How did candy lead to Rhoda?
Published in Daily Trivia
When she was a girl, former Radio City dancer Valerie Harper lived all over the U.S. because her father was a traveling salesman. When she was 18, she left upstate New York to be a member of the "Li'l Abner" chorus in 1958. A few years later, Harper contracted hepatitis. Her doctor prescribed loads of candy, and she ballooned to 155 pounds. In 1970, TV producers found her dumpy shape perfect for the part of Mary Tyler Moore's outspoken, overweight friend, Rhoda Morgenstern. Harper earned three Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmys for the role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (in 1971, she tied with Sally Struthers in All in the Family), and won a Best Actress in a Comedy Emmy in 1975 for her own spin-off, Rhoda. By this time, Harper had shed much of the weight.