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
joked on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
that he had not been invited to the wedding, and welcomed viewers back to the game.
Hundreds of "wedding parties" were held by fans across the United States on the night of the episode to celebrate the television wedding, and within days the CBS-TV studios were inundated with wedding gifts sent in by fans for the fictional Joe and Rhoda Gerard. The episode was overwhelmingly praised by critics, widely touted as a "television phenomenon",
[ "unlike anything that had happened on television for nearly twenty years", and garnered Harper her fourth Emmy award in 1975. '']Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
'' magazine reported that people across the country had pulled off the road checking into motels, and friends canceled dinner invitations (feigning illness), just to watch Rhoda's wedding.
The wedding episode featured guest appearances by many of the main characters from ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', including Mary Richards
Mary Richards, portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore, is the main character of the television sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.
Character biography
Mary Richards, born in Roseburg, Minnesota, is the only child of Walter and Dottie Richards. Prior ...
(Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...
), Lou Grant
Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character ...
(Edward Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...
), Murray Slaughter
The following is a list of featured characters on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.
Main characters
Mary Richards
Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) is a single native Minnesotan who moves to Minneapolis in 1970 at age 30 and becomes associate produ ...
(Gavin MacLeod
Gavin MacLeod () (born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's '' The Love ...
), Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel
Georgia Bright Engel (July 28, 1948 – April 12, 2019) was an American actress. She is best known for having played Georgette Franklin Baxter in the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' from 1972 to 1977, Pat MacDougall on ''Everybody Loves Ra ...
), and Phyllis Lindstrom
Phyllis Lindstrom, née Sutherland, portrayed by Cloris Leachman, is a fictional character on the television sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and subsequent spin-off '' Phyllis''.
''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''
Phyllis Lindstrom (born in 193 ...
(Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomina ...
). The only major characters who didn't attend were Ted Baxter
Ted Baxter is a fictional character on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977). Portrayed by Ted Knight, the Baxter character is a broad parody of a vain, shallow, buffoonish TV personality. Knight's comedic model was actor William ...
(Ted Knight
Ted Knight (born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka; December 7, 1923August 26, 1986) was an American actor well known for playing the comedic roles of Ted Baxter in ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', Henry Rush in ''Too Close for Comfort'', and Judge Elihu ...
) and Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White
Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of Golden Age of Television, early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work i ...
).
In ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' episode "The New Sue Ann", airing Saturday, October 26, 1974, two days before "Rhoda's Wedding", the characters frequently discuss the upcoming event and buy wedding gifts. At the end of the episode Murray and Lou leave the TV station to drive Mary to the airport. During "Rhoda's Wedding" it is revealed that on a lark Lou and Murray have decided to fly to New York with Mary to surprise Rhoda. Her frequent nemesis, Phyllis, who intentionally had not been invited, nonetheless flies in for the wedding, and Mary and Rhoda's friend, Georgette, drives in from Minneapolis.
During the episode, Phyllis asks for the opportunity to participate in the wedding and is appointed the responsibility to pick up Rhoda at Brenda's Manhattan apartment and drive her to her parents' apartment in the Bronx, where the ceremony is being held. The self-absorbed and forgetful Phyllis neglects to keep her promise. This forces Rhoda to take the subway, running through the streets of Manhattan and the Bronx fully regaled in her wedding dress and veil and dashing into her parents' apartment building in one of the most memorable moments in the history of series television.
In a state of shock, Ida refuses Phyllis's profuse apologies, saying "I'll kill you". Phyllis begs everyone in the room to forgive her, but the only one who does is Georgette, who then suggests to Phyllis that she leave before Rhoda arrives. The episode also features special closing credits, showing additional footage of Rhoda (Harper) running down a Manhattan street in her wedding dress and veil accompanied by an alternative version of the theme song played to the tune of Mendelssohn's ''Wedding March
Music is often played at wedding celebrations, including during the ceremony and at festivities before or after the event. The music can be performed live by instrumentalists or vocalists or may use pre-recorded songs, depending on the format o ...
''.
