# RIP Valerie Mahaffey

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-valerie-mahaffey/1019067>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 1, 2025, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-valerie-mahaffey/1019067 "2025-06-01T04:33:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-valerie-mahaffey/1019067/21 "2025-06-02T02:30:28Z")

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> [@Karen\_Lingel](#):
>
> She was hilarious in _The Powers That Be_.

I remember loving that show, but realized it was too strange and dark to really make it on TV in that era.

Also, related to that:

> [@Kent\_Clark](#):
>
> ISTR one of the producers of Frasier said that while Maris was never intended to appear on screen, and they drew her flaws to ridiculous levels, if anyone could have played her, it would have been Valerie Mahaffey.

In _The Powers That Be_, Mahaffey’s character, Caitlyn Van Horne, was married to Theodore Van Horne, a suicidal congressman, who was played by…David Hyde Pierce. 😮

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**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-valerie-mahaffey/1019067/22 "2025-06-02T14:16:00Z")

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always memorable in every role she played. whenever she appeared you just knew it was going to be great fun.

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**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\
**Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-valerie-mahaffey/1019067/23 "2025-06-02T17:13:54Z")

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I would get her confused with Julie Hagerty, which isn’t surprising as they [played the same character](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_of_the_House#Main).

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**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-valerie-mahaffey/1019067/24 "2025-06-05T17:05:05Z")

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> [@XOldiesJock](#):
>
> Like you, I didn’t recognize her by name. but after doing an image search, I recognized her immediately. I could actually recall her voice!
> 
> Throughout movie and TV history, there have been lots of people like her, character actors who were constantly in demand. I can imagine a casting director saying “Get me Valerie Mahaffey. Or if she’s not available, get me **a** Valerie Mahaffey!”
> 
> A lot of people like her had careers lasting decades longer than some star-of-the-week who fizzled out as quickly as they emerged. Unfortunately, this happens to actresses more than actors.

Mahaffey did have a period in the '90s around the time she won an Emmy for “Northern Exposure” when it looked like she would break out of the “Hey, It’s THAT Guy!” category and become more well-known. Unfortunately, “The Powers That Be” didn’t take off and neither did the other shows where she was regular. I kind of lost track of her over the last 15 years but that’s because I don’t watch much series TV. Maybe that’s why I was surprised to she was almost 72. Time is moving too fast.

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