Nancy Walker

Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television.

She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, on which she also made several guest appearances).

During her five-decade-long career, she may be best remembered for her long-running roles as Mildred on McMillan & Wife and Ida Morgenstern, who first appeared on several episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later became a prominent recurring character on the spinoff series Rhoda.

In 1937, as "Nan Barto", Walker appeared on the NBC radio programs Coast to Coast on a Bus and Our Barn. She made her Broadway debut in 1941 in Best Foot Forward. The role provided Walker with her film debut, when she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to appear in the 1943 film version, starring Lucille Ball.

She continued acting throughout the 1940s and 1950s, originating the roles of Hildy Eszterhazy ("I Can Cook, Too!") in On the Town (1944), Yetta Samovar in Barefoot Boy with Cheek (1947), and Lily Malloy in Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1948) on Broadway.

She also appeared with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in the second film version of Girl Crazy (1943).

Her next film, Broadway Rhythm, in which she had a featured musical number backed by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet", ended Walker's contract with MGM.

She was nominated for a Tony Award in 1956 for her work in the musical revue Phoenix '55, and again in 1960 for her performance in Do Re Mi, opposite Phil Silvers.

Walker also starred in the short-lived Broadway musical comedy Copper and Brass in 1957, and appeared in the 1958 New York City Center production of Wonderful Town.

Her musical appearances led to record releases, including I Hate Men (1959; with Sid Bass and his orchestra, featuring such show tunes as "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair", and "You Irritate Me So"); the cover featured Walker humorously sticking male dolls with pins.

Dozens of television guest appearances and recurring roles followed, providing her with steady work.

Her career spanned five decades and included comedies, dramas, and television variety shows such as Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town, The Garry Moore Show, and The Carol Burnett Show.

In the 1960–61 television season, she appeared in two episodes of NBC's The Tab Hunter Show.

For the early 1970s revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, she appeared again opposite Silvers, playing the character of Domina.

Owing to her television contractual responsibilities, she was unable to transfer with the show to Broadway.

In 1970, she secured a recurring role as Emily, the housekeeper, on the television series Family Affair, which starred Brian Keith.

After five seasons, though, the ratings of Family Affair had plummeted opposite NBC's popular The Flip Wilson Show, and the series was canceled at the end of that season.

In 1970, she also made her first appearance playing Ida Morgenstern, the mother of Valerie Harper's character Rhoda Morgenstern on the first season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

The role proved to be ideal for her.

The episode that introduced her character, "Support Your Local Mother", was so well received that it won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Comedy Series for James L. Brooks and Allan Burns.

Walker thereafter became an annual guest star on the show for the next three years.

She continued to remain active in show business until her death, playing Rosie, a New Jersey diner waitress in a series of commercials for Bounty paper towels from 1970 to 1990.

She helped make the product's slogan, "the quicker picker-upper", a common catchphrase.

She credited the towel commercials with landing her the role of Ida Morgenstern.

From 1971 to 1976, she was a regular on the successful Rock Hudson detective series McMillan & Wife, playing the McMillans' housekeeper, Mildred.

During the first two years of Rhoda, Walker was not featured every week, so she was able to shuttle back and forth between the CBS sitcom and the NBC detective series.

These two roles brought her seven Emmy Award nominations.

When the MTM spinoff series Rhoda premiered in 1974, Walker was a regular cast member in 41 episodes.

In 1976, ABC-TV offered Walker a contract to headline her own series, The Nancy Walker Show, which was produced by Norman Lear's production company, in which she starred as Nancy Kittredge, a talent agent.

Walker appeared on a second-season episode of The Muppet Show.

Before she filmed the first episode of the series, Walker made her only appearance on Rhoda for the 1976–77 season.

In the season premiere, "The Separation", Rhoda (Valerie Harper) and her husband Joe (David Groh) decide to separate.

Rhoda tries to keep the news from her mother Ida (Walker), since Ida is about to embark on a year-long trip across America with Rhoda's father (Harold Gould).

Ida learns the truth from Rhoda prior to Ida's departure.

In "The Love Boat" S2 E15 "Home Sweet Home" she played Mrs. Waterhouse, who plans to move on to the ship for 5 years to spend time near Charles Fletcher (played by Abe Vigoda).

One of Walker's last major film roles was in the 1976 all-star comedy spoof Murder by Death.

It aired 1/19/1979.

In 1990, Walker began starring on the Fox sitcom True Colors as Sara Bower, the outspoken mother of Ellen Davis Freeman (Stephanie Faracy), who moves into Ellen's household despite having objections to her daughter's interracial marriage.

In 1990, Walker appeared as herself in the Columbo episode "Uneasy Lies the Crown".

Walker had guest starred as Rhoda's mother Ida Morgenstern in several episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and continued that role in its spin-off Rhoda.