Developments
Seasons 1 and 2 (1974–1976)
For the remainder of the first and second seasons, the show focuses on Rhoda and Joe's new married life. The two move into a penthouse suite in the same building as Brenda. Rhoda advances in her career as a window dresser
Window dressers are retail workers who arrange displays of goods in shop windows or within a shop itself. Such displays are themselves known as " window dressing". They may work for design companies contracted to work for clients or for department ...
by opening up a small window dressing business called "Windows by Rhoda" with her old high school friend Myrna Morgenstein (Barbara Sharma
Barbara Sharma (born September 14, 1938, Dallas) is an American actress and dancer of the night clubs, stage, television, and film. She began dancing at age 4 and professionally at age 9, dancing in nightclubs in Miami and Havana, Cuba. As a dance ...
). Rhoda uses her own maiden surname "Morgenstern" in her professional dealings as a window dresser and her married surname "Gerard" in her personal life.
During this period, the show was a massive ratings hit on Monday nights, staying near the top of the ratings in both seasons, even faring better than its parent, ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. In early seasons, the closing credits of the series featured Rhoda on a New York street trying to imitate Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...
's trademark hat toss, but the cap slips from Rhoda's hand before she can throw it. Upon moving from ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' to her own eponymous series, Rhoda's Jewish religious and ethnic background seemed to fade as she was no longer unique, and would be surrounded by a host of New Yorkers of different religions and ethnicities.
Throughout the tenure of Rhoda Morgenstern's character being featured on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', her “Jewishness” was discussed on several episodes. Such episodes included: "Some of My Best Friends are Rhoda" from which the subject of anti-Semitism was covered; “Enter Rhoda’s Parents,” from which Rhoda's parents renewed their wedding vows by a rabbi; and "A Girl's Best Mother Is Not Her Friend", in which Ida wanted to fix Mary up with an eligible bachelor, a man whom she'd deemed inappropriate for Rhoda, as he wasn't Jewish. This candid expression of “Jewishness” changed, however, when ''Rhoda'' was spun off in 1974. During the first season of ''Rhoda'', the representation of Rhoda Morgenstern altered from her parent show to fit a more mainstream audience: she was trimmer, more confident, and less “Jewish”. Throughout the first season, there were scant references about Rhoda's “Jewishness”.
Moreover, there was even a Christmas episode with no mention of the character's Jewish background entitled, "Guess What I Got You for the Holidays". Thus, the creation of Rhoda's own series stifled the representation of “Jewishness” – as Charlotte Brown, the executive producer of ''Rhoda'', conveyed in an interview the display of “Jewishness”, “was just ‘set dressing’ – Ida's brisket, her plastic on the furniture". Ironically, although Harper and Walker achieved great popularity playing characters of the Jewish faith and ethnicity, in real life, neither actress was Jewish.
In the first season of ''Rhoda'', Mary Tyler Moore made five guest appearances as Mary Richards to help with the transition of Rhoda moving from Minneapolis to New York City, getting married, and establishing her new life. The episodes Moore appeared in were: the premiere episode "Joe"; the sixth installment "Pop Goes The Question"; the two-part hour- long episode "Rhoda's Wedding" – which also featured other characters from ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' such as Lou Grant (Edward Asner), Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), and Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) – and the season finale "Along Comes Mary". During the second season, Moore made no appearances on ''Rhoda'', but Valerie Harper and David Groh were briefly featured as Rhoda and Joe Gerard on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Shows eleventh installment of the sixth season "Mary Richards Falls in Love".
Season 3 (1976–1977)
In the first episode of the third season during a particularly dramatic scene Joe leaves Rhoda and the two remain separated for the entire season, with Groh appearing in only nine of the season's episodes. A few weeks later, they mutually agree to see a marriage counselor where Joe reveals to a stunned Rhoda that he had never wanted to be married, and that he married her only because she had pressured him into it after he had invited her to live with him.
Audiences were equally stunned and deserted the program in droves. Although the producers believed the plot development was essential, the fan response to Rhoda and Joe's separation was overwhelmingly negative and hostile. CBS 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 otherwi ...
for as much as a year after the season had ended. This sentiment would translate into a steep ratings decline during the course of the season and the show ranked #25 for the 1976–77 season (falling from #7 the year before). Though Ida appears in the opening episode ("The Separation"), both she and Martin are absent for the remainder of the season, explained as traveling across the country in an RV. In reality, Nancy Walker departed the program to headline two short-lived ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
series: '' The Nancy Walker Show'', and ''Blansky's Beauties
''Blansky's Beauties'' is an American sitcom television series and ostensible spin-off of ''Happy Days'' that aired on ABC from February 12 to June 27, 1977. The main character of the series was introduced on an episode of ''Happy Days'', then ...
