I, Rhoda
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4.3 • 56 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The heartwarming memoir of beloved television actress Valerie Harper, best known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and on Rhoda.
Valerie Harper was an unknown actress when she won the groundbreaking role of Rhoda Morgenstern, Mary Tyler Moore’s lovable and self-deprecating on-screen best friend. Bold and hilarious, the native New Yorker and struggling working girl was unlucky in love and insecure about her weight—in other words, every woman’s best friend.
Harper represented a self-reliant new identity for women of the 1970s. She fought for equal rights alongside feminists Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug; and her incredible showbiz journey, which began on Broadway with Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason, led her to four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe.
Harper is upbeat and funny, and her inspiring life story is laced with triumphs and transformative obstacles. This beloved actress’s incredible pluck, indomitable spirit, and warm and generous heart have touched our lives and kept us entertained for decades.
Customer Reviews
Worth the Read
Thoroughly enjoyable autobiography and a speedy read. Ms. Harper must be among the most upbeat writers around; never a negative word for anyone and she appears to be uncommonly gracious towards those that helped her advance through her career in theater and television.
I suspect that most readers will know Ms. Harper as her most famous character, Rhoda Morgenstern, from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. And her story does not disappoint. But there is so much more here. And I had no idea about her theatrical ambitions in the 1950s and 1960s, let alone her start as a dancer in the early to mid-50s.
Her activism in the late 1970s and into the 21st Century is impressive, but not written as heavy handed and self-important. More a tone of “matter-of-fact” reporting, with many exclamation points finishing off her feelings of good fortune upon meeting, and receiving the support of, known members of the Equal Rights Movement and anti-hunger campaigns.
Her personal life is detailed, and her second marriage to Tony Cacciotti is one of those great love affairs that movies are made of.
The old expression “Don’t Meet Your Heroes” (for fear of disappointment) doesn’t apply here, although I sort of wish that it did to some small degree. I enjoy a little failure and a few scars from time to time to make the stories a little more gritty and realistic (and there is some literal scarring and anxiety around her cancer scare and broken wrist), but then who wants that when reading about the best pal of America’s Sweetheart? Hence the 4 star review.
Viva the headscarf!
I, Rhoda
I really enjoyed this book! Ms. Harper has lived her life with love, joy, enthusiasm, and gratitude. How refreshing to read a "Hollywood" memoir with entertaining, funny, and touching stories and no "trash!" Ms. Harper's integrity and her desire to make the world a better place through her social activism are inspiring! I highly recommend this book!
<3 rhoda
Love this book!!!