charged him with resisting arrest and suspicion of on struchblgs again, charges dropped. now to that deeply personal announcement from emmy award-winning actress valerie harper. she revealed this week she has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. many may remember harp he were as the woman who brought a very funny rhoda morgan stern to life on the iconic mary tyler moore show millions of people loved her role as mary s beth friend so much that harper got her own spinoff, appropriately called rhoda. remember this? my name is rhoda mergen stern. i was born in the bronx, new york, december, 1941. . many of harpers a fans are now showing their love and support for her after seeing her shocking cover on people magazine this week, the stunning title, valerie harper s brave
ratings than mary tyler moore. in the 1980s, nbc gave harper a show called valerie it was a hit. two years later the network fired her. she sued nbc. nbc sued her. in the end, harper won, but not nearly what she had hoped. she still lingers in television from sex in the city to desperate housewives. but it was back on broadway where her star rose again. recently nominated for a tony for her role as bankhead in looped. while the stage is her first love. television is her lasting impression. there is no one who goes up to valerie on the street and goes ms. harper they just go valerie or rhoda. people know her for a long time and she has got the kind of manner that makes it seem like have you known her forever. known her forever, yeah. valerie harper battled lung cancer three years ago. unclear if this is related. the reason she came forward with this diagnosis today, shep, is because she wanted to raise awareness about
has some heartbreaking news. the tv legend, known simply as rhoda! reporter: tells people magazine she has a rare, incurable form of brain cancer. in a tearful interview the magazine calls a brave goodbye, the 73-year-old says the diagnosis hit me like a sledge hammer. incurable is such a concise word. i was terrified. when she appeared on gma in january, she told amy about stroke-like symptoms that had recently sent her to the hospital. i thought, what the heck is happening to me? reporter: what she didn t say is she received the terminal diagnosis just days earlier. hey, val, how are you, darling? it s me, mary. reporter: during the interview, a surprise phone call from an old friend left her visibly moved. thank you for calling in. i m just so touched. i just want to wish you well. i know you do. you always have wished me well. reporter: harper tells people, i don t think of dying, i think of being here now. there are moments of course
headline and the vicious form of bacteria that can be deadly. what hospitals are doing to protect patients and staff from a terrible germ that s next to impossible to fight. and later this half hour, the actress who won america s hearts by playing rhoda, now she faces real heartache in real life. valerie harper s diagnosis and why it comes as such a surprise. new details in that deadly lion attack at a california animal sanctuary. we ve just learned that the victim is 26-year-old diana hanson. she had moved from seattle to intern at that park. she worked there only two months before yesterday s fatal mauling. abc s brandi hitt in los angeles with the very latest. good morning, brandi. reporter: good morning, john and diana. this is a place families go to see big cats, including lions up close, and they can sometimes even pet the animals. but when a young intern went inside one of the lion enclosures, something went horribly wrong. the lion attack took place at cat haven, a ce
his successor. that election set to take place sometime within the next 30 days. shepard? shepard: steve harrigan tonight. cancer will shorten the beloved life of valerie harper. terminal brain cancer and further that she may have as little as three months to live. of the 73-year-old tells people magazine and i quote: i don t think of dying. i think of being here now. valerie harper portrayed morgan on the mary tyler moore show. hello, ma. listen, rhoda, while i was shopping i found pan at this hose on sale so i got you a couple dozen pair. a couple of dozen pair. the rockets don t use that much. her role there was so memorable and led to her own spin off show. trace gallagher is in hollywood with this sad news. trace, what more do we know about the diagnosis? well, in simple terms, shep, doctors say the cancer cells are filling