David Groh, who in the 1970s sitcom “Rhoda” played Joe, the groom whose wedding to the title character became one of the highest-rated events of its time, died Tuesday in Los Angeles, where he lived. He was 68.
The cause was kidney cancer, said his sister-in-law Catherine Mullally.
Seven episodes after “Rhoda” emerged on Sept. 9, 1974, as a spinoff of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper), who was Mary’s best friend, married Joe Gerard, who ran a wrecking company. The advance publicity was immense, and the episode, on CBS, made television history.
When the couple separated in the third season and later divorced, viewers, assuming the actors were married in real life, sent letters of condolence.
Mr. Groh also drew a devoted following when he played D. L. Brock in the ABC soap opera “General Hospital” from 1983 to 1985. He left the role to appear off Broadway in “Be Happy for Me,” even though he told The New York Times that his living expenses in New York actually surpassed his pay for the play. Theater was his love, he explained.
Reviewing the play, Frank Rich called Mr. Groh “completely convincing as the brash gold-chain-and-bikini-clad Lothario.”
David Lawrence Groh was born on May 21, 1939, in Brooklyn, where he attended Brooklyn Technical High School. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University, studied acting in London on a Fulbright scholarship and served in the Army in 1963 and 1964.
He appeared in the Broadway productions of “Chapter Two” in 1978 and “The Twilight of the Golds” in 1993.
His television roles included recurring appearances on “Law & Order,” “Baywatch” and “Girlfriends.” His many guest-star appearances included roles on “The X-Files,” “Melrose Place,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “L.A. Law.”
His film credits included “Get Shorty” (1995) and “Victory at Entebbe” (1976), and in recent years he starred in several independent films.
Mr. Groh is survived by his wife, Kristin Andersen; his son, Spencer; his mother, Mildred Groh of the Los Angeles area; and his sister, Marilyn Mamann of the San Fernando Valley.
Da The New York times , 15 febbraio 2008