''; and Harold Gould left to star in his own ABC show, ''The Feather and Father Gang
''The Feather and Father Gang'' is a 1976–1977 American crime-drama television series starring Stefanie Powers and Harold Gould, which centers on an attorney who enlists her con-man father and his team of bunco artists to help her solve crime ...
''. To help fill in the void left by Walker and Gould, the producers hired comedian Anne Meara
Anne Meara Stiller (September 20, 1929 – May 23, 2015) was an American actress and comedian. Along with her husband Jerry Stiller, she was one-half of the prominent 1960s comedy team Stiller and Meara. Their son is actor, director, and producer ...
as Rhoda's new friend, Sally Gallagher, a middle-aged divorcee who works as an airline stewardess. Viewers did not warm to Meara and her character lasted only one season.
With Rhoda and Joe now separated, they soon move out of their apartment. Joe moves to another building while Rhoda trades apartments with downstairs neighbor Gary Levy (Ron Silver
Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor/activist, director, producer, and radio host. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best Acto ...
), a jean-store owner who soon strikes up a platonic friendship with Rhoda. Stories initially center on Rhoda and Joe's attempts to work through their differences. As the season progresses, however, Joe is seen less frequently and episodes show Rhoda coping with her single status or feature Brenda-themed stories. Ultimately, they never reconcile and Joe is never seen again after this season. Johnny Venture ( Michael DeLano), a lounge singer, becomes an occasional suitor/friend whom Rhoda begrudgingly tolerates. Meanwhile, Brenda, no longer overweight but still with self-esteem problems, finally finds a steady boyfriend in enthusiastic rollerskater and toll-booth worker Benny Goodwin ( Ray Buktenica), who is, initially, constantly assumed to be the son of great big band conductor/musician, Benny Goodman. She also occasionally dates neighbor Gary Levy as well as continuing her casual relationship with immature accordion player Nick Lobo.
During the third season of ''Rhoda'', Mary Tyler Moore made her final guest appearance as Mary Richards in the eighteenth installment "The Ultimatum". Also that year, Valerie Harper appeared as Rhoda, along with Cloris Leachman as Phyllis, on the final episode of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' entitled "The Last Show".
Season 4 (1977–1978)
For the fourth season, Rhoda re-emerged with a new, slimmer look. (Before the season started, Valerie Harper went on a liquid protein diet, which was quite controversial at the time, and dropped 40 pounds.) Rhoda's divorce is finalized and she resumes use of her maiden name "Morgenstern" full time. (From this point on, neither her ex-husband, Joe Gerard, nor Rhoda's friend from the previous season, Sally Gallagher, are ever mentioned again.) The show then centers on her role as a thirty-something divorcée, rarely dating and focusing on her career. Ida and Martin come home after a year's absence from their lengthy cross-country trip (in reality, both Nancy Walker's and Harold Gould's attempts at new series the previous year had failed).
Brenda continues to date Gary Levy and Benny Goodwin, one more than the other. Meanwhile, Rhoda's career is undergoing a transition. Seeking a career change, she finds a job at the Doyle Costume Company. There she works for the gruff Jack Doyle ( Kenneth McMillan), a man with similarities to Lou Grant
Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character ...
. Season 4 ranked higher than season 3 in the ratings (finishing at #21 for the year), but ''Rhoda'' never regained the popularity it had achieved during its first two seasons.
Season 5 (September–December 1978)
In September, 1978, the show underwent additional changes for the fifth and final season. Rhoda sports a new longer frizzy-permed hair style, which she keeps pulled back in a small ponytail for part of the season. Ida and Martin go through a separation of their own, and Martin goes off to Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
to find himself. He returns after several episodes, but Ida wants to be wooed back, leading to dating and other romantic rituals between the two. Brenda and Benny get engaged to be married, with their wedding planned for later in the season (though this would ultimately not happen, due to ''Rhoda'''s abrupt midseason cancellation). Gary Levy does not return for this season; it is mentioned near the season's start in Episode 3 that he has moved to Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. A new coworker, Tina Molinari (Nancy Lane), joins Rhoda and Jack at the costume shop, having appeared in several Season 4 episodes as an employee at Gary's jeans store.
