There was also Linda Kelsey, who played Sue Ann’s rival Gloria Munson on ***MTM ***and reporter Billie Newman on Lou Grant. Still alive at 73.
Mary’s Aunt Flo was played by Eileen Heckart (d. 2001).
John Saxon, Phyllis’s “escort” in one episode, is still alive at 84.
“Whitney Lewis,” who had the hots for Ted and made Mary “look like a dog,” was played by Trisha Noble, who was also "Odette Lependieu " in ***The Rockford Files *** and is still around at 75. (She was also in the episode of ***Columbo ***I saw the other day.)
Here is a list of minor and recurring characters with some that haven’t been mentioned yet:
Nota bene:
Bill Quinn, Mary’s dad “Walter Richards,” was also Dr McCoy’s father in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. (d. 1994)
Lou’s girlfriend Charlene McGuire was originally played by Sheree North, aka “Babs Kramer” on Seinfeld. (d. 2005)
Couldn’t agree more. Mary Richards was the stuff of grade-school crushes, but Rhoda’s wisecracking personality and sexy voice made her a teenage boy’s dream.
Thanks for jogging my memory: “Joanne Forbes,” Mary’s bigoted new friend in “Some of My Best Friends Are Rhodas” (one of the few ***MTM ***episodes with a “message”), was played by none other than Mary Frann of ***Newhart ***fame!
Looking over the series’ complete cast list, I was surprised to find Carole King was in an episode as the aunt of the obnoxious son of Mary’s new boyfriend, played by Laurence Luckenbill, Mr Spock’s “half-brother Sybok.”
David Ogden Stiers was in a couple of episodes as WJM’s new station manager; Slim Pickens was in one episode as WJM’s owner.
Steve Franken, “Chatsworth Osborne, Jr,” was one of Rhoda’s boyfriends. So was Henry “The Fonz” Winkler.
Jack Cassidy was “Hal,” Ted’s competitive brother.
Both John Ritter and Richard Kline (“Jack” and “Larry” on Three’s Company) were on MTM.
LOTS of other instantly recognizable names on that list.
Prior to being cast for Carol Burnett’s show, Waggoner was in the running for the role of TV’s Batman in 1965. I believe there are clips from his screen test(s) on YouTube.
Apparently the producers of that show preferred the combination of Adam West and Burt Ward to Waggoner and his sidekick. (West had previously been in the pilot for Alexander the Great, opposite William Shatner.)
Lew Ayres was also Kate Hepburn’s musically-talented (and not allowed to be a professional musician because: high-society rich parents), alcoholic brother in 1937’s Holiday, starring Cary Grant. That’s how I always remember him.
The Ukulele Lady HATES that movie because Hepburn steals Grant away from her awful sister, who is about to marry him. UL also hates her sister, who she pictured stealing me away from her.
[Slight hijack]
Supposedly the producers of MTM has John Belushi (!) in mind for a recurring role, but he was still in his “TV sucks!” phase and turned them down. The mind boggles…
I remember watching Rhoda in its original run. The Wedding of The Year followed by the fastest downward ratings spiral since putting Star Trek on Friday nights at 10:00. Boy, was that a Jumping of the Shark.
In any case, Ms. Harper, not your fault. RIP, lady.
John Ritter was very memorable as the Reverend who married Ted and Georgette. He showed up straight from the tennis court in shorts and carrying a racquet. At the time, he was regularly playing the Reverend on The Waltons, one of my favorite characters, and I thought it was a great meta joke to have him playing a preacher on MTM.
I think my favorite line came when Ted was waiting anxiously to learn if he’d been hired as host of a new network game show. When news doesn’t come, he rants about how he didn’t want the job anyway, and says he’s perfectly happy to stay in Minneapolis. In fact, he LOVVVVVVVVVVES Minneapolis!
Then the phone rings:
“Maybe this is my ticket out of this dump!”
Being from Minneapolis myself, I know *exactly *how he felt!
