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Nancy Walker (May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedienne of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (most notably of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, on which she also made several acting guest appearances). During her five-decade long career, she may be best remembered for her long-running role of 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. Walker was born as Anna Myrtle Smoyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in... MORE

Nancy Walker (May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedienne of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (most notably of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, on which she also made several acting guest appearances). During her five-decade long career, she may be best remembered for her long-running role of 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. Walker was born as Anna Myrtle Smoyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1922, the elder of two daughters of vaudevillian Dewey Barto (né Smoyer). Both she and her father stood 4'11" (1.50 m). Her mother died when her younger sister Betty Lou was an infant. She and Betty Lou, who would also have a musical career, were raised "in-a-trunk" by their father (Dewey Barto; 1896–1973). Barto was a vaudeville entertainer in the comedic and acrobatic dance act, Barto and Mann. Walker made her Broadway debut in 1941 in Best Foot Forward. The role provided Walker with her film debut when she signed a contract with M-G-M to make a movie version, starring Lucille Ball, which was filmed LESS