At this time, the series, along with the Norman Lear sitcom '' Good Times'', was moved to Saturday nights, with ''Rhoda'' airing at 8:00 P.M. and ''Good Times'' at 8:30 P.M. As a result of the show's competing against NBC's popular police series ''CHiPs
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...
'', the ratings for both programs declined drastically. CBS canceled ''Rhoda'' in December 1978—midway through its fifth season—with four episodes remaining unaired, though these episodes later aired in syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
. The show ended its final season ranked at #95 out of 114 shows. ''Good Times'' was pulled from the CBS schedule in December and returned in the spring of 1979 on Wednesday nights at 8:30 P.M. It finished its sixth season, but its ratings did not improve, with the show ranked at #91. Within a few months, CBS also canceled it.
Cast
Main
* Valerie Harper
Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical ''Li'l Abner''. She is best remembered for her role as Rho ...
– Rhoda Morgenstern Gerard
* Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress. Best known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', Kavner first attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, the younge ...
– Brenda Morgenstern
* 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 ...
– Joe Gerard (seasons 1–3)
* Nancy Walker
Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', on wh ...
– Ida Morgenstern (seasons 1–2, 4–5)
* Harold Gould
Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom ''The Golden ...
– Martin Morgenstern (seasons 1–2, 4–5)
* Ron Silver
Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor/activist, director, producer, and radio host. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best Acto ...
– Gary Levy (seasons 3–4)
* Ray Buktenica– Benny Goodwin (seasons 3–5)
* Kenneth McMillan– Jack Doyle (seasons 4–5)
* Lorenzo Music– Carlton, the doorman (voice only)
Recurring characters
* Carlton, the alcoholic doorman in Rhoda's building, is played by Lorenzo Music (who would later voice Garfield
''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his hum ...
). He is often heard on the intercom, but almost never seen, only his arm occasionally appearing from doors. In the third-season episode "H-e-e-e-r-e's Johnny" he is seen from the back after hitching a cab ride with Rhoda and her friends, and in the episode "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" is shown dancing and conversing with Queenie Smith
Queenie Smith (September 8, 1898 – August 5, 1978) was an American stage, television, and film actress.
Life and career
Smith was born in Texas. Her family moved from Texas to New York shortly before Smith began studying at the Metropol ...
while wearing a gorilla mask. Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained internati ...
played Carlton's mother in the Season 2 episode "Kiss Your Epaulets Goodbye".
* Justin Culp, Joe's wrecking company field employee, is played by Scoey Mitchlll.
* Mae, the office bookkeeper at Joe's wrecking company, appears prominently in two episodes during the first season and is played by actress-comedian Cara Williams (of '' Pete and Gladys'').
* Rhoda's girlfriends over the years include: Alice Barth ( Candice Azzara); Myrna Morgenstein
Barbara Sharma
, whom Rhoda had sat behind in high school when in alphabetical order in home room; Susan Alborn ( Beverly Sanders), another friend from high school; and Sally Gallagher (Anne Meara
Anne Meara Stiller (September 20, 1929 – May 23, 2015) was an American actress and comedian. Along with her husband Jerry Stiller, she was one-half of the prominent 1960s comedy team Stiller and Meara. Their son is actor, director, and producer ...
), aka "Big Sally," a divorced airline stewardess who befriends Rhoda and accompanies her in the singles scene. (Meara's husband Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015 ...
also appears in one episode as Sally's ex-husband.)
* Brenda's boyfriend in early episodes is accordionist Nick Lobo (Richard Masur
Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...
).
* Lenny Fiedler, Brenda's third cousin whom she dates occasionally, is played by actor Wes Stern. Lenny appears frequently throughout the first two seasons.
* Sandy Franks, Brenda's friend and colleague at the bank at which she works, is played by actress Melanie Mayron
Melanie Joy Mayron is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for her role as photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama ''thirtysomething'' for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Su ...
