The Ultimate Sitcom Actor Tournament - Round 9
The Ultimate Sitcom Actor Tournament - Round 9
This is round nine of The Ultimate Sitcom Actor Tournament. For rules, point values, and other information, see the introduction.
In the last round, John Ritter and Lucille Ball held strong against Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. In this round, they’ll face off against Judd Hirsch and Valerie Harper.
Judd Hirsch
Best known for his starring role as Alex Reiger on Taxi, Judd Hirsch has been a fixture of TV shows for almost 50 years, and now at 88 years old, he’s still pretty busy. He starred in the short-lived sitcoms, Dear John, Regular Joe, and Superior Donuts; co-starred in George & Leo with Bob Newhart; and had a recurring role as the less likeable “Pop-pop” on The Goldbergs. He also made many guest appearances, including Rhoda with this round’s female contestant, Valerie Harper.
Starring Roles: 13 seasons = 260 points
Regular Roles: 0 = 0 points
Recurring Roles: 10 seasons = 100 points
Guest Appearances: 8 episodes = 8 points
TOTAL: 368 points – WINNER!
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper was best known for playing Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and her spin-off, Rhoda. She also starred in Valerie for two seasons until she was famously fired from her own show, which was renamed Valerie’s Family until the producers replaced her with Sandy Duncan and renamed it The Hogan Family. Supposedly, Brandon Tartikoff jokingly referred to the show as “Throw Momma from the Series” after Valerie was fired. Ouch.
But Valerie wasn’t deterred. She went on to star in two more sitcoms, City, and The Office. (No, not THAT The Office. This one was based on a different British sitcom called Upstairs, Downstairs.) She also made several sitcom guest appearances before she passed away in 2019 at 80 years old.
Starring Roles: 9 seasons = 180 points
Regular Roles: 7 seasons = 70 points
Recurring Roles: 0 = 0 points
Guest Appearances: 21 episodes = 21 points
TOTAL: 271 points
Winners
Judd Hirsch is the new male champion, but Lucille Ball is still the female champ!
Check back tomorrow for round 10!