Free Republic

Valerie Harper, the Emmy-winning sitcom star whose role as the somewhat neurotic “Rhoda Morgenstern” made her one of television’s biggest and most beloved stars in the 1970s, died today. She was 80 and had been suffering from various cancers for a number of years. She had been in a coma for a while before succumbing today, her family told KABC-TV entertainment reporter George Pennacchio. The veteran TV and stage actress was best known for playing sidekick Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, then taking the character into her own popular spinoff, Rhoda. She also starred in the 1980s...

Actress Valerie Harper, known for her roles in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and the spin-off “Rhoda,” was reportedly hospitalized Wednesday evening after being found unconscious backstage prior to a performance of her musical “Nice Work If You Can Get It” at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine. Harper suffered a “health emergency” prior to the show and was taken away by ambulance, according to Entertainment Tonight. ... Harper was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2013.

There may be some good news on the horizon for Valerie Harper. Harper's doctor revealed on Today that the actress' brain cancer may be close to remission. In January, Harper was diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition that occurs when cancer cells spread into the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the brain.