This highly versatile actor has forever become identified as Martin Morgenstern, father of TV's "Rhoda" (Valerie Harper). But, if one examines Harold Gould's long career, on discovers that he has actually played a range of roles far beyond sitcoms, including leading man to Katharine Hepburn in "Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry" (CBS, 1986) and a wonderfully manipulative Louis B. Mayer in "Moviola" (NBC, 1980).
Tall, distinguished-looking, with white hair and a mustache, Gould actually began his career as an instructor and later a professor of acting on the university level. He made his professional stage debut in 1955, playing Thomas Jefferson in "The Common Glory" in Williamsburg, VA. It was not until 1969 that Gould made his NYC stage debut in the Off-Broadway production in "The Increased Difficulty of Concentration" for which he won an OBIE Award. He later appeared in the Broadway production of Neil Simon's "Fools" and has played in a host of productions at theatres throughout the US, including "I Never Sang for My Father" in both Washington, DC and Los Angeles. Gould later reprised the role of the father (played by Melvyn Douglas in the feature) in a 1988 PBS rendition.
Gould broke into feature films in 1962 with a small role in "The Coach". He played Sheriff Spanner in "Harper" (1966) and was Col. Nexdhet opposite Rosalind Russell in "Mrs. Polifax-Spy" (1971). With TV exposure, Gould began to gain larger roles in features, including Mel Brooks' "Silent Movie" (1976) and "Romero" (1989).
But, most of Gould's best work has been on the small screen. He began working in guest roles in the 60s, appearing frequently in "The Long, Hot Summer" (ABC, 1965-66), as one of the stock company of townsfolk. He was Richard Benjamin's boss in the short-lived sitcom "He and She" (CBS, 1967-68). In 1972, Gould appeared on an episode of "Love, American Style" entitled "Love and the Happy Days" as Howard Cunningham, the exasperated father of Ron Howard's Richie. But, when ABC turned the show into a series, Gould was replaced in the role by Tom Bosley.
Gould has often played Jewish characters and it was not until he was cast as Martin Morgenstern in a 1972 episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" that he hit what would propel him into audience consciousness. Warm, witty and loving, Gould's Martin was the perfect counterpart to Nancy Walker's overbearing Ida. He reprised the role the following year and again on the spin-off "Rhoda" in 1974, although he did not appear in every episode. Gould left the series to try his hand headlining "The Feather and Father Gang" (ABC, 1976-77), playing Stefanie Powers' con man father. He returned to "Rhoda" for its final season. After that, Gould appeared in several short-lived series of little consequence, including as a swinging widower in "Foot in the Door" (CBS, 1983), as grandfather to Chad Lowe's "Spencer" (NBC, 1985) and even as the owner of a deli training two African-Americans to inherit his business in "Singer & Sons" (NBC, 1990).
While none seemed to click, Gould never seemed to be out of work. He made frequent guest appearances on episodics, and often appeared in TV-movies after his debut in the genre "Ransom for a Dead Man" (NBC, 1971). He made his miniseries debut in "Washington: Behind Closed Doors" (ABC, 1977), but seemed to get meatier roles the older he got. In 1980, he played mogul Louis B. Mayer in two of the three installments of the NBC miniseries "Moviola", earning an Emmy nomination for his efforts. In "The Silent Lovers" segment, when he destroyed the career of John Gilbert, he twirled a smirk the likes of which might give one chills. And in "The Scarlett O'Hara Wars", Gould was the manipulative father-in-law of David O. Selznick, making sure MGM would have a piece of "Gone With the Wind". In 1986, Gould was a Jewish widower who wanted to wed the Christian Katharine Hepburn despite negative reactions from their respective children in "Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry" (CBS). Gould was a married man in a retirement village who, over his wife's objections, becomes involved with a Yiddish-speaking club where he meets the a new love and starts a new life in his golden years in the "Yiddish" episode of "The Sunset Gang" (PBS, 1991). In 1996, he was in "For Hope" (ABC), Bob Saget's directorial debut based on the death of Saget's sister from scleroderma. Gould, as expected, played the father. By the turn of the millennium, Gould had graduated to granfathery roles in films such as "Stuart Little" (1999), "Master of Disguise" (2002) and Disney's 2003 remake of "Freaky Friday."