. She is featured in a few episodes during the 1975–76 season.
* Shortly following her separation from Joe, Rhoda begins an on-again, off-again romance with conceited Las Vegas entertainer Johnny Venture ( Michael Delano), who appeared in 11 episodes (1976–78).
* Joe's friend Charlie Burke (whom Rhoda finds annoying) is played by Valerie Harper's then-husband, actor Richard Schaal (who also appears in several episodes of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' as at least three different characters and as a regular in the first season of ''Phyllis
Phyllis is a feminine given name which may refer to:
People
* Phyllis Bartholomew (1914–2002), English long jumper
* Phyllis Drummond Bethune (née Sharpe, 1899–1982), New Zealand artist
* Phyllis Calvert (1915–2002), British actress
* P ...
'').
Guest stars
Actors featured in guest-starring roles on ''Rhoda'' include Robert Alda
Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo; February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an Italian-American theatrical and film actor, a singer, and a dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a ...
, René Auberjonois
René Murat Auberjonois (; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and director. He was best known for portraying Odo on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He first achieved fame as a stage actor, winning the Tony A ...
, Frank Converse
Frank Converse (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor.
Early life
Converse was born in 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in ...
, Norman Fell
Norman Fell (born Norman Noah Feld; March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off, ''The Ropers'', and his fi ...
, Jack Gilford, Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained internati ...
, Eileen Heckart
Anna Eileen Heckart ( Herbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years.
Early life
Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert in Columbus, Ohio. The daughter of Esther (), ...
, Howard Hesseman, Judd Hirsch
Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS seri ...
, Anne Jackson
Anne Jackson (September 3, 1925 – April 12, 2016); retrieved April 16, 2016Archivedfrom the original on April 16, 2016. was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was the wife of actor Eli Wallach, with whom she often co-sta ...
, Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom ''Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway.
After acting as a child, Lavin joined the C ...
, Tim Matheson
Tim Matheson (born Timothy Lewis Matthieson; December 31, 1947) is an American actor and director. Some of his best-known acting roles include the title character of the 1960s animated '' Jonny Quest'' TV series, Eric "Otter" Stratton in the 19 ...
, Melanie Mayron
Melanie Joy Mayron is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for her role as photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama ''thirtysomething'' for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Su ...
, John Ritter
Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ...
, Doris Roberts
Doris May Roberts ( Green; November 4, 1925 – April 17, 2016) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades of television and film. She received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which bega ...
, David Ogden Stiers
David Allen Ogden Stiers ( ; October 31, 1942 – March 3, 2018) was an American actor and conductor. He appeared in numerous productions on Broadway, and originated the role of Feldman in '' The Magic Show'', in which he appeared for fou ...
, Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015 ...
, Joan Van Ark
Joan Van Ark (born June 16, 1943) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Valene Ewing on the primetime soap opera '' Knots Landing.'' A life member of The Actors Studio, she made her Broadway debut in 1966 in ''Barefoot in the ...
, Vivian Vance
Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress and singer best known for playing Ethel Mertz on the sitcom '' I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Out ...
, and Henry Winkler.
Some, like Heckart and Vance, were well-known performers, while the appearance of others, like Mayron and Hesseman, preceded their own shows or roles that brought them to prominence.
Syndication
In 1979, ''Rhoda'' began airing in syndication to local stations, and was originally syndicated by Victory Television from 1979 to 1987. From 1981 to 1988, reruns of the show aired on WGN-TV in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. In 1990, reruns of ''Rhoda'' aired on Ha!. In 1996, Nick at Nite began airing reruns of ''Rhoda''.
On July 8, 2013, ''Rhoda'' began airing on MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
at 9:30PM Eastern Time.
In Italy, it aired on Rai 2
Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting ''TG2'' news bulletins, tal ...
in 1982.
In the UK, it aired sporadically & in a late night, weekday slot on BBC1.
Home media
DVD releases
On April 21, 2009, Shout! Factory released the first season of ''Rhoda'' on DVD in Region 1, which was the year of the show's 35th anniversary. The release also includes a "Remembering Rhoda" featurette, as well as the original one-hour version of "Rhoda's Wedding", as opposed to the two-part edited version that aired in syndication. 15 of the season's 24 episodes are the edited-for-syndication versions taken from poor quality masters, while the other 9 episodes (including the Wedding episode) are the unedited network versions. A review on DVDTalk also states some of the edited episodes being time compressed. Because the series premiere in the DVD set is the syndicated version, Mary Tyler Moore's appearance at the beginning of the episode is not included. However, the full version of the pilot can be viewed at The Paley Center for Media
The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...
in New York and Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. Footage from the missing scene is even included in the end credits to the series premiere.
Season two and Season three episodes were released unedited.
Season four was released on September 21, 2010, as a Shout! Factory select title, available exclusively through their online store.
Season four was re-released as a general retail release on August 15, 2017.
Season five was released by Shout! Factory on October 17, 2017.
♦—Shout! Factory Exclusives title, sold exclusively through Shout's online store
VHS releases
A two-tape set, ''Rhoda—Volumes 1 & 2'' containing two episodes on each cassette, was released by MTM Home Video in July 1992.
''The Very Best of Rhoda'', a four-tape boxed-set containing the best episodes from each season, was released by MTM Home Video on April 28, 1998.
Reception
Ratings
Awards
Emmy Awards:
* Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series—Valerie Harper, 1975
* Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series—Julie Kavner, 1978
Golden Globe Awards:
* Best TV Show, Musical/Comedy—1975
* Best TV Actress, Musical/Comedy—Valerie Harper, 1975
Collectively, ''Rhoda'' garnered a total of 17 Emmy nominations and 7 Golden Globe nominations.
Animated spin-off and cast reunions
An animated TV pilot titled ''Carlton Your Doorman
''Carlton Your Doorman'' is a 1980 American television pilot for an animated spin-off of the live-action sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) that was never picked up as a series. It originally aired as a "CBS Special Presentation" on May 21, 1980 and ha ...
'', a proposed spin-off of the Carlton, the doorman character (voiced by Lorenzo Music), was broadcast May 21, 1980 on 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 Entertainm ...
. Although the episode won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series.
In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which ...
, it was never picked up by the network as a series.
Despite never having reunited in-character on a TV special or movie, some of the cast members of ''Rhoda'' have gotten together over the years on the following daytime talk-shows:
* On November 21, 1984, Valerie Harper, Julie Kavner and Nancy Walker reunited to reminisce about the series on the syndicated ''Hour Magazine'' (with Gary Collins) in which they hosted a week-long series dedicated to TV reunion shows.
* In May 1996, Valerie Harper, David Groh and Harold Gould (with a voice-over cameo from Lorenzo Music as Carlton, the Doorman) reunited on ''Sally Jessy Raphael
Sally Lowenthal (born February 25, 1935), better known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is an American former tabloid talk show host known for her program '' Sally'' (originally called ''The Sally Jessy Raphael Show'').
Early life and education
Lowent ...
'' to talk about the show's best moments as reruns of ''Rhoda'' began airing on '' Nick at Nite''. Author Julius C. Burnett (author of "Rhoda Revisited"; see below) also appeared briefly in the segment. Interesting episodic facts from Burnett's book were used during a voiceover at the beginning of each episode of ''Nick at Nite''s reruns of the series.
Books
In 1975, Scholastic Books published ''All About "Rhoda"'', a non-fiction paperback about the development of the series and the character. The book features interviews with Harper and Groh, and 32 black-and-white photos. ''All About "Rhoda"'' was referenced in an episode of ''The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, ...
'' during a sketch in which the character Buddy Cole (played by Scott Thompson) identified it as the book he would most want to have with him if he was stranded on a desert island.
Julius C. Burnett wrote ''Rhoda Revisited'', which summarized the series (with a foreword by Valerie Harper) was released by Ju-Ju & Co. Entertainment LLC on December 21, 2010.
References
External links
*
*
{{MTM Enterprises
1974 American television series debuts
1978 American television series endings
1970s American sitcoms
American television spin-offs
Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners
CBS original programming
English-language television shows
Jewish comedy and humor
Television series about Jews and Judaism
Television series created by James L. Brooks
Television series created by Allan Burns
Television series by MTM Enterprises
Television shows set in New York City
The Mary Tyler Moore Show