Actress Valerie Harper, Who Played Rhoda Morgenstern on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” & “Rhoda” Diagnosed with Terminal Brain Cancer

Sad news from the TV world … Valerie Harper, the actress who played Rhoda Morgenstern on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and on the spinoff series “Rhoda,” has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The 73 year old actress had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009 that she appeared to have beaten. Reports state that, “Harper’s doctors reportedly have told her she may have just three months to live.” On a personal note, not only did I enjoy very character on both TV series, it saddens me that brain cancer as taken another. My sister passed away from complications of terminal brain cancer. Our hearts and prayers go out to her and her family during this difficult time.

Valerie Harper, 73, who portrayed the lively TV character Rhoda Morgenstern first on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and later on the spinoff series “Rhoda,” has terminal brain cancer, a diagnosis that she revealed Wednesday morning on NBC’s “Today Show” as well as on “People Magazine’s” website.

Harper, in rehearsal earlier this year with the touring company of the Broadway show “Looped,” had abruptly withdrawn from the cast due to a then undisclosed illness, now believed to be a rare condition known as leptomeningeal carcinomatosis. The term describes a cancer that has spread to the brain’s fluid-filled membranes.

Harper had starred as legendary actress Tallulah Bankhead in the original Broadway production of the show, and was set to reprise the role on the tour.

Harper had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009 which she appeared to have beaten. Her current condition is “most likely related to her previous battle with lung cancer,” stated one source, also noting that “Harper’s doctors reportedly have told her she may have just three months to